Moments Lost and Found (12 page)

Thursday night was the premiere of
one of The Network’s new shows. Laurent’s strategy was a rolling launch,
essentially premiering new series monthly. While the initial launch was more
traditional with multiple shows premiering at once, Laurent wanted to sustain
interest throughout the year. With audiences having so many choices, and
craving something new constantly, he wanted to make sure he could feed that
need. It amazed Sam the appetite that people had for ever-more new content. She
herself couldn’t understand it, but she couldn’t argue with the numbers.
Laurent knew what he was doing, each month’s numbers besting the previous. She
wondered how long he could sustain it, but with a seemingly endless supply of
quality content, it appeared he could go on like this for quite a while.

She wondered why the traditional
networks continued to produce and acquire the same mediocre shows over and over
again. She knew that Laurent wasn’t afraid to take risks, and that had
something to do with it, surely. But it wasn’t just that. She knew that his
approach with the show creators was similar to his approach with her and her ad
campaign for The Network. Once she proved to him that she had the right idea,
he let her run with it. She assumed that he did the same with the writers and
directors of the shows on his Network. Unlike traditional networks where every
level of the development team up to the president of the network gives notes to
the show, Laurent never once meddled, which was surprising given his penchant
for control. He knew his strengths, one of which was spotting talent and
quality. He was confident enough to let those he hired do their job. So maybe
that’s why his programming was so good, he actually left it to the people whose
vision it was to create the show rather than pander to every worried exec that
something might not appeal to every single person across the country.

Even though the actual “Network”
itself was platform agnostic, as in, audiences could get its shows on any
possible device be it computer, tablet, phone or old fashioned TV, Laurent
still believed that a big opening was critical.

 “I can’t just tell people it’s
a big deal, I have to show them.” He would say. And Sam couldn’t argue.
Audiences still loved the glamour of Hollywood, and having a big red carpet
event with stars and gowns and media showed the world — both the industry
and audiences alike— that the ‘studio’ believed in its product. Of
course, anyone who knew Laurent knew that if it had his name on it, he believed
in it. He would rather shut down production before a series saw the light of
day than release something that he couldn’t honestly say was something he would
watch or recommend. And there were a few series that he did just that. The
scripts read great, but once production started, what was on the page did not
translate, whether it was the actors or director or a combination of the two,
bad was bad. And audiences were discerning enough and had enough options to say
no to something that wasn’t quality.

Not that there weren’t plenty of
shows on air that were horrifically awful, both in terms of the statement they
made about society as well as, well, everything else about them. Most of these
were reality shows which Laurent refused to have anything to do with. No matter
how his small development team sang the praises of cheap production and endless
audiences, Laurent couldn’t stomach the crap. For now, The Network was all
scripted dramas and comedies. At some point, Laurent planned to add sports as
he thought that was the ultimate ‘reality’ show. But for now, it was just good,
quality series.

Sam was surprised there was a
development department at all, knowing how involved he was and what his
expectations were. But, he obviously realized that he couldn’t do everything
and placed trusted advisors in those roles.

Sam had accompanied Laurent to most
of his openings, and she was getting more and more used to the red carpet, the
flashbulbs, the reporters. Not comfortable, by any means, but now she knew what
to expect: Red carpet schmooze standing on Laurent’s arm as he answered some
blond bimbo’s inane question about the show that anyone who had done even the
slightest amount of research would know, then mingling inside the theatre with
the director, producer, actors and the bevy of agents and industry folk. Then
finally the show.

And, before every ‘premiere’, a
garment box would arrive at Sam’s office. At first she tried to dismiss
accepting the cocktail dresses and gowns that he sent. But she learned quickly
and knew Laurent well enough to know that this wasn’t worth arguing about. If
he wanted to see her in whatever he sent over, she acquiesced and eventually
realized that it pleased him to see her in what he had bought. After the first
couple premieres, there was a tacit agreement between them that on the night of
an opening, Laurent would send a present to Sam’s office. Not that she ever
expected one, and of course, always came with a backup plan B, but Laurent
never failed to deliver. And dress after dress would arrive. Natali, Sam’s
assistant would still get giddy at every new arrival and beg for a modeling of
whatever the box held, and Sam would dutifully don the apparel, half rolling
her eyes, half feeling like a princess, something no one had ever before made
her feel like.

So this premiere was much like the
others. Sometimes a town-car, but more often a limo, picked Sam up at her
office. When she got in, she would always find a very dashing Laurent waiting
for her in a black suit with a black tie. She had seen him in a tux before, but
for premieres he chose suit and tie, but verging on a tux version of that.

Sam entered the limo and saw him
waiting inside for her. His smile looked especially devilish this evening.

 “
Bon soir, Monsieur Román
.”
Sam said as she slid in, turning towards him and placing her right hand on the
inside of his right thigh as she kissed him on both cheeks and then on the
lips. Laurent immediately grabbed her wrist and held her there once their lips
met. He deepened the kiss and Sam immediately softened enjoying his lips, his
tongue and his strong grip on her wrist.

 “You look lovely, as always,
Ms. Davis.” He smiled as they finally broke apart, though he hadn’t yet
released her wrist, “Where ever did you find such an alluring dress?” Sam
wasn’t surprised that she found ‘playful’ Laurent in the limo. He enjoyed
seeing his purchases on her and she enjoyed modeling them for him. This one was
a simple long black sheath, with enough tailoring to come in at the waist, show
a deep V at the neck, and a long slit up the thigh.

 “My Laurent bought it for me,
of course.” Sam replied as they continued to kiss and play with each other.
Laurent pulled her away for a moment.

 “Your, Laurent? What is that?”
he asked playfully. She loved when he was like this.

 “
Mais, toi, bien sur.”
She leaned in and kissed him again, this time taking the moment to lift her
dress so that she could straddle him. “Calling you my boyfriend feels so…” Sam
was searching for the word, “juvenile,
non
? You’re not just my
boyfriend,” Sam said as she started to shift against him, her dress now no
barrier, she could feel him growing, “You’re my,
comment on dit
,
Laurent!”

Laurent liked playful Sam as much as
she liked that side of him. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as she
shifted from side to side on top of him, not grinding into him, but grazing
against him enough to make an impact. “I’m your, ‘how do you say’ Laurent?” he
laughed. “I do not know, Samantha, how do you say it?” He asked as he placed
his hands on her hips and pulled her to him harder, now they
were
grinding and Sam let her head drop back and her eyes close as she released a
low groan. “Hmmm, is that how you say it,
Cheri
?” She brought her head
back up, smiling a mischievous closed mouth smile and nodded, “mmmhmmm” which
made Laurent laugh heartily.

 “Ok, Samantha, we’re going to
be walking the red carpet in about five minutes, so unless you suck me off
very, very quickly, you’re going to need to get off my lap now.” Sam tilted her
head and looked at him, then the corners of her mouth raised before she looked
down at the hard-on that was evident in his pants. She raised her eyebrows and
started to shift as if she were going to get down on her knees but he held her
in place.

 “I don’t believe I’ve ever
turned you down, Samantha, but even you, with your very talented mouth, might
not be able to make that happen so quickly.” He smirked.

 “You know I never back down
from a challenge, Laurent.” She said, trying to work her way out of his grasp.
He laughed and stilled her.

 “You’re awfully happy this
evening, Samantha.”

 “And I’m just trying to make
you happier.” She said with a playful smile.

He smiled and raised his eyebrows as
he slowly guided her off his lap, “
Cheri
, the thought of your lips
wrapped around me right now is, mmm, it’s a very, very nice thought. But I need
to meet reporters in a matter of minutes.” He paused as if thinking of the
potential and then said, “Who knew I would ever wish for more LA traffic?”

Sam nodded, “I know.” As she
straightened her dress,  “But I do have fun playing with you.”

 “Oh, Samantha, me too. Don’t
ever doubt that. Now, I think you may need to reapply your lipstick. I might
have messed it up kissing you just now.”

Sam rolled her eyes as she grabbed
her clutch, “It’s not like they’re interviewing me, Laurent. I’m just your arm
candy.”

 “Very, very sweet arm candy,
Cheri
.”
All Sam could do was smile. She chuckled to herself that very few, if any,
other men could get away with a line like that. But somehow, Laurent could. And
did.

She reapplied her lipstick and
checked her hair before the limo finally stopped. She took a deep breath as
Laurent crossed over her so that he would be the first one out, and able to
help her out. Ever the gentleman.

The red carpet was the same as
always. The same questions by different media outlets. Sam was always amazed at
how Laurent could turn on the charm for each one. Lord knows she had seen his
gruff side, and she could imagine him rolling his eyes at all the pomp and
circumstance, but he was a businessman at heart and knew that doing these
interviews was just part of doing business. Sam had almost gotten over the ego
of being his arm piece. She knew it wasn’t her, per se. It was just whoever was
his plus one.

Once they got inside, it was
typically more phoniness, but at least there was no more media. Ever since the
incident in Paris, the minute they got out of the limo and the flashbulbs
started flashing, Sam’s heart would start beating faster and she couldn’t help
but get anxious. Of course, she knew that nothing like what happened there
could or would happen at one of these events, but it was an unpleasant reminder
nonetheless.

The usual scenario was they’d mingle
for 30-45 minutes in the theatre lobby prior to the ‘curtain call’, so she knew
it was just a bit more schmoozing before they could relax and watch the show.

This happened to be one of the more
interesting premieres, for Sam at least. In the lobby, they had a chance to
talk with the series creator, James Willen. Sam was familiar with his previous
work, most notably the long-running and edgy Emmy winning cable series
The
Badge
. Everything she had heard about him reminded her of what she had
heard about Laurent prior to meeting him: intense, perfectionist, could be a
prick at times, good looking man in his early 40s. So it wasn’t surprising that
the two men got along. Actually, it could go either way. Two alpha males
battling to be top dog, but in this instance there just seemed to be mutual
respect and admiration.

 “Laurent!” James said
enthusiastically as he held out his hand and clapped him on the back as they
approached and shook hands.

 “James, good to see you!”

 “You too, Laurent, you too.”

 “I’m glad the rest of the
world will finally get a chance to see your new work! I screened the revised
pilot earlier this week and I have to say, James, I think it’s going to be one
of the best series on The Network.”

 “Not the best?” James teased.

Laurent chuckled and then said,
“James, I’d like you to meet Samantha Davis.” As he gestured towards Sam.

 “Hi, James, good to meet you.
You can call me Sam.” Sam said as she shook his hand.

 “Good to meet you too, Sam.
And thank you for the great key art. I understand you’re responsible for the
show’s campaign?”

Sam smiled, “Well, there’s a team
behind me, but thank you, I’m so glad you like it. I’ll be sure to share that
with the folks who worked on it back at the office.”

 “Have you seen the pilot, Sam?
What did you think?” James asked.

Sam was surprised he was asking her
opinion. Though in Hollywood, egos were fragile and needed constant stroking.
“I saw the rough cut a couple months back, and before that I read the scripts,
so that we’d have a sense of the series.” Sam knew that confidentiality was high
on everyone’s mind, so it was always important to remind them why she and her
creatives would see unfinished work since no one ever wanted outsiders seeing
their product before it was ready. “But I haven’t seen the final, no.”