Washed Up and Laid Bare

The Interview

‘Be nice, just be nice.’ Frank Swanson pleaded. ‘This isn’t how anyone thought this would turn out so all you can do is make the best of the situation.’

‘A very bad situation’ scowled Robert, playing with his tie. ‘Remind me why I have to wear this monkey suit?’

Frank glared at him, already exasperated. He loved his cousin, but he could test his patience at times. He hadn’t seen Robert, or Bobby as he called him, in two years. Deciding not to meet him at the airport had been a decision made to protect himself. Bobby had always been self destructive and Frank wanted to stay away till he knew this more recent rehabilitation attempt had been at least in some part, successful. As an aspiring screen writer, Frank had decided to take a different path to his Uncle, and cousin. His name could have garnered him the big bucks, the instant recognition, the TV interviews, but he chose to use his mother’s maiden name in all matters of business. After nearly fifteen years of rejection and near homelessness, he had struck gold working on a TV Cop show, called ‘The Blue.’ It paid the bills, and was honest work.

‘Bobby please just trust me here. Things aren’t exactly rosy in the world of Robert Swanson right now. You need a miracle and we only have limited funds. This is a long shot but we need to do something’

Bobby walked towards the dirty loft windows of the rented office space, looking out at dry cleaners and pawn shops. A far cry from the days when he woke up in exotic locations, with views fit for your screensaver. A man walked across the road, pushing a shopping cart loaded with odds and ends. He’d never even seen a homeless person before his bankruptcy. His world was changing fast.

‘We need to invest wisely’ continued Frank, ‘You had to sell the house and luckily we found a quick cash buyer, but that was your Dad’s house Bobby. It’s gonna be changed into some gaudy museum and you’re left sleeping on my couch. Don’t tell me you don’t want more than that?’

Bobby turned to face his cousin, eyes narrowed. ‘What kinda question is that?! Of course I want more! You think this is how it was supposed to be? What do you want from me Frank?’ he exclaimed, angrily.

‘Just sit down and listen. We’re going to interview five people. One of them just might be the key to changing everything around for you.’

‘Yeah, and pigs might fly’ he scoffed.

She was the fifth in line, sitting in a dingy corridor in what looked like some rented office. The late afternoon sun streamed in through dirty, streaked windows and bathed the space in golden light. From the sign on the door it looked like a private detective used to work here, and by the looks of things, it didn’t go so well for him. The glass pane in the door was shattered, a spiral breakage running the length of the door. The floors looked like they hadn’t been cleaned since the early nineties, but it looked like a pretty mosaic once existed beneath her feet. Her fellow potential PR interviewee’s looked like they’d been plucked out of the playboy mansion. With the promise of working under an A Lister, they probably aspired to actually be under that A lister. Each of the women dressed for the beach rather than an interview, and Lana pulled her ruffled black blouse straight, self consciously.

She’d have run a mile if it wasn’t for curiosity. Laid awake the night before she thought about an idea she’d had many a year ago, about writing a book on the behind the scenes life of a movie star. Whoever it was, he couldn’t be more of a slime ball than her previous employer, Conrad Tremont. Conrad’s campaign manager had drafted her in straight from college to assist on re-building the image of the disgraced politician, who later became District Attorney. He had slept with a broad range of questionable women, and been involved with a well known money launderer. It wasn’t easy, but he went from strength to strength and played on his weaknesses, garnering sympathy from many undecided voters.  She had loved the challenges, the long hours and the exhilaration of the polls but the Peyton came along and ruined everything.