A sudden chill made its way down Nancy’s spine. If the electronic voice on the phone yesterday had been Dwayne’s, she was now trapped.
“What did you say your name was?” Dwayne had a pen poised over a small pink index card.
“Diane Elliot,” Nancy said, looking the agent squarely in the eye. “With two Ls and one T.”
“That’s a good name for an actress. You’re lucky.” He smiled. “Now tell me, Diane, why did you come to me? There are hundreds of agents in this city.”
“Well, Mattie spoke so highly of you, Mr. Casper,” Nancy began. Dwayne’s face grew pink with pleasure. “And I know you once represented Rick Arlen—”
At the mention of Rick’s name, the agent’s face clouded over. “Ah, yes, the irrepressible Mr. A.”
“He’s not with you anymore, is he?” Nancy was being bolder than she liked to be, but she had to lead Dwayne on.
“Rick? His real name is Richard Aburtuski, by the way. No, he’s no longer one of my clients. I don’t deal with failures, Ms. Elliot.”
Nancy looked genuinely surprised. Dwayne laughed derisively. “You think I’m being ridiculous—after all, he’s at the height of success! But I can tell you with certainty that leaving this agency is the biggest mistake Arlen ever made—except for his decision to be an actor, of course. The man can’t act his way out of a paper bag. He depends on his looks to get him by, but he’ll learn. They all learn eventually that the biggest factor in success is loyalty. And he has none.”
Dwayne’s face was red with anger. He wasn’t through on the subject of Rick Arlen, but just then the buzzer rang. “Whoever it is will go away,” he said. “I have no appointments scheduled today.”
The buzzer rang through the office once again, and then again and again. Finally Dwayne couldn’t stand it anymore. He bolted from his chair and unlocked the door. “I’m going to tell this idiot to go away. Do you have an appointment?” he yelled, hurrying through the reception area. “Because if you don’t, you’d better learn to read!”
“But, Mr. Casper! You must see me!” Bess’s voice was muffled through the door, but her sense of urgency came through loud and clear. “I’m a really great actress and I need an agent! Let me read for you, Mr. Casper, and you can judge for yourself!”
Laughing bitterly, Dwayne called through the door. “Young lady, I’m a very busy man, and I don’t handle street performers. Please leave me alone.”
“But I’m an actress! Just listen.” Bess began to recite a passage from Romeo and Juliet.
Good old Bess, Nancy thought with a smile. She really was quite an actress when she had to be. They had devised a plan: After Nancy was able to get inside Dwayne’s office, Bess would divert his attention so that Nancy could search it. As soon as Dwayne was out of sight in the reception area, Nancy began to rummage through the papers on his desk. The longer Bess was able to divert his attention from Nancy, the more Nancy would be able to find out. And from the sound of things, Nancy thought she just might have all day.
“And I sing, too! Just listen to this, Mr. Casper.” Bess launched into a well-known show tune in a loud, off-key voice.
“Please, young woman!” Dwayne begged. “Why don’t you go sing in the park or something? You’re giving me a headache!”
Aha! Nancy’s eyes opened wide as she looked at the papers in front of her. An eviction notice—and several large bills from creditors. Searching further, she found warnings from collection agencies, even threats. Dwayne Casper’s talent agency was obviously in desperate trouble.
“But, Mr. Casper, I’m the next Mattie Jensen! Everyone says I look just like her, except I’m prettier.”
“What?” Dwayne exploded. “Nobody, but nobody, ever was,” is, or will be prettier than Mattie Jensen! Mattie is one of a kind—absolutely unique!”
Nancy cocked her head to listen. It was clear to her that, where Mattie was concerned, Dwayne’s interest was more than just professional.
“Well, I’m unique, too, Mr. Casper—terribly unique and incredibly talented!”