The Legendary Actor - Chapter 36

Andy Rogers pushed open the door to Pioneer Village and waited for the porch to be empty, then lifted the red curtain and entered the bar.

He didn’t like St. Patrick’s Day because it was neither as profitable as Christmas nor as easy to pick up women as with Valentine’s Day, and he didn’t see the need for it.

“Sir.” A smiling woman with a stack of disposable paper plates in her hand walked up to him on the right, “We’re not open until five today.”

At the sound of the voice, the shallow curve of Andy’s mouth naturally lifted, his eyes narrowed into slits, and his chubby cheeks flushed in pale pink, looking as affable as Santa Claus. Andy’s opening friendliness brought a big smile and a “Happy Holidays” in return, “I’m here looking for a young man named Renly Hall.

“Oh, Renly!” The light-heartedness that appeared between the other party’s eyebrows was reflected in Andy’s eyes, “There he is.”

Following directions, Andy could see two people sitting in the other corner of the bar, next to a man in a little elf costume who was jumping for joy, “Haha! I knew it! I knew it!” Then he started spinning around, yelling to the others, “I won, I won, I knew Renly would be convinced by Stanley, hahahahaha! What about bets? What about the stakes?”

The joyous scene made the bar explode with excitement, and others joined in the celebration, “So, you came to see Renly for what …?” The questioning voice in front of him caused Andy to withdraw his gaze, the kind and amiable smile on his face still giving a breath of fresh air, “I’m an old friend, old friend.”

“Oh, I see.” The woman gave a look of sudden realization, then said in a friendly manner, “We will be having a party here tonight, everyone is welcome to attend, if you don’t have an appointment, you are welcome to join us.”

Andy still had a warm smile on his face, “People always tell me that New York is a cold city, but it seems that I was wrong.” There was no positive answer, but he managed to get a big smile out of the waiter.

“Renly!” They turned their heads and shouted, “An old friend is visiting!” Then she turned her head and again extended her goodwill to Andy, “I hope you have a wonderful time in New York.” When Renly walked away, she took the paper plate and stepped briskly toward the party table.

Andy put his hands behind his back and carefully examined Renly, who was standing in front of him.

“Good afternoon.” Renly’s footsteps stopped three steps away, and his gaze politely searching the memories in his mind, but he found that none of the images matched, “I think this should be our first meeting, right?”.

The man in front of me looked about 40 years old, slightly chubby, wearing a neat and strict three-piece suit, a black suit with a dark gray vest, and with Langley’s eyes it was immediately apparent that this was a set of handmade suits, although not as high-end as London’s Savile Row, but at least it was starting at $2,000.

It is probably Italian craftsmanship.

Vest buttons are all buttoned up, but still can not hide the slight bulge of the beer belly, you can even feel the pain of the buttons squeezing into Andy’s. But the fit of the cut, strict lines, straight design – every detail reveals the atmosphere of elite and can easily make people overlook the General’s belly, even if it skews the image.

“This is indeed our first meeting, Andy Rogers.” Andy took the initiative to extend his right hand, being the first to express friendliness.

The image of Maitreya Buddha came to his mind with his red face and smile, which made him bite his teeth hard to avoid laughing in his face, “Did you come all the way here for the party tonight?”

Although it was only the first time that Renly and the other party had met, Renly behaved appropriately, not being pushy, but instead greeting the other party politely.

Andy was still smiling, “I can feel it, it’s a party all over everywhere today.” But he still didn’t give a positive answer, instead he looked around, “Why don’t we sit down first? My heart needs a break.” The self-talk easily brought the two of them closer together.

In this short period of time, Andy’s forehead was sweating again, not because of too much exercise, but because of the high temperature in the room, Andy didn’t take off his suit jacket, so naturally he sweated easily. “Neil, can I get a soda here?” Renly turned back and shouted.

“If it’s Coke, that’s great.” Andy was surprised by Renly’s thoughtfulness and consideration, but all his thoughts were hidden behind that simple, and instead of thanking him, he made a request – an insignificant request, really.

Renly could not help himself, “Forgive me for being rude,” Turning back again, “Neil, Coke.”

Neil took a can of Coke from the bar and a glass, expertly filled it with a few ice cubes, and placed it in front of Andy. Andy smiled before nodded and thanking him, and waited until Neil left. Then he poured out the Coke, took a big sip, and relaxed.

Andy was in no hurry, and Renly seemed even less so.

Andy found this very interesting. From the information he heard, Renly was only just twenty years old this year, which is the age of restlessness, eagerness, and impulsiveness, but the young man in front of him showed a calmness and steadiness that transcended his age, and the image he heard gradually began to match the real person.

“Aren’t you curious as to who I really am?” Andy said with a smiling face, looking as if Santa Claus was asking a child what he really wanted for a present.

The corners of Renly’s mouth tugged in a shallow curve, “As far as I know, you are probably not my admirer.”

“Haha.” This little humor made Andy chuckle softly, “Actually, it’s okay for you to say that, I’m kind of an admirer.” As expected, Andy saw a touch of surprise and a hint of confusion in Renly’s eyes.

From the inside pocket of his suit, Andy took out a small silver metal box, the size of a palm, very delicate, seemingly an expensive antique. Andy then clumsily opened the silver box with his sweet, thin fingers, took out a business card, and handed it to Renly, “Please allow me to formally introduce myself.”

It was a pearl-white card. On the fingertips, you could feel the intricately designed dark black letters on it. Elegant letters were simple but appropriate.

Andy introduced himself curtly as “agent” without any adjectives.

In fact, the business card could tell us that he is a senior broker at Creative Artists Agency – not only one of the top five brokerage firms in the industry but also a leader in it, sitting on top of the Hollywood brokerage business for over two decades – the absolute king of the industry.

Those who do not have confidence, they tend to talk like crazy to put some protective layers on themselves, hoping to intimidate the other party; but for those who are really strong, they will choose to speak with strength. The kind of confidence that comes from the inside out is very different.

In just one meeting, Renly had a deep impression of Andy.

“Agent?” Renly’s eyebrows lightly raised, as if he didn’t realize how rare Andy’s personal visit was, as if he didn’t notice that Andy’s backer was an innovative artist brokerage firm, “Why? “This question stunned Andy, who then laughed dumbly, “I mean, why me? I don’t remember posting a personal video on the YouTube.”

That joking remark made Andy smile a little wider.

Almost every young person with dreams of stardom, who worked so hard to post videos on YouTube or braved the rain to audition for “American Idol” had the ultimate goal of attracting the attention of the industry. If an agent is impressed, it’s a joyous occasion worth celebrating, and it was not just invitation by some Scrooby McGee, but by Creative Artists Agency – and Andy believed that Renly noticed the details on the business card and, even if he was not that ecstatic, at least he shouldn’t be so nonchalant about it.

“So, you have no interest in standing in the limelight?” Instead of answering the question directly, Andy asked a question back.

Riley, however, raised an eyebrow, “Should I be worried about leaking my personal information right now?” He gave a rhetoric instead.

“Haha.” After a short encounter, the twenty-year-old in front of him brought a lot of surprises, and after a restrained smile, Andy revealed the answer, “I know you’re in “The Pacific”, and I watched an internal screening.