“And that works?”
“Maybe not at first, but it does get easier. Now, I don’t really have to think about it. I just go ahead and do it,” he explained.
“Then why are we sitting in the car?”
Another car pulled up behind them, and men got out.
“I was waiting for our security.”
“Oh,” Kristen said as she gave him one of those looks like she felt silly.
David sat patiently as he watched Fritz, his head of security, deploy his men. Then a flock of drones was released. When everything was in place, Fritz came to the door and opened it.
“Ready?” David asked Kristen.
“Absolutely.”
He got out of the car. His security had attracted the British stalkerazzi, a particularly nasty strain of paparazzi. He put a fake smile on his face and walked past as they took his picture and shouted out inappropriate questions.
‘You sleep with one princess … and you get this,’ David thought.
When they made it inside, they were escorted to Studio One. One of the production staff directed him to his dressing room so he could get ready.
◊◊◊
Frank found David in his dressing room, and his PR man didn’t look happy.
“They’re up to something.”
“Oh, my God! Did they find the porn stash on my tablet?” David asked, looking worried.
“Porn stash?” Kristen asked.
“Ignore him. David thinks he’s funny at inappropriate times,” Frank said to his PA and then turned back to his client. “They said they didn’t have any set questions; they would just see where the interview went.”
“If it gets too intense, I’ll show them my new eyebrow trick,” David said as he proceeded to make them dance back and forth.
Frank was having one of his migraines, while Kristen looked jealous of his talent.
“Chill out,” David said. “How long have I been doing this?”
“They also switched who is interviewing you. It’s Harriet Chanson,” Frank said.
“That’s not good,” Kristen worried.
David got a big grin. They’d planned to have Freddie Leister interview him. He was an entertainment reporter who was well past retirement age. Harriet, on the other hand, was relatively new. She’d gotten a name for herself by asking wildly inappropriate questions. The Brits loved people who made snarky, hurtful comments.
What made David smile was that she was currently on his top ten list of women he’d like to spend quality time with in the UK. He’d made the list after finals to kill some time. He had a hunch Harriet was a naughty girl in the sack.
Frank caught his grin, which was immediately replaced with David’s ‘I’m a little angel’ face that he’d been working on since he was five. The PR man had the same reaction his parents did when they saw it: he scowled.
“Relax. Everything will be fine,” David predicted.
◊◊◊
He made a point of not going to the set until the very last moment. He didn’t want to give Harriet a chance to ‘chat him up’ beforehand.
“We are back in four, three, two …” came from the control room.
David took his seat at ‘two’ and saw the relief on Harriet’s face. Then the cameras’ red lights came on, and she immediately assumed her professional reporter demeanor.
“With us is David A. Dawson …”
She droned on, giving his credits and the obligatory mention of his Academy Award win.
“David is in the latest release in the James Bond franchise, Devil May Care, where he plays Ian Bond. Welcome.”
“Thanks for having me,” he said, giving her his sexiest half-smile.
Adrienne, the supermodel, as well as David’s friend and modeling mentor, would be proud of that one. Most women found that smile arousing. His friends called it ‘the panty dropper.’ Harriet appeared to be immune.
“The franchise’s sales have been declining since its peak when Skyfall was released in 2012. That film grossed nearly a billion euros in worldwide sales. What do you attribute that to?”
David had been taught to go quiet and think through his answer when he was thrown a curveball. He knew they would cut out the dead air in a taped interview, but this was live. Harriet knew that he would have no answer for that because it wasn’t his job to market the film and get butts in the seats.
David sorted through his options and then picked one.
“I wondered why they worked so hard to get me to sign on.”
His answer threw her off her game. After a momentary pause, Harriet asked, “Why do you say that?”
There is a rule when interviewing. You tried to never ask a question you didn’t think you knew the answer to.
“I bring a demographic that’s been a bit on the decline: younger women and older teens,” David said.
“Oh, yes. The cheeky American bad boy, Ian Bond. That must have been an easy role for you to play.”
“I don’t know about the ‘bad boy’ part, but I do like to have fun,” he said and then hurried on. “But they have done their homework. Most women think that the James Bond character is sexy. They are willing to go to an action thriller if there’s some eye candy. The problem is, the actors playing Mr. Bond are getting older.”
“Are you saying older men aren’t sexy?”
“No, I’m not saying that at all. I mean, you were recently seen out on the town with Richard Pendergast. I’ve heard that women are looking for someone mature and stable,” David said.
Trying to make points for both the movie and his fellow actor and ‘Bond dad,’ he continued.
“In fact, there are a lot of women who are attracted to the mature, debonair types such as Stewart Thatcher, but not all women are,” he added.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, I guess. It’s just that women in the States are more independent. They aren’t necessarily looking for a father figure. They want someone who’s … well … fun and less inhibited.”
“Richard isn’t a daddy figure,” Harriet blurted out.
“If you say so.”
They decided to go to a commercial break when Harriet looked like she wanted to throttle David.
“You cunt. Are you taking the piss or what?”
An important-looking guy pulled her off the set to ‘have a word.’
David looked behind the cameras and saw Frank. If the UK didn’t have such strict gun laws, he might have been worried. Frank either planned to shoot him or eat a gun. Personally, he thought the interview was going well. He gave Frank a thumbs-up.
David got nervous when Harriet came back with a smile on her face.
“We are back in four, three, two …”
“Before the break, you mentioned that James Bond was a ladies’ man. Does that carry over into real life?”
The evil girl was setting him up. It didn’t matter if he said ‘yes’ or ‘no’ because either would give her an opening.
“I guess you would have to ask one of them. I play his son,” David said.
“But you said they hired you for your sex appeal. I mean, we see reports of you with different women, but it never looks serious. Have you ever fallen in love? Or do you just have serial conquests?”
He ignored the last part and got a serious look.
“I’ve thought I was in love several times, but I’m a hopeless romantic,” he admitted.
“So, you’ve never really been in love?” Harriet pressed.
“Twice, actually. The first was the proverbial ‘girl next door.’ We met in grade school, and we became best friends.”
“Why didn’t it work out?”
“She left for prep school, but she’s still one of my closest friends.”
“What about the other one?”
“She dumped me,” David said and let his head hang. “She said it was her, but we all know what that means.”
“Did you cheat on her?”
He got a surprised look and stared at Harriet for a heartbeat.