Concierge Confidential Read Online Free Page A

file in this cabinet. we’ve got a DP, an editor, a sound guy, and see what you can do with Ivan Kane or Pamela London. We need to get them in front of more casting directors.”
    What about Charlie and Martin? I wondered. What are we doing with them ?
    â€œOkay,” I said, excited. I opened up the envelope and went through it. The breakdowns were like want ads for TV shows, listing whatever creative and technical positions were needed at the time. I began fishing through the files, trying to figure out what the hell a “DP” was.
    â€œI’ve got a ten o’clock appointment,” Glennis soon told me. “I’ll be back!” Her hair ready to go, she left the office in the same kind of fury in which she’d come.
    Then, Charlie called again. “Hey, is Glennis there?”
    â€œOh, you just missed her. Sorry!”
    â€œOh, damn. So, going to be an agent?”
    â€œI’m keeping the options open, but yeah, I think it’s the right place to start before moving into production one day.”
    â€œCool,” he said, hanging up.
    I went back to learning the breakdowns, trying to put two and two together. After a couple of hours Glennis came back. “You didn’t put my curlers away,” she said.
    â€œI’m sorry. I didn’t realize you wanted them put away,” I told her, just wanting everything to be okay.
    She brushed away my apology. “I need you to get me lunch at Hamburger Hamlet. I want you to get a cheeseburger, have it cut into quarters, and have each of those pieces put on its own bun. Medium rare.”
    â€œSure,” I said. I could feel them rolling their eyes over the phone when I gave them the order. They knew Glennis well at that point and knew exactly what she wanted. They used to have their version of sliders called “baby cheeseburgers” on the menu, but they had long since discontinued them. Glennis didn’t need to know that little detail. The mission was four baby burgers, no matter how it happened. It was the ’80s and it was Hollywood, and everybody had their own food quirks—especially at such an industry-frequented place.
    I brought the burger back to the office and stood there, not really knowing what to do with it. It was four buns with little pieces of meat, just like she wanted. Glennis was on the phone, but vaguely gestured at me to get her a plate. I brought in the food and put it down in front of her. She vaguely gestured for me again, this time for me to sit down. For fifteen minutes I sat and watched her on the phone. “Why didn’t you tell me Charlie called?” she immediately said when the call was over.
    â€œUh…” He hadn’t specified to tell her that he had called. I’d thought that we were all part of this big happy machine here, and he was just content to check in to see if she was there. That’s when I realized that maybe I wasn’t in the biz, that this wasn’t a tea party—and I had to figure out how to take better care of Glennis.
    Glennis gave me a look that said “ Hello, is anyone home up there?” Suddenly, Charlie didn’t matter. From that point forward, I did everything I could to avoid ever ever ever getting that look again. I was a quick learner, and my new goal was clear. As long as she was tended to, my instinct told me, everything else would fall into place.
    Now the service bug was in me.
    The curlers became a morning ritual. I always plugged them in first thing when I got there in the morning. One day she was late, and the curlers turned off. I went, got the water and restarted them. I get it, I thought to myself with pride. I get how to make this lady tick. She’s going to be so happy now .
    Every day, I busied myself with the breakdowns and submitted candidates. I started to get good at understanding the roles. I’d tell Glennis how many people I submitted and give her all the phone numbers. She had what