With the sex. Maybe. At the RinCon courtesy suites? That was when I started to put pieces together. Amid talk of hacking VR for porn, and turning costumes 3D with rendered assets. When I couldn’t ignore what was right in front of me any longer.
“Wait. What?” I rewound, and landed on my conversation with Chet.Our artists struggle to translate 2D into something with depth.“No...”
But yes. It was brilliant. What if his artists didn’t have to imagine it? What if someone gave them a real-life model to work from? Maybe they already did that. Was that a thing? Could it be my thing?
I’d make it mine. I found contact information for Charles Sanford on the KaleidoMation website, but it was a generic email. I wanted to get to him directly, and cross my fingers he was as big a fan as he’d said.
I sent Anne a quick message, asking if she knew anyone at work who could help me out, then dove into my proposal. I’d want to start with a simple email, to request a meeting. Then something brief—a high level overview including a few portfolio shots, but mostly a discussion of the concept. And a third that dove into details.
A reply came in to my message to Anne, but it was from Jax. Seeing his name in my email twisted me into a pretzel. The message itself, a digital copy of Chet’s business card, including a personalized email address, was as benign as could be.
I typed a dozen different replies, before settling onthank you.
My letter for Chet was ready. Send it now, the day after Christmas, and take a chance on it getting lost in all the messages he’d get over the holiday, or hold onto it?
Who was I kidding? I couldn’t sit on this for a week. I gave the entire thing another proofread, and hitsend. Now I’d wait, but it would be for someone else.
What next?
Talking to Grayson and Jax. I needed things to be right between us, and chasing them around in my head wasn’t getting us there. I could also return Chase’s messages, but I wasn’t ready to forgive him.
I sent Grayson and Jax a shared message, asking if we could talk.
Grayson’s reply came through seconds later.Can’t. Busy this week.
Oh. There was no room there to pick a date. Set a time at some point in the future. Just anope.
I couldn’t leave it at that.My schedule is flexible. When are you free?
Can’t say,Grayson replied.
Jax’s silence was at least as bad as Grayson’s stonewalling. What were my options? Showing up to their house unannounced. But that was rude, and it also showed I didn’t believe Grayson’sbusy. I wasn’t sure if I did or not, but implying he was a liar wouldn’t help the conversation.
I needed to give them a more concrete request. An invitation with a specific date and time, that didn’t leave any room for guessing about when they were busy. They probably already had plans for New Year’s, but what if I could make things right, and recreate that missed moment with Jax, way back when? Reset that first misunderstanding, when Chase tried to tear us apart.
I’d give it a day before I sent the request. Let them simmer on things the way I had been.
Another ping from my email derailed my thoughts. A reply from Chet already. That had to be a good sign.
Sadie,
It’s great to hear from you. I’m definitely interested in your proposal. If you have something you can email, send it over and I’ll get back to you.
I’ve been watching the public side of your legal situation. I hope things are all right on that front.
I need talk to some people here, before I can get you more of an answer.
Was this his polite way of brushing me off? He was being kinder about it than anyone in Hollywood. I sent my proposal over, as requested, but with him mentioning my legal issues, I didn’t expect I’d ever hear back from him.