"You said something about getting down to business?"
We'd talked the night before, more than I usually did with a stranger. But Dan Pierce was different.
He was a type I hadn't encountered before and he fascinated me.
He was tough, shrewd and knew what he wanted.
I was in over my head and I knew it.
I wouldn't be for long, but until I got the hang of it I could use someone like Dan Pierce.
"I sold my agency this morning to MCA."
"What for?"
"Because I'm coming in with you."
"Aren't you jumping the gun a little?" I asked.
"I'm only in for this one picture.
What’ll you do after that?"
Dan smiled.
"That's what you say. It even might be what you really believe, right now.
But I know different.
You got a feel for this business – a natural feel for it that not many people have.
And there's a challenge that you can't resist. You just found another gambling game. You'll stick."
I sipped at the coffee.
It was strong and black, just the way I liked it.
"And just how do you figure you can help?" I asked.
"Because I know all the angles in this business, all the dirty tricks it would take you a long time to find out about.
You're a busy man and time's the most valuable thing you've got.
I wouldn't be worth half as much if motion pictures were your only business.
But it's not. And it never will be.
It's just another game of craps."
I stared at him. "Give me a free sample."
"For one thing," he said quickly, "I wouldn't have started the picture until I'd had a sound test on everyone."
"That's something I already learned.
I want a sample of what I don't know."
He reached around behind him for a blue-covered script.
"If Rina comes off on the screen like that test indicates, we can make a few changes in this and save ourselves four hundred thousand dollars."
"How?"
"By building up her story and confining more of the picture to the New Orleans episode.
It'll save five weeks of exteriors and nobody knows yet how good those microphones work outside."
I reached for a cigarette. "If we did that," I said slowly, "what happens to Nevada?
His part would be cut way down."
Dan's eyes met mine steadily.
"Nevada's not my problem any more, he's MGA's.
I'm workin' for you now an' I figure you already used up all the sentiment you're entitled to on this picture. This is just like any other kind of business. The big thing is to make money."
I dragged on the butt and sipped at the coffee.
For the first time since Rina called, I was back to normal.
For a while, she'd had me spinning like a top.
I didn't know whether I was coming or going. I felt different now.
"What kind of deal do you have in mind?"
"No salary.
Just a ten-per-cent piece of the action and an expense account."
I laughed. "I thought you said you sold your agency."
"That's the only way I can figure my compensation without adding to your overhead."
"Don't kid me," I said.
"You'd be living off the expense account."