Reunion_(6)

Chapter 1

I was walking around the party with my drink in hand. Conversations were happening in small groups all over the place, around the pool. I just stepped out to have a cigarette. Nobody in this town smokes, so I had to go off to a secluded area by the fence.

I lit up my cigarette, and looked around at the people gathered at the party. There were actors, musicians, directors, and models everywhere. The party was for a charity of some kind. The actress that I was dating wanted to come, so here we are. The party cost me ten grand per ticket, but it’s not like I couldn’t afford it.

I’m the money man behind some of the biggest movies made in the last decade. It’s not a bad deal. I front the money to make the movie, then get my money back when the movie comes out, plus a hefty percentage of everything afterwards. I get a cut of DVD, Blue Ray, digital, streaming service rental, and TV runs. I also get a production credit in the movies that I finance, so.

I didn’t grow up rich, or anything. I actually lucked into the business really. Straight out of high school, I joined the Army. I had no way to go to college. My grades weren’t good enough for scholarships, and my mom raised me on welfare. I joined because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

I was halfway through my enlistment when I bought a lottery ticket. It was the biggest jackpot ever, at the time. Everybody was buying tickets. Three hundred million was a lot of money not to try, and I won.

The Army discharged me honorably, because the winnings far exceeded the SGLI which was two hundred fifty grand. I opted for the thirty year payout. It was ten million a year. After taxes, I only saw six and a half.

I moved out to Los Angeles, where I bought a nice house. My neighbor was in the business, and he’s the one that talked me into investing in movies. I took a million dollars, and went in with him on a movie. It hit big, and I tripled my money. The next movie, I put in two million. This went on for a couple of years, and the money just kept rolling in. I made enough to invest in a movie all on my own, and my first solo investment was a superhero movie. That movie made me a mint. The studio and I have worked so well together, that I finance all of their movies, and TV shows. All they do are superhero stuff, and always make tons of money for the studio, and me. Now that lottery money goes straight to a Veteran’s Charity.

Anyway, I was smoking a cigarette, when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, and saw that there was a notice on my Facebook app. When I opened it, it showed that I was invited to my high school twenty year reunion. I read over the invite, and saw that it was scheduled for the summer. It was going to be a week long event at different places each day.

It sounded like it might be fun, so I hit the maybe button. Just as I put my phone away, Katherine came out to join me. We’ve been dating for a few months. She had just divorced her husband, who was a director, and I was at the right place, at the right time. We bumped into each other at a café on Rodeo Drive, and got to talking with each other. We hit it off, and have been dating ever since.

She is British, moved here in her early twenties to act. I’ve seen a bunch of her movies, and thought that she was taller. She’s only 5’5″, and petite, with curves in all the right places. Her B cup breasts fit her frame perfectly, and her ass is to die for. Her long black wavy hair makes her look that much more exotic.

“I’m just about done with this party.” She said lighting up her cigarette. “How about you?”

“Yeah, I’m tired of people trying to pitch their movies to me.” I said. “I’m here for charity, not for work.”

“Well, finish your drink, and I’ll finish this. Then maybe we can go back to your place?” She asked.

I flicked the cherry off my cigarette, and placed the butt into the trash.