Settling back into her patio chair, Paulina reached for a cookie and glanced tentatively at a file.  She marked an item that struck her attention.  She marked another.   There was still a great deal to be done before the film could get underway.

After a time she heard the whoosh of the back door opening.

"You'll be singing a different tune when you see these pictures," crowed Sandy.  The housekeeper, who had shown her in, crept deferentially back into the kitchen.  Paulina's young assistant laid a manila envelope triumphantly on the patio table.

Paulina's expression was skeptical.  She opened up the envelope and removed a large black-and-white photograph.

As she assessed the photograph, she did not allow her expression to change.  Finally she turned the picture face down.

"You know our policy about non-smiling pictures, Sandy.  If we don't see teeth, we assume there aren't any."

"Oh, come on, I can assure you he has teeth, Paulina.  I saw them with my own eyes.  Anyway, this character's supposed to be intense.  Who do you want to cast, Liberace?"

Paulina shook her head.  "How about his background?  What's he ever played?"

"Not much, but he gave a really strong reading.  And that's not just my impression.  Leonard thought so--everybody did."

"Well, maybe he did, compared to the rest of what you see at those cattle calls.   But trust me, honey, it's--oh, not again!"

The boxer had reappeared at the fence.  Kasha watched him, motionless, from across the yard.