Back inside the make-up trailer, Zoe began touching up his face for the afternoon shoot.
While she worked, Landon could feel Zoe's gaze slashing at him like little knives.
But with his eyes closed, his thoughts began to drift.
For no reason at all, he remembered Cameron Diaz, whom he'd met that morning on his run.
Why had the superstar taken the initiative—was she simply lusting after a rookie?
Or was it just a spat with her rock-star boyfriend, Jared Leto, and she wanted fresh ammunition—or a distraction?
If it was the latter, the two were so busy they barely met; even if something did happen between her and Landon, the boyfriend probably wouldn't hear about it in time for it to sting.
Maybe the relationship the media called rock-solid wasn't that solid after all?
Had the seeds of their eventual break-up already been quietly planted?
Judged by the harshest standards, Cameron Diaz's face might score only eighty in Landon's book.
Yet the aura of an A-list star, her five-foot-nine frame, those long straight legs, the dazzling smile, and the firm, healthy curves sculpted by years of exercise combined into an irresistible pull.
If Landon claimed he only wanted a jogging buddy in his neighbor, even he wouldn't believe it.
But a sliver of worry surfaced.
Cameron lived in the same gated community; morning runs would keep throwing them together.
If they met too often, Tracy and Rachel were bound to notice.
How would he explain?
And there was still Elisha; that relationship hadn't been sorted out.
If he let himself be sucked into Cameron's mess as well, would he ever climb out?
He was on the verge of signing with the fast and the furious; any whiff of scandal could be weaponized by rivals or the press, costing him the chance he'd fought for.
His thoughts drifted further.
Thinking of Rachel's upcoming Serendipity, Landon's mind flashed to the film's female lead—Kate Beckinsale.
The shameless part of him even compared her to Jennifer Connelly, star of his next project A Beautiful Mind, and to Tracy, who was out fighting for him right now.
What left him speechless was realizing he adored each of these very different, stunning women.
The discovery made him scorn his own greed, even as he admitted that beauty always beckons.
'Tss—!'
A sharp sting on his brow snapped him back.
He opened his eyes to find Zoe's face inches away.
Her eyes were disgusted; between her fingers lay… an eyebrow?
'Boss,' she hissed, 'when I'm doing your make-up, focus. Stop making that lewd face.'
A moment ago she'd seen his lashes flutter, his lips curve in a lascivious smile—clearly lost in some indecent daydream—so angry she'd yanked out a brow hair.
Landon: '…Sorry.' He shut his eyes again, forced his features into neutrality, and buried every inappropriate thought.
Tony Almeida's final afternoon slipped away under that tangled mood.
That night, back at the villa, Tracy burst through the door, too excited to hide the outcome of the negotiations.
The main terms were set: Landon would receive a fixed fee of $500,000 plus $1.5 million in equivalent investment share—3.95 percent of the film's $38 million budget.
But the contract carried a thicket of conditions.
Among them: distribution fees calculated at 30 percent, and marketing costs provisionally set at $30 million.
Box-office revenue carried three thresholds.
If worldwide gross failed to reach $87.5 million, Landon would collect only the $500,000 fixed fee. He would share in proceeds only after the global take topped $85.7 million.
Tracy walked him through the math: cinemas keep roughly half, leaving $42.85 million for distributors and producers; after the 30 percent distribution fee, the remainder exactly covers the $30 million marketing spend.
Below $85.7 million, the studio would not break even.
Second, only when global receipts hit $194 million would Landon receive both the $500,000 salary and the full $1.5 million investment return.
Using the same formula, studios and producers would share $97 million; subtract $29 million in distribution fees and $30 million in marketing, and the remaining $38 million covers the production budget.
Only after that figure is exceeded does he begin to share in further profits.
Third, once the worldwide gross surpasses $194 million, he joins in all subsequent gross-profit splits.
Writing the 30 percent distribution fee and marketing estimate into the contract had been WMA's demand; 30 percent was already the ceiling.
Merchandise participation would kick in only after $194 million, a clause Universal and Original Film accepted without haggling—they had no certainty of hitting that number.
Of course, those terms actually worked against Landon.
So there were provisions for his role in any sequel and for further investment.
If the first film succeeded, his stake in follow-ups would be no less than 5 percent, deductible against his salary.
In addition, he would take 10 percent of gross profits and serve as executive producer with corresponding back-end.
For Universal and Original Film, replacing him if the franchise took off made little sense, so they swallowed the clause.
A few minor points remained, but the main deal was done, and Landon was more than satisfied.
The final haul might not be colossal, but crossing the $2 million mark was cause for celebration.
And for news this exciting, dinner had to be followed by a very special kind of party.
As Rachel hovered on the edge of unconsciousness, she wondered
why she still couldn't handle it alone—Tracy here or not.
Should she ask Tracy to invite another sister to the mix?