Five for Forever by Alex Ames Read Free Book Online

postponed at the last minute because the owner had decided to take a longer cruise down the Baja into Mexico. Delayed revenue, direly needed. And Dana had developed a fever that morning and only by sheer luck was Agnes able to pick her up. And two accounts were thirty days overdue, no reaction from their clients. This was as crappy as it got.
    “Let’s see how the movie business goes,” he muttered to himself as he watched Hal from the gallery with Josh Hancock and a blonde woman in jeans and huge sunglasses in tow. Rick saw M&M high-five each other, and Styler looking dumbstruck. At least he had stepped back from the saw. Disaster avoided.
    Hal showed their new clients into the office. “And here is the brains of our operation, Rick Flint. Josh Hancock and . . . what was your name again?”
    “Louise,” the woman said and smiled brilliantly while Rick and she shook hands.
    Rick had to laugh out loud.
    “Are you okay?” Hal asked.
    “No, yes, I am. Just had to think about a commercial I saw last night . . .” Rick said, shaking his head to suppress the laugh.
    Josh started a coughing fit, and Louise grew beet-red. But she caught herself and then had to smile, too. “Those were terrible.”
    Rick held up his hand. “I’m sorry if I offended you. Last night I saw the Jimmy Fallon skit and now you flash that brilliant smile of yours in our office. This is just too much.”
    Hal looked left and right between them, while Rick fetched a cup of water from the cooler to help Josh settle down. “What am I missing here?”
    Louise made a face, and Josh rubbed her back gently. “See, Lou, I told you, people loved yesterday’s reel. You should be proud even of your lows.”
    “Josh is right,” Rick added. “It was a very funny but at the same time a very sweet piece. You must have been scared to death when you delivered the lines.”
    “Hello, can someone please tell me what is going on?” Hal insisted.
    Louise gave Hal a glance and then extended her hand once more. “Nice to meet you Hal, my name is Louise. Louise Waters.”
    His eyes widened, and the jaw went slack. “Ohmygod-ohmygod-ohmygod,” Hal uttered. “You are Louise Waters! I think I am going to faint!” He drank the water intended for Josh. “I am so, so sorry I didn’t recognize you. Meeting one movie star is already too much for me.”
    “No problem. Josh and I are used to that.”
    “Let me tell you,” Hal started, “that for years you’ve been my favorite movie star. I think I have you on VCR, DVD, special editions, Blu-ray, and USB sticks. I love your work. I love you!”
    “Thank you, you are very kind.” Louise took the fandom onslaught with grace.
    “Shall I fetch a bucket of cold water?” Rick said, and Hal shook his head. “I am fine. I am more than fine. I will never feel better in my life.”
    “Let’s pretend nothing has happened, and we’ll start over,” Rick said. “Josh, you want to talk about a boat with us?”
    Josh cleaned up his tears from laughing with a tissue that Louise had handed him and held up the memory stick. “Let’s have a look at the stuff that is on there and I’ll tell you my story.”
    Hal turned his computer monitor to the small group and inserted the USB drive while Josh recounted his early East Coast sailing days, the legacy of his trainer, and the inheritance of a rotten wooden boat stored in Portland, Oregon. “My trainer’s name was John Scott. The pictures were taken by John’s grandson a week ago, after the will was read and the existence of the boat became known to the family. The son was kind enough to take a lot of pictures and a walk-around video with his smartphone. Let’s start with that.”
    Hal double-clicked the video file and maximized the picture. It showed the dusty and dark surroundings of a shed or garage, with a lot of boxes, metal sheets, and rusty machine parts blocking the view. The angle became better, and they recognized that the shed was pretty long, maybe a