“They said you can cut this off.” She pulled off her maternity top off and slid up on the table. The doctor threw a sheet over her and started cutting. A few minutes later the cast came off. She pulled on the top. Now I can get rid of this and get into some real clothes. Denise looked over at her as she stood and stretched. “They made you wear that the whole time?”

“They put the nine month one on for the end of the first week and took it off on Friday. They try to schedule shoots so they only have to do it once. They put the cast around the waist back on last Monday. Each day at noon and each evening before I left they added more padding and plaster. I got a bigger and heavier every half day.”

Denise had some difficulty walking after the cast was taken off. Her leg was stiff. She was told to go home. If any re-shoots were needed they would know by morning and call her.

She called her business manager later in the day. “I finished the part. You should have money now.”

“You need to work. That will be gone in two weeks.”

She called her agent. Work was still scarce.

“What about Fritz?”

“I can call him.”

By the next afternoon she was scheduled for another movie. The role was not really significant and it paid only $250,000 but it was money. She screwed up the third day and came in three hours late and badly hung over. She was docked $50,000 per the contract. When she called Mark to see if there was work he laughed. “No. And you need to find another agent. I am tired of trying to get work for someone who will not try to stay sober. I suggest you call Fritz, eat crow and see if he will take you on. My notice of contract termination will be in the mail.”

Her business agent called several days later. There was money now to pay bills but she was recommending that Denise put the one of the cars and the house up for sale. Her current income would not support it. If she sold the house now she could get about two million dollars in equity. She could buy something smaller. She could buy a two and a half million dollar home and only need a little over $5000 a month for mortgage. But to do that she had to continue to find work. With her current work record no bank would write a mortgage. She told the agent to see if she could sell and have a real estate salesman call her. She called Fritz Productions and got a receptionist who referred her to someone who took her name and told her they would call if something came up.

The Realtor called in the afternoon and they looked at two homes. By the next morning the Realtor called again. She had a client to show Denise’s home. It was an established actor who wanted to move up to something bigger. After talking the Realtor asked if Denise would want to look at his current home that was in her price range. She did and late in the day it appeared that a swap of houses was possible. The actor’s home was less than one half the size of her home. All of it was on one floor but two loft rooms and it had a pool. The applications for the loans were completed and they left.

Three days later the Realtor called. Without prospect of steady work the loan would be denied. Denise called Fritz again and demanded to speak to him. Two hours later Donald Fritz called back. He told Denise to come in to discuss a contract the next morning.

Denise Chapter 01: Success in Hollywood

Denise Chapter 06: Denise Screws Up Again

Denise Chapter 08: Fritz Offers a Contract