Forever and a Day (9 page)

They all watched as his eyes quickly widened then resumed their loathing look then his face became angrier, “Repeat that, Cap.” He hissed. He paused for two beats and growled, “Confirmed.” He made to put down his phone and he let a flash of anger wash quickly across his face then the deadly cold look was back.

He held up his sides, quickly glanced at it. Looking to Megan, he made a throwing motion to her, “Put them on, now!” He ordered harshly.

Off camera, they heard Megan’s monotonic portrayal of Halo’s role, “Is everything ok?”

Xander replied coldly, “Soon, you won’t have anything to be afraid of…”

“Did my father pay my ransom?” There was a pause as a shadow of anger flitted over Xander’s face then the cold look resumed, “Sir? You are scaring me.”

Xander shook his head slowly and his fists opened and closed repeatedly then he let all hell break loose, “We got NOTHING! Your daddy doesn’t give a shit about you… bitch! You are going to be my fucking payment!” Xander made a hard pushing motion with his hand in the air.

“No, no, no.” Came Megan’s monotonic reply.

Xander took three beats, cocked his head slightly glaring slightly downward and in a chilling voice he began, “You have a choice here bitch… you can make it easy and not fight. Hell you might even enjoy it… or? He acted as if he pulled out a knife and turned it side to side, “Or I can start cutting on you.” He leered at Megan and it reminded Halo of Johnny. He began making slow cutting motions in the air, “At the end of each scream, I’ll cut a little deeper and little slower…”

“Scream. No. Stop.”

He looked right below the camera and growled, “Then let’s see what you are made of…” He made a grabbing of hair motion and began to gradually lower the pretend knife. Xander paused then looked to Megan.

They heard Susie’s voice and Megan finally blurted out her line, “Oh! Uh… ok. Ok! Crying. I won’t fight you I promise. Don’t hurt me.”

Xander smiled wickedly and made a sheathing motion, “Damn right you won’t, bitch.” Xander raised his hand high and made a viscous downward slapping motion.

Next, there was nothing but silence. Halo saw beads of sweat on the Mystery man’s forehead and upper lip as he stood there waiting for the cut. Finally, Susie said it and she watched as he wobbled slightly as he took his seat. He tried to smile but it was obvious to her he put everything into his performance. She liked the fact that his performance seemed to disturb him as well.

Halo jumped up excitedly, “Oh my! That was one hell of a grand slam! He killed it!”

Deacon winced as he glanced at Joel then to Halo, “Yeah, I have to admit that was really good.”

Joel sneered, “He overplayed it, and he adlibbed… I think it was beginners luck. I wanna see him do it again.”

Halo eyed Joel with spite in her eye, “Really Joel? Fine.” Halo depressed her button, “Susie, when Mr. Kostinos is ready, from the top. The same exact way.” She gave Joel the stink eye and turned to face the screen.

They heard Susie’s voice, “Mr. Kostinos, are you good to do that again?”

“Yes, Miss Selmer.” They watched as he put away a handkerchief and stood up with smile. “Would you like me to do anything different?”

“Same exact way. Take it from the top at Craig’s cue.”

Their attention was captivated by his performance once again as he nailed it. Halo thought it was even better than the first go around. She smiled at Joel who turned away and ignored her. Halo spoke into her headset, “Susie, please thank Mr. Kostinos for a job well done. Have him wait in the lobby while we arrange his ride.”

Halo turned to JJ, “Please see to it.”

JJ nodded wordlessly and quickly left the room.

Halo watched as JJ left room and knew what she had to do. She had to get this Mystery man on and Johnny Stone out. The Mystery man’s performances was difficult for him, she could see the relief on his face when the scene was over. He was the type of man she wanted to play against! Not a creeper like Johnny, who looked at her as if he was starving and she was his next meal.

She watched Joel play with his phone and Deacon was texting away on his. Both men knew what was coming and did not want to begin the inevitable. Halo looked down and began going over the Mystery man’s bio and abilities. She was impressed by his lengthy experience in the martial arts, specifically Aikido, Kendo and something called Iaido. Going down further, she saw he was an Emergency Medical Responder and a CNA. His past work history included being a chef and now owned and operated a Senior Care Service. She looked through it all again and nodded subconsciously, many new actors hyped up their abilities to make themselves look good. This guy’s was contrite and to the point and all the dates matched. She smiled.

She looked up, put away her grin, and addressed the growing tension in her office.

“Gentlemen, there is an elephant in my office and we need to deal with it.”

She saw both men sigh in unison. Joel turned to her first and shook his head, “Sorry Halo, I’m not budging on Johnny.”

Halo looked to Deacon, he held up his hands at her, “I think the last guy nailed it…”

Joel interrupted, “He has no fucking name recognition! Johnny has the female eighteen to forty demographic pull—which we need on this film!”

Deacon nodded slowly in agreement.

Halo let her eyes water, she knew she could not give in too quickly, “You two don’t have to have that asshole’s creepy hands all over you! You both will never know what it’s like—admit it!” She saw them both look away at the intensity and pain in her face. She decided now was the time to push, “So you just want look away and expect me to be Johnny’s piece of meat!” She let her tears go.

Joel was the first to look up and her tears caught him off guard. Deacon met her stare and did not look away for a long moment. He got up and looked to Joel, “You two figure it out, that’s both of your jobs.” He moved over to Halo, leaned over, gave her a hug, and whispered into her ear, “I know what you are doing and you need to be careful. Work it out and remember your job as a producer.” As he rose, he gave her a quick pat on her shoulder then left the room.

“Halo, I will talk with Johnny and I will straighten him out.”

Halo wiped away her tears with her finger, “Joel, what is it that you owe Johnny?”

Joel’s leg began bouncing as he answered, “Let’s just say I owe him a big one and I hate owing people. He needs this job for his own reasons and I owe him. Having him in the film is a major plus.”

Halo listened carefully then straightened up in her high backed chair, “I will turn over two percent of my gross points if you agree to hire this Xander guy…” She saw the shockwave roll through Joel’s pinched face then he sat back hard and had to use his hand to stop the chair from rolling.

“What? Two percent… you’d sign over to me? For siding against Johnny?”

Halo could see Joel’s eyes, they were wide and she could see him calculating the potential dollar amount. “Yes, two percent.”

Joel sighed deeply and shook his head, “I—I can’t…”

Halo stayed silent for a few moments, letting him think it over. “Your friend Johnny just cost you about a million dollars…” She watched him cover his face with his bony white hands and nod.

He looked up with a sigh, “If the film comes in as expected… yeah, but we can’t see the future.”

“What are Johnny’s terms again?”

“Four hundred thousand and expenses.”

Halo sat back and ran the numbers in her mind. She turned her chair and looked out at the blue cloudless sky from her office from the twenty-eighth floor of the Fox Tower. She let the time go by silently until she could feel Joel getting antsy. With a slow deep breath, she turned her chair to face Joel.

“Here it is Joel, you better take notes.” She watched him grab her note pad and pen and he sat waiting. She let her eyes tear up, wiping one tear away she began, “He gets two hundred thousand and no expenses.” She held up her hand at him, “Now write my stipulations. One: Johnny Stone is not to speak with me unless we are filming a scene together. Two: No sharing planes or rides. Three: No more leering and he stays away from me. If he breaks any of my terms, I will fire him on the spot, and yes, if I do he keeps his money. If he breaks the no criminal acts clause, like his last stunt on Sunset Boulevard last year… he loses it all. Now go in the conference room and talk to your buddy before I change my mind.”

Halo spun her chair away from Joel, let out more tears, and let her shoulders shudder. She heard him whisper ‘sorry’ as he left the room. When he was gone, she spun back around, turned on the monitor to the conference room, and listened in.

She heard Joel’s side of the conversation all the way through. Johnny was pushing for more money and even a gross percentage. She heard Joel claim that he dealt with her so hard and long that he made her cry. At least Joel was adamant about her terms and Johnny not breaking them. His last words were something about if Johnny was fired it was all on him. She even heard Joel tell Johnny that the Mystery man had a much better audition than he did.

At the end, she heard Joel make plans for meeting Johnny at Club Aurae tonight. She turned off the monitor and turned her chair to stare out of her window. Soon she heard a rap on her open door frame. “Come in.” She muttered.

“I uh spoke with Johnny.” Joel sat down opposite of her and waited.

“And?” She sighed.

“He needs more money, maybe a half a gross point?”

Halo let her mouth drop, “Well sure, if it’s part of your percentage. No way otherwise!”

“Halo?”

She interrupted and gave him a glare. “How about a net point!” She scoffed.

“Oh come on, he isn’t stupid enough to agree to ‘Monkey points’! He is well aware of Hollywood accounting.”

Halo pointed her finger at Joel, “Yeah, didn’t your father invent it?” She wondered if she pushed too hard as Joel’s eyes widened and he did not respond to her jab. “Joel, you know I can enact my clause and pull out of producing this production and take my financing with me? I’d be happy to stay on as lead and you can pay my full freight up front, Fifteen million. Hell I’ll leave the back end all for you.” She crossed her arms at him and did not have to wait long.

“Fine, what’s your counter offer? Throw him a bone for fuck’s sake!”

Halo was ready, “Two seventy five, no expenses and no points. If he makes one mistake, he is gone and we will hire this M… Xander guy as his replacement!”

“So, what’s to stop you from just firing him for no reason?” Joel countered.

“So you want assurance? Don’t trust me, Joel?” Halo replied tersely.

“Business is business…”

She fired back, “Fine Joel. If I fire Johnny Stoner’s ass I will give up a half a percent to the production.”

“Uh… I was thinking more like one percent. It’s gotta hurt…”

Halo smiled inwardly but gave him a hard glare, “Three quarters. Final offer or I walk as producer and I will expect fifteen million cash and the same terms for Johnny I stated for me being your lead.”

“Deal.” Joel said with relief.

The room went quiet as they both took a breather. It was Joel who spoke first, “You are as bad as my father at negotiations—I mean that as a compliment.”

Halo raised an eyebrow at him. “If Johnny fucks up I will fire him. Make sure you tell him exactly that.”

“I will. I’ll have the lawyers amend our contract and have Johnny’s contract ready for you Monday morning.”

“You do that.”

“Halo?” Joel stammered, “I really am sorry if I hurt your feelings. I’d invite you out for a drink to celebrate, but I’m meeting Johnny…”

“Thanks Joel.” She stood up and with a hidden revulsion, she stuck out her hand to him which caught him off guard. He shook her hand and his hand felt like a dead fish in hers. She gave him a little smile, “Have a good time, make sure Johnny behaves. He looked awfully cold on that YouTube clip of his fiasco on Sunset Boulevard…”

Joel gave her a little chuckle, “I’ll keep my eye on him.”

Halo watched as Joel almost bounced happily out of her office. When he was gone, she spun around in her chair and smiled big.

Just then, JJ walked in and saw Halo’s mascara was smeared and had tear tracks down her cheeks, “Halo! Are you ok?”

Halo stopped her chair and smiled at her assistant, “Yes, yes I am.”

“Were you crying?” JJ said coming over and looking into her bosses face.

“Yes. I was…” She laughed.

“Oh Halo, you didn’t!”

“Had to, JJ. There was no way around it, had to make it real.”

JJ covered her mouth with her hand, “What did you do?”

Halo proceeded to explain it and her plan in detail. After her explanation, she sent JJ to close up the office while she replayed the Mystery man’s audition on her laptop. She paid close attention to all the questions Susie asked him. One in particular caught her attention. Susie had asked him what a bad day at work entailed. An instant look of sadness washed across his face and then it was gone, hidden by a smile. That brief look was so poignant that she paused the clip, reversed it, zoomed in, and saw a deep sadness seem to well up from his deep green eyes.

Her heart felt sad and compressed by his heartbreaking look and with a tiny shudder pushed the feeling away. She played the rest through and listened what his bad day at work was like: ‘Finding a client that had passed away.’ “Ouchies.” She mumbled to no one.

She paused the clip again, looked into his face, and tried hard to remember him. Nothing was there, it was as if it was blocked for some reason. “Mystery man, where do I know you from?”

“I’d like to know that too, you never forget a face or a name.” JJ said from the open doorway.

Halo nodded in silent agreement then gestured to the chair next to her. JJ sat down and looked expectantly at her boss.

“JJ, I want to make sure Mystery man will be on standby. When he gets the news he didn’t get the role he might balk… you think he’s like that?”

JJ shook her head, “No, he seems really kind but you never know…”

“Precisely… I’m giving you a ride home, right?”

“Yes… uh Halo? What are you thinking?” JJ asked warily.

“Listen, I need a big favor…” Halo smiled wickedly.

JJ sighed and rolled her eyes, then leaned in to listen to Halo’s plan.