CARLOS & KATRINA

A Novel by Charles Adrian Trevino
Copyright 2006, 2018

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Chapter 2

Katrina Fury had been the object of Jacob Rosenberg's lust and desire for as long as he could remember. His obsession had started the first time he'd ever set eyes on her in grade school and had grown accordingly, as Katrina herself grew more and more attractive with each passing year. She was not only the prettiest Usher in Westview College, she was the most beautiful girl Jacob had ever laid eyes on anywhere, even in movies or magazines. She had fueled his fantasies; she had made him sick with lust whenever he saw her in her gym uniform or in her swimsuit at the beach. Her gorgeous face was a composite of every race in the world, framed by thick wavy raven hair, with large sensuous brown eyes that could make a man tremble when she glanced at him. Her perfect, olive–skinned body was the standard by which Jacob judged all other women. Just hearing the sound of her voice whenever he lingered nearby her, listening in as she sat chatting with her friends, had invoked a sense of excitement and peace in him all at the same time. Though she had never spoken to or even so much as looked at him, Jacob had nevertheless fantasized for years of somehow making her his wife; but as time passed this fantasy had started to appear more and more to be a hopelessly impossible dream. Then one day he had hit upon a way to make his impossible dream possibly come true.

Stephen Schidtberger, the famous movie mogul and financier, was a good friend of his father's and had often been over to Henry Rosenberg's house for dinner. At one dinner party which Jacob had attended the talk had turned to the beautiful women Schidtberger had brought under his thumb, all of them driven by dreams of movie stardom, fame and riches. Schidtberger had brought over a large photo album of some of these women, and as Jacob took his turn looking through the photos he had idly wondered if he would ever in his lifetime see a woman that matched Katrina's charm. Then suddenly, in one moment of overwhelming lucidity, it had become perfectly clear to him what he must do.

Jacob possessed an enormous collection of photographs of Katrina Fury, more than any of his friends and acquaintances; not even the richest Ushers in Westview could match his portfolio, thanks to his father's political connections. His obsession with Katrina had prompted him to pay tens of thousands of dollars to his father's friends and contacts in the infamous secret surveillance unit known as the Usher Eyes, an organization that had infiltrated all of the law enforcement agencies in the world. Jacob had shamelessly invaded Katrina's privacy in his lust for celluloid trophies; he had pictures of Katrina in her sexiest clothes, in her swimsuits, in her underwear and totally naked in her own bedroom, all provided by the high–tech marvels of the modern surveillance world, which were of course utilized by the paramount Ushers in their mad quest to control their pawns and enemies.

Jacob had invited Schidtberger up to his room to sample some of his exotic marijuana; there he had shown him some of his Katrina photos and watched with amusement as the movie mogul's eyes lit up in amazement. Of course he hadn't shown the boorish filmmaker his private, naked Katrina photos; he hadn't needed to. The man was entranced by what he saw in the less explicit pictures.

"Who is this bitch?" demanded Schidtberger, as he flipped through the pages of one of the photo albums, the look of casual disinterest on his face melting into an uncontrolled expression of disbelief. The girl in the pictures had the most immediate appeal of any he had ever seen. His greedy, avaricious mind spun as his hands turned each page faster and faster in unbelieving shock, beginning to tremble in excitement.

Jacob remained cool, hiding his glee. "Just a good friend of mine. Think you could make a few bucks off of that?"

"Oh ha ha, my little friend, this filly could fill theatres in every country in the fucking world! When can I meet her? Do you have her phone number?"

Jacob just sat in his chair, holding his crystal waterpipe. He smiled smugly at the jackass sitting on his large four–poster bed and waited.

Schidtberger was in no mood to play coy little games. "I tell you I'll give you ten fucking thousand dollars right now!" he roared.

"Oh ha ha, not so fast my fine feathered friend! This isn't one of your harem whores. This one has got some class. It'll take a little time, a little persuasion. Maybe some wining and dining, a few gifts maybe. But I think perhaps, in due course of time…"

Schidtberger reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out a thick stack of money and counted out twenty $100 bills. "This is just to get you started. You tell me how much more you'll need; of course, there's a very generous finder's fee waiting at the end of this if you pull it off." Schidtberger slowly began to regain his composure as he handed the stack of money to Jacob; his mind was focusing back on business. Jacob took the wad and put it in the pocket of his dinner jacket.

"Don't worry, Stephen; like I said, she's a good friend." Jacob and Schidtberger stood up and shook hands, exchanging lewd leers. "I'll call you in a week."

Jacob's confidence had been boosted enormously by this turn of events, armed as he now was with an excellent excuse to approach Katrina. He chose one of the few times when Katrina was alone, as she walked to her car in the parking lot. Jacob had boldly walked up and introduced himself, knowing full well that the classy beauty was just too nice a person to tell him to get lost. It was clear she had never even been aware of his existence, yet she smiled patiently as he made some small talk, pointing out that he had been in one of her classes and mentioning some mutual acquaintances.

"Oh, yes, I remember you. How've you been?" she lied.

Jacob skillfully steered the conversation to a friend of Katrina's who had recently left school to sign on with a filmmaker who made low–grade movies. Katrina just laughed her musical, inoffensive laugh, and Jacob almost lost his nerve. But then he remembered that Stephen Schidtberger, although held in contempt by the real filmmakers and more serious critics, had recently won an academy award for his sensationalist documentary of Usher suffering and courage in the last world war and was now praised in the press as a genius, although it was well–known in Usher circles that he had paid a small fortune to critics and reporters to have these laudatory articles published. Jacob regained his courage.

"Have you ever considered acting yourself? I'm sure you could be successful in the movies."

It was obvious from the surprised look of amusement on her face that she had never even considered the possibility. She laughed again. "Oh no… I've never really thought about that." She paused for a second and to Jacob's delight, her mirthful expression slowly faded away, replaced by a more thoughtful look. Jacob decided to throw caution to the winds.

"The reason I ask is because I happen to be a friend of Stephen Schidtberger, the filmmaker. He's made a lot of women who are a lot less beautiful than you rich and famous, you know. I can't say for sure, but I think he might be interested in meeting you, if you've ever considered that kind of thing."

Katrina laughed again and started to say something, then suddenly stopped. The attentive look came over her face again -- she appeared to be considering his offer. They stood in silence, looking at each other for a few seconds; Jacob had planted a seed in her mind that was slowly sprouting. Finally Katrina spoke.

"I don't know. Some of his movies… some of his films have struck me as being, I don't know, kind of mean–spirited… as if he were trying to…"

Jacob nearly panicked. Of course Katrina had been offended by the racist and class–conscious mockeries that Schidtberger delighted in slipping into his movies. He had stupidly assumed that because Katrina was a Usher she wouldn't be bothered by such things. Suddenly Jacob thought of the many different races that were apparent in Katrina's face, and mentally kicked himself.

"Ha ha!! He's an ass!!" Jacob interjected. "I should have come right out and said it, but I… I mean… well, he does make a good movie once in a while, and he has a lot of contacts, and I just thought that if you… if you were ever interested… he could maybe be a, a kind of stepping stone to better…" Jacob suddenly felt tongue–tied, and he began to sweat. Katrina continued to look at him, her expression revealing nothing. They stood that way for a few long moments that felt like an eternity to Jacob; then Katrina smiled again. It was like the sun coming out on an overcast day.

"Well… I'll certainly give it some thought, Jacob. Thank you for asking… I'm very flattered!"

"Well, let me give you my number, Katrina, and if you think you might want to talk to him, I'm sure I could arrange a meeting! I have his card right here." Jacob reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out Schidtberger's expensively embossed card on which he had already written his phone number, and immediately regretted it as he saw a look of faint suspicion come over Katrina's face. She hesitated for a moment, but then took the card from Jacob's hand, which was beginning to shake slightly. She smiled again and said goodbye, then turned and began walking to her car.

Jacob stared at Katrina walking away, then exhaled heavily as he turned to leave. He wasn't sure what kind of impression he had made; perhaps he had blown it completely. But as he walked back through the parking lot to join his friends, a mood of exaltation slowly swept over him. He knew Katrina couldn't help but be tempted by the offer; after all, she was only human. She would think about it, and see the possibilities that were suddenly open to her. The seed had been planted.

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