My eyebrows fly up, and I can’t help the smile that splits my face. Her strong personality and independence are a huge fucking turn on. It also makes me anxious to tame all that fire in the bedroom. I have no doubt that this chemistry between us is going to be explosive.
“I didn’t realize they’d filled the AVP position. I apologize for jumping to conclusions,” I say with genuine remorse. “I guess I just assumed Carson sent me a lackey to make a point.”
Colette’s mouth curves up at one corner and her brown eyes sparkle with mild amusement. “You aren’t entirely wrong,” she admits. I laugh and her smile grows, making her beautiful face absolutely stunning. “While I am AVP, I’m new and haven’t yet earned all of the weight that comes with the position. He had two reasons for sending me. One, for me to get some experience and two,”—she tilts her head to the side and smirks—“to insult you.”
I chuckle and give her my most charming smile. Then I lean back to grab my briefcase from where I left it and open it to pull out a stack of papers. “Well, Colette, if experience is what you’re after, how about I make my case? Then you can practice exercising some of that authority to convince Carson to change his mind.”
Crossing her arms over her chest (making it hard as hell not to focus on her spectacular tits), Colette gives me a speculative stare. “Unlikely, but have at it.”
I push the stack of papers towards her and fold my hands on the table. “I assume you are familiar with Remington Vaughn?”
Colette nods, then lifts the first document and scans it. “Childhood actor. Then earned himself a reputation as a stunt performer and then went on to work strictly as a stuntman. He was on that show with Austin Hayes, right?
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you close with the Hayes brothers?” she asks as she glances up from another paper.
“Yes, we grew up together. I vaguely knew Remington as a kid. I only visited the set a few times, and he’s a couple of years younger than me and Austin. And, I only just agreed to be his agent six months ago.”
Her eyes narrow as she reads the next page and her expression clouds. I know what she was looking at and I assume she’s been apprised of Carson’s stubborn opinion and why he feels as he does. It’s no secret that his wife was killed by a driver under the influence.
“Drugs?” Her tone is disgusted and when she looks at me again, disappointment fills her brown eyes.
I sigh. “Don’t tell me you’re going to judge him without knowing all the facts like Grier. At least hear me out.”
Colette sets the papers down and leans back in her chair, waving a hand to indicate that I should continue. Her look says she doesn’t believe I can change her mind, but at least she is willing to listen.
“Like a lot of child actors, Remington fell into the wrong crowd and used drugs to deal with the pressure. Not that I’m excusing his using, but he did have a shitty home life and was forced to emancipate at fifteen. He was close with the Hayes brothers, and I think that’s why he stayed clean through the run of the show. He’d begun doing stunt work by then and became very sought after for his abilities. Then the show ended, and he decided to do stunt-work exclusively. There were a few incidents in the next few years, rumors about drugs and his fearlessness and recklessness on set but since they were only ever rumors, he kept his liability insurance. He managed to keep his using out of public record until he was twenty, and I know things came to a head with Grier Studios the following year.”
“You’re losing my interest, Mr. Grant,” Colette remarks when I pause.
“Tyson,” I correct, then give her a crooked smile.
“I’m getting there. I just think context is important.”
She lifts a brow but doesn’t say anything, so I go on. “Again, I’m not excusing Remington, drug use is a hard line with me, which is why I’ve never agreed to rep him until recently. When everything happened with the studio, Remington’s best friend had just been diagnosed with cancer. A few months after the studio—rightfully, I might add—cut ties with him, he was hospitalized and almost died from an overdose. He went into rehab as soon as he was released. Austin told me it was the best friend who convinced Remington to do it.
“He spent six months at a facility, then laid low for several years, getting his life straightened out. He even went to college, and he does a lot of outreach for kids. A little over a year ago, he decided to return to filming. Being older and with the amount of time he’d been sober, he’d just managed to get liability insurance again. Austin approached me about being his agent, but I turned him down. However, as a favor to him, I kept my eye on Remington and when he turned twenty-five six months ago, I felt like he’d proven himself, and he’s incredibly talented, so I agreed to sign him.”