Rise To Stardom - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: High-Profile
Kyle frowned.

‘The 9th Curator just had to shoot himself in the foot, didn’t he…’ the young man groaned in dissatisfaction.

‘Isn’t it like rule number one in The Curatorverse to never trust those damn Kalis…’

‘Still, it’s all thanks to all these recent showrunners and their dull, unengaging writing really…’

‘That and actors who never seem to realize that they can’t be playing the same character since the 5th Curator…’

‘What a disappointingly-mid season…’ he massaged his temples while staring at the credits for the last episode of the most recent season of [The Curator].

Truth be told, the past few four seasons of Kyle’s favorite TV show had always been mid for a while now.

But even with mid-shows, there was still a high to low grade… and the most recent season of the show skipped the grade counter entirely and comfortably settled on less than low; disappointing.

Sighing in resignation, he closed his laptop and stretched like a lazy cat on a lazy Sunday morning.

That said, it actually was a Sunday morning.

It had been a week since Kyle had finished filming and yet, the young man was yet to leave New York because Oliver had cajoled him to see the world a little, an advice he had actually taken seriously.

Having visited the most popular places in NYC like Times Square, The Statue of Liberty, The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and most especially, Broadway, which was the one he had the most fun visiting, Kyle was just whiling away time for the rest of today before he had to travel back to Canada tomorrow.

Unsure of his plans for the day though, the young man soon moved over to the bathroom to take a bath.

Coming out of the shower, a few beads of water still dripping from his hair, Kyle did all the necessary and proceeded to apply his cosmetics.

Despite having being given so many colognes and nice-smelling creams after the whole endorsement shenanigans, Kyle always stuck to his cheap peppermint cologne.

He’d been using it for as long as he could remember and honestly, it was a subtle smell that had become synonymous to his natural scent.

One that he found very comforting.

Plopping onto his bed after dressing up in casual wears, Kyle then picked up his phone only to notice a few missed calls on them.

“Jeffrey?” he muttered out loud, sitting straight back up on the bed.

No sooner had he wanted to call back, the young man heard a knock on the door, one that was from Oliver.

Letting the suave man in, Kyle listened to the man as he spoke;

“So, Jeffrey just called…”

“Yeah, I saw his missed calls too.” Kyle responded and then questioned;

“Do I have to reshoot some scenes? Is that why he called?”

Although Kyle knew that either Mark or Tom should’ve been the one to call if a scenario like that was in play, the young man really could not think on any reason as to why Jeffrey would call him so soon.

Even if they got along exceptionally well, Kyle couldn’t fathom the man beeping him just for callings’ sake. The old man had better things to do…

Kyle genuinely believed that.

“No, no, no. Far from that, he actually invited us to a party upstate.” Oliver corrected.

“Seriously?” Kyle widened his eyes in slight surprise.

“Yeah. After he asked if we were still in NYC and I gave him an affirmation, he suddenly requested for us to come.” the agent sat down on the only couch present in the small hotel room as he said.

“Hmmm. Curious…” Kyle muttered while placing a few fingers on his chin.

“Well I’m sure there’s no agenda behind it so why not accept the invite? Though I understand you’d rather stay indoors today, this might be a good chance for you to get acquainted and make a few connections here and there.” Oliver pointed out.

“So what’d you say? It’s your call.” he then gestured to the young man who was still pondering over the invite.

After a few seconds though, Kyle casually spoke, a tone of acceptance in his voice;

“Yeah sure. Why not?”

* * *

Getting out of the car, Kyle gazed at the large mansion before him, a distant, lively pop music gracing his ears.

Luxurious cars filled the sprawling courtyard of the mansion, making the simple car that Oliver had rented for the day, stick out like a sore thumb.

Not that either of them even cared though.

Oliver, calm as ever, casually began to make his way towards the entrance of the building with light steps.

Following him a few seconds later was Kyle and as they got closer to the entrance, the music getting louder, both met up with the bouncer who requested for their names on the list of invites.

Jeffrey had made sure their names were among tonight’s guest so they weren’t the least bit surprised when the man requested of it.

Due procedures followed, the bouncer ticked their names off the list and politely gestured for them to proceed.

Stepping into the mansion though, the first thought that came to Kyle’s mind was this;

‘High-Profile.’

And his thoughts weren’t unfounded because truly, a lot of celebrities currently at the party were very popular and well-known ones, all of whom were dressed in glamorous attires.

There was a well-known female musician who seemed to be having fun as she giggled with her clique of friends.

At one corner of the bar table were two drunk men, both of whom were A-listers. Whatever it was they had hammered themselves on though, they’d better stop undressing themselves.

‘Headlines. Headlines…’ Kyle suppressed a chuckle that was threatening to escape his lips.

There was even a popular male actor that Kyle had seen in a few popular rom-coms just last year, one whom was getting his tie pulled by a sexy model that led him to a secluded corner of the room.

‘Hmmm. Getting frisky I see. Should watch out for that paparazzi though…’ Kyle noticed a man discreetly capturing the sultry moment.

Taking his attention off those group of people though, Kyle took in the general state of the room and also noticed a few more high-profile actors and actresses, directors, musicians, producers and even some novelists, all mingling with each other and having fun.

But if there was a percentage population of individuals that truly outnumbered the people in the mansion, it would be the models.

Models who aspired to be actresses and would do whatever it took to achieve that goal.

A lot of them, dressed in the most sensually arousing attires, made their intentions clear.

‘I wish them the best. Godspeed.’ Kyle mused, unperturbed by the entire scenario.

“So, Kyle, make yourself at home.” Oliver turned to face him with a thin smile.

“I’m guessing this isn’t your first go at a party like this so, before you go, please enlighten me on the do’s and don’ts.” Kyle returned the smile with an arched eyebrow.

“You’ll figure it out. Just try to relax. And remember, make connections if you can. See if you can also locate Jeffrey along the way.” his agent gently patted him on the shoulder and said as he walked past;

“I’ll do the same too… after I check out the lavish wine collection here.”

“Don’t get hammered!” Kyle called out.

“I won’t.” Oliver waved him off, a rare hint of playfulness in his tone.

Sighing, Kyle gazed around the large lounge area, the loud and lively pop tune setting an energetic feel to the atmosphere.

Settling his eyes on the corner of the second floor, his eyes locking onto Jeffrey who was exchanging greetings with a group of individuals who were taking their leave, the young man made his way over to give his own greetings.

“Ah, Kyle. There you are!” Jeffrey embraced the young man with a warm hug the moment he saw him.

“Hello Jeff. Thanks for the invite.” Kyle gave a similarly warm smile as he responded.

“Oh it’s nothing. Those ungrateful runts Mark and Bruce bailed on me at the last minute so I figured I’d check if you were still in town and have you come instead.” the old Hollywood star explained.

“So, how’s the shoulder?” he then asked, a bit of concern etched on his aged features.

“Good as new.” Kyle pat the shoulder with a thin smile.

“That’s great. And remember, no more crazy shit from you for a long while kiddo.” he warned, one to which Kyle simply responded;

“I make no promises.”

Sighing in resignation at his words whilst also shaking his head, the old man questioned again;

“Say, where’s Oliver?”

“Perusing through the wine collection.” Kyle truthfully replied.

“That’s more like it. Should also head over to check it out. Haven’t had a break since I got here. It’s just been greetings and greetings upon greetings” Jeffrey replied in a way that wasn’t far off from his usual persona.

“Drink responsibly Jeff.” Kyle joked.

“Oh shut it kiddo. I’ve already lived long enough and completed life’s main quest. All that’s left, is simply ticking off side quests and roaming about doing whatever the hell I want.” Jeffrey played along.

Kyle instead, was evidently dumbfounded at the old man’s use of videogame lingo to reply and his eyes suddenly turned inquisitive as they widened.

“Oh don’t look at me like that. I have grandkids and they play videogames, religiously. Those were their words, not mine.” he shrugged, a smirk on his lips as he walked past a stunned Kyle who couldn’t help but burst into laughter a few seconds later.

“That’s a good one Jeff!” he called out to the man.

“And you better lighten up kiddo. Talk to a lady, have some fun, complete a few side quests!” Jeffrey waved him off as he left.

Once again left to his elements, Kyle decided to do as the old Hollywood star said – though he had no plans to get wasted or either find a lady to talk to.

Just observing the lively atmosphere at the party was enough ‘lightening up’ for him.