America 1982-Chapter 372 - 37: Never Trust the American Dream
Stephen had always figured Tommy would do as he predicted, using his financial leverage along with his decent looks—though not as handsome as himself—to hit on this actress named Sandra Block, who had only appeared in a couple of low-budget indie films.
But as it turned out, he had guessed wrong again, because Tommy, the bastard, was calling Zoey Winters from the CS group, his voice filled with meekness and fawning:
"Zoey, are you still busy?"
"Who is this?" On the other end of the line, Zoey didn’t even recognize Tommy’s voice and asked back with confusion and impatience.
With a sycophantic smile on his face, Tommy insincerely said, "It’s me, your dearest..."
"Don’t call me again, I’ll report you for malicious harassment, sir, and I’ll say it one more time, no matter what you offer, I will not take down that news report." Zoey didn’t wait for Tommy to finish and snapped back irritably before abruptly hanging up.
Tommy turned around, glanced at an amused Stephen beside him, then looked at the phone in his hand, and asked with disbelief, "Zoey didn’t recognize my voice, can you believe that?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Stephen was an honest man; at least at that moment, he tried to make his expression seem like that of an honest man as he said to Tommy:
"Ottelia would have hung up on you too with that tone, buddy. You really should record it and listen, the reason Zoey didn’t treat you like a gigolo selling himself might be because she’s not into that kind of entertainment."
Feeling awkward, Tommy tossed the phone aside and flopped back down next to Stephen, grabbing a beer and took a swig before looking at Stephen: "It seems that Zoey’s reporting some news, and the victim of her reporting tried calling her with the same humble and groveling tone I used, hoping to change her mind."
Stephen shook the file on Sandra Block and asked with confusion, "Why call Zoey? Shouldn’t you be contacting this girl first? From what her resume says, she comes from a very ordinary background. Maybe you got the wrong person; Block could be a big family in Arlington, Virginia. It says here she went to public schools for both high school and college."
The file clearly stated that Sandra Block lived in Germany for twelve years before moving back to the US with her father for work; she attended Washington and Robert E. Lee Public High School, and her college was the rather obscure East Carolina University, a public institution. If Tommy was right about her having a father with a United States Army contract, she should have been able to afford a spot at a prestigious university.
Moreover, it was written that she majored in Drama and, after graduating, went to New York Broadway to look for acting opportunities. To sustain herself in New York, she held various jobs including bar waitress and bartender.
Truly a small-town girl with the American dream.
"That chick is not lacking in money; don’t think just because her resume states that she worked hard to perfect her acting skills while looking for a chance to perform on Broadway and supported herself working as a bar waitress and bartender. Buddy, when you signed up for summer camp, your resume claimed you got a Stanford University admission notice thanks to your own abilities," Tommy said with a mocking laugh as he listened to Stephen’s confusion.
"I did get into Stanford University based on my own abilities, okay?" Stephen insisted stubbornly, but upon hearing Tommy’s remark not to take the other party’s resume seriously, he flipped through the file several times, failing to find anything new and ultimately had to ask Tommy again, "So, which part did she lie about?"
"She didn’t lie; she was very frank," Tommy took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff before explaining to Stephen:
"The file says she moved to New York after college and lived in an apartment hotel somewhere on the Upper East Side. That address seems familiar because our dear Jim bought his first New York property there. Do you think a girl fresh out of college could afford an apartment that Jim could only buy with seven years of salary right when she arrived in New York?"
"Maybe she saved up a lot from a part-time job in college? It’s just a rental, not a full purchase." Stephen felt that Tommy’s explanation was a bit of a stretch and wasn’t quite convinced.
If Tommy, that pauper, could afford a mansion in Beverly Hills Estate while studying at Stanford, why couldn’t other college students rent a luxury apartment in New York? How could anyone be poorer than Tommy back then with his exaggerated tales?
"Fine, the second point: she went to New York in search of opportunities while still learning acting, right? The file says she hired Sanford Meisner for one-on-one acting lessons. Do you know what that means? The girl I once dated, Diane Lynn, got her first leading role at thirteen and made her first million at seventeen, and even she didn’t dare dream of hiring this Sanford guy for private lessons. She couldn’t afford it; at best, she could attend a few of his group classes. Only genuine Hollywood top stars aiming for an Oscar would bring a wad of cash to him for one-on-one professional and systematic coaching," Tommy said, providing Stephen with the second reason.
