American Fame and Fortune

Chapter 13 Trump Card

After taking off his makeup and changing back into clothes, Martin came out of the temporary dressing room and went to a place that would not interfere with other people's work. After observing for a while, he found Fat Andrew.

While the other party was free, he walked over and said, "Mr. Andrew."

 Andrew still remembers Martin: “Didn’t you go to get the money? Can’t find the finance office?”

 Martin said with a smile: "I happened to see you when I came out. Come over and say thank you."

 Andrew had a good impression of him: "You did a good job."

Fatty is an employee who follows the boss’s footsteps closely. Martin changed the topic: “I will see my friend later and ask her to contact friends with the same aspirations. Then I will ask Mr. Andrew for help.”

"No problem." Andrew thought for a while and said, "Since you support the progress of freedom and are willing to contribute, you should also pay more attention to current social affairs. If you encounter anything that is not conducive to the Free Association, please notify me in time."

 Similar words he said to many people he knew, in order to please the boss.

 He keeps up with his boss in order to get promoted.

 Martin naturally responded.

A brand new BMW 7 Series drove up the farmer's road, attracting a lot of attention, and Andrew's eyes also turned there.

The car stopped, the young female assistant who got off the passenger side opened the rear door, and the short-haired woman in business attire lowered her head and got out of the car.

Andrew waved to Martin and strode towards that direction.

 Martin asked a passing extra: "Who is that? So impressive."

The steps did not stop before the performance, and he said casually: "The boss of the company."

 Martin understands, this is Kelly Gray, the backbone of the ATL Free Association.

Soon he discovered that Andrew couldn't talk to Kelly Gray, but was very familiar with the female assistant.

 Robert suddenly flashed over from behind: "Let's get the money together. I want to have a **** big dinner tonight!"

"Man, why don't you treat me to dinner tonight?" Martin asked.

Robert followed him towards the financial office: "Another day, another day."

It was less than four o'clock, and the filming of the scene belonging to the two of them had ended. They each signed and received a check for US$100, and went to the place where the extras were gathered.

 Martin saw Jerome and went directly over: "Captain, this is today's salary. I will pay the dues."

Now he can confirm that Jerome has certain abilities and connections in Atlanta's low-level actor market.

It's much better than just running around headless on his own.

Of course, the money cannot be given at once. There are more than 20 people in the troupe, including the old and new ones, so Jerome must always remember him.

Jerome put away the check and was extremely satisfied with Martin's attitude. When he made money, he immediately thought of paying it back, but he did not make a mistake.

 There is still $200 left, so don’t worry, he will be able to pay it back soon.

 People's hearts are sometimes complicated. Jerome was in a good mood and asked one more question: "Do you have living expenses? You can keep some."

  Martin said: “I work in nightclubs at night, and my income can support my basic life.”

Jerome put away the money, and Martin took the opportunity to ask about the situation of Gray Film and Television Production Company.

This is a local company in Atlanta. It is not large in scale and has never produced a theatrical movie. It often cooperates with cable stations to shoot late-night programs. It also invests some funds every year to produce video movies and sell them directly to the DVD market.

Owner Kelly Gray once studied at the University of Southern California, worked in Hollywood, and was greatly influenced by Californians. She is currently an active liberal in Atlanta.

 A little after four o'clock, a large number of extras returned. Martin and Robert followed the large group onto the bus and returned to downtown Atlanta.

Martin picked up the car, had dinner casually, and rushed to Saijo Avenue. Before he could park the car, the door of a Wrangler two parking spaces away opened, and there was a loud shout of "F".

Martin got out of the car and locked the door.

From the passenger seat of the Wrangler, a black woman with dreadlocks, a thick waist and a **** as big as a bucket, got out. She pointed at the car and cursed: "You loser, how dare you pick up girls in front of me! If I didn't pay for you, how could you be here today?" Now that you are rich, you dare to make me look bad!"

A bald black man came down from the other side: "Who are you calling a loser? Believe it or not, I kicked you for divorce."

The hot-tempered black woman became anxious and took out a bright silver pistol from her basketball-like chest: "Boyette, I'll open up your piece of shit."

Not to be outdone, Bald Boyet took out an M1911 and said, "Come on, let's see who finishes first." The old black couple pointed guns at each other, looking like they might shoot at any time.

Martin hurriedly moved away and came to the door of the club. He found that Brainless Ivan was watching with high interest and asked: "Do you know these two psychopaths?"

Ivan pointed to his head: "Aren't they all sick here?"

Bruce came out of the porch and slapped Ivan on the head: "Don't say such troublesome words at the door! We are civilized people!"

Ivan was very aggrieved: "What I said is a generally accepted fact. They are just like normal people. When they get a little emotional, they turn into brainless beasts."

At the door of the black bar opposite, someone ran out and stopped the black pair.

 Martin asked: “The person on the other side?”

Bruce said: "The man's name is Boyette, a black bar owner, and the woman is his wife, her name is Betty. They both have black gang backgrounds in South City."

 Martin scratched his head: "The couple used a pistol when they quarreled."

Bruce lowered his voice: "Black gangs have extremely violent tendencies."

 Martin remembered, if you encounter those two old black men in the future, stay away.

The two of them entered the club and changed clothes to go to work. There were very few customers tonight, with no more than 30 people at the most.

 Martin took a $1 tip and stuffed it into his pocket.

Bruce was envious: "I heard that every bartender has a unique skill, do you have one?"

Martin said: "Of course there is." He stretched out his hand to show some blues: "But not for civilized people, because civilized people like poster taste."

There is no special trick, just a few cocktails that have not appeared or are popular in this era, such as paper airplanes.

The tall, slender man with blond hair and ponytail came in from the outside at this time. When he saw Bruce, he complained: "Who is that **** at the door? He actually asked me to buy a ticket to enter."

 Martin doesn’t need to ask, it must be Ivan.

Bruce is just being silly.

　　The man with the ponytail turned to Martin: "Handsome guy, selling alcohol is a waste of resources! Vincent did something wrong, he put you in the wrong place!"

As he spoke, he went up to the second floor.

 Martin asked with his eyes.

Bruce replied: "The nightclub publicist Michael hired by the boss must have seen a lack of improvement in customer traffic. The boss called him over. This guy is going to be unlucky."

He teased Martin: "The bartender has to work part-time as a scavenger. It's our job to deal with Michael's body. Can you use acid? Eviscerate the bones?"

Martin said seriously: "I will let civilized people lick him into a big hole!"

 Bruce looked serious: "You still owe me a month's worth of posters and a big-assed actress."

 The former is easy to solve, but the latter is too troublesome. Martin forcefully changed the topic: "If the club closes, you will lose your job."

Bruce said: "No, the boss still has his trump card."

 Martin was curious: “What’s the trump card?”

“Solicit the opinions of your subordinates.” Bruce was obviously not joking: “Choose the best solution from them.”

He looked around the club: "When we changed careers, someone suggested opening a gigolo club. The boss made a choice and went to Las Vegas to investigate, and then opened the House of Beasts."

Martin said to himself, no wonder business is not good, the club originated from this unreliable method.

 He looked at the empty place and thought about it carefully.

 When he was free again, Martin asked: "The club's business situation is not good. Where is the person who made suggestions?"

 Bruce pointed to the ring stage: "The boss made Hart dance on it until things get better."

 (End of this chapter)