"Action!" The director yelled.
The scene played out again.
"Cut!" The director called out. "That was a lot better, but I think we can still strive for perfection."
The actors nodded without complaint; they could feel the difference that time. The difference was like night and day. It no longer seemed like a cliché cardboard cutout scene.
"Director, we are out of dye packs. I just sent a runner to storage to get some more, but it will take twenty minutes."
"Alright. Everyone take fifteen we will shoot again once we are prepped." The director then turned towards Gerald. "I am glad you could make it out. Freemont kept giving me a bunch of bullshit about scheduling conflicts. I was worried that we would wrap before you could even see what we have. I mean how busy can an author really be, can't you write from anywhere."
"Ha, ha." Gerald laughed. "Director, do you work for Big Deal or were you hired by one of the producers."
"I am the executive producer. It was my idea to take up this project. My partners aren't too sure how this film would do, so I am not getting a lot of support. Which is all the more why I wanted you here to give us your opinion. Your book sold a lot copies, if my movie can sell half of that, I will be satisfied."
"Good, good. Then I will be honest with you." He said while pull the director aside. "I never sold my copyright to Freemont publishing and didn't even know you were making a movie about my book until my current editor heard about it."
"Ha, ha, funny. That's rich." The director said with a chuckle.
"And one hundred percent the truth. Those who cross me suffer consequences." The smile had now disappeared from Gerald's face. What stared at the director was the ruthless eyes of a killer. "If you had no knowledge of this, call your legal department immediately." Gerald then passed him a business card. "This is my actual editor, she is allowed to form agreements on my behalf. If you still intend to make a movie, I will gladly accommodate you, but Freemont and Tom George… They must go."
"You… you… aren't messing with me?"
"I am afraid not." Gerald said with a stone-cold face. "I snuck in here today to see what was going on."
The director crumpled in a chair. He sat down as if he had lost his spirt. "I am finished. The partners will surely can me for this. I knew it was too good of a deal. Freemont said they had everything in order"
Gerald sat next to him and shrugged. "I don't mind making a movie with you. Sure, they might make fun of you, but is this necessarily a bad thing?"
The director looked at Gerald with a confused expression.
"I may not be in the movie business, but I bet you have some sort of legal recourse, right? Can't you sue Freemont for a stack of cash. Maybe even get your original investment back. If I understand copywrite laws correctly, everything you have filmed belongs to me since I own the copyright, and I am fine with you using it to make a movie. Can't you get your investment back and the still have what you produced so far?"
The director's eyes lit up. "You aren't shitting me, right?"
"I would love to have a movie made from one of my books. Call the number I gave you. Her name is Amy. Start working out a deal while you continue to film. No one else needs to know that we have had this conversation. And unlike Freemont…" Gerald took a paper from his pocket and passed it the Director. "I can prove I own the copyright."
"I will shut everything down and call her right away." The director said after taking a look at Gerald's original contract form when he published his book.
"Do that if you want. But I wouldn't."
"You wouldn't?" The director asked with a confused expression.
"Freemont tried to steal from me. Film the movie on their dime and then sue them for your investment back. Save the film, which will have to be turned over to me and you can use that for the real movie."
"I… I… It's a good idea, but Freemont is a large company. They will have us tied up in a legal snafu for years. Meaning the footage won't be able to be used until the trial is over. They will probably forge documents and put pressure on us from up high. There is no guarantee that we can win, or how long it will take to win."
Gerald shrugged again. "Not many people know this about me, but a lot of my stories are based on reality, I just altered something, add some fantasy or sci-fi to make it more interesting. You can rest assured that I have a decent amount of pull of my own. It is why most people aren't stupid enough to make an enemy out of me."
The director looked at what Gerald pulled out of his wallet. It was a military I.D. The director had never been in the military, but he knew the word general and recognized the two stars beside it.
"How about we do it like this? I will deal with Freemont myself. In my official statement, I will say that you had concerns and reached out to me to double check. That was the first time I heard that a movie was taking place. From then on you worked under my instruction."
The director handed back the card and nodded.
"Good." Gerald said. "Just consider it as I was never here today."
The director nodded but then quickly stood up. "But there will be a record of you entering. The studio is filled with redundant paperwork."
Gerald smiled. "That maybe so, but you will find that there is no paperwork for me. No parking pass, no name badge, no sign in. I was never here. Oh, and be a pal, toss this in a corner somewhere." He said while handing over a name badge while they were walking towards the exit of the studio. Gerald then sighed. "I look forward to returning once I have been properly invited."
The director took a look and saw that the name Tom George was written on. He did as Gerald asked and tossed it into a corner. When he looked back up, there was no sign of Gerald.
"What are you looking for boss?" A young woman asked.
"The man I was talking too."
"I didn't see you talking to anyone." She said with a confused expression.
The director walked over to the craft service table and picked up a plate of food from the old man who man the table.
"Something wrong boss?" The old man asked.
"Oh, nothing. I think I saw a ghost today." He said while tucking the business card he received into his pocket.
The old man laughed. "Not a ghost, a spook."
"You saw him too?" The director asked.
The old man nodded. "Even got myself an autograph." He said while waving his copy of Delta Force.
"Did you hear what we were talking about?"
"I heard enough."
"Then you know he wants it quiet."
"It's not my place to talk about anything but food. Besides…" Then the old man trailed off.
"Good man." The director said with a nod.
"Oorah."
***
Gerald pulled into a parking lot and stared at a skyscraper a few blocks away. He shook his head as he looked at it.
The jet-black building rose up over a hundred of floors and had sharp spires that pierced the sky.
"Why the hell did I ever work with that publish company? The building they work out of looks like the lair of some movie villain."
He shook his head again and buttoned his suit as he walked towards the building.
The security here was much stricter than the filming studio. He might be able to get in if he tried, but that wasn't his goal.
He walked past the guards in suits and stopped at the front desk.
"How can I help you sir?"
"Gerald Acers here to see Tom George of Freemont publishing."
"Is Mr. George expecting you?"
"Nope, surprise visit."
"Okay, you can take a seat at the side. I will make a call and see if he is available."
Gerald did as she asked and then tuned his hearing to listen closely as she picked up the phone and dialed.
"Go for George."
"Mr. George, this is Ashely from the first-floor reception."
"Oh Ashely with the dimples, I remember you. Why has my day been blessed by your sweat voice? Did you hear that I am still looking for a date to the Crenshaw Ball and wanted to volunteer?"
"He, he, you are so bad Mr. George. But there is someone here asking for you. A Gerald Acers."
"Shit. Tell him I am not available. Tell him that he has to make an appointment by phone first."
"Okay sir, I will pass on the message."
Before she could say anything else the line went dead. She hung up the phone and turned to where Gerald took a seat to find that he was gone.
Gerald walked back to his car. He had already heard all he needed to.
With his errands done, he texted Amy and headed to her place.
***
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Gerald waited after knocking. He looked around the hallway and was impressed with her place. Just from the decorations in the lobby and the hallway he could tell that this apartment building was high class.
"Coming." Said a voice on the other side of the door.
A moment later he heard the lock turn over before the door opened.
He was surprised to see a short blond woman answer the door. He didn't recognize her at all.
"Uh… I think I might have knocked on the wrong door." Gerald said. Then he looked and saw the unit number next to the door was exactly what Amy had told him.
"Gerald, right?" She asked.
"Yeah, do I know you?"
"Ha, ha, no. I am Amy's roommate, Jessica. Come in, Amy said she was running to the store, she should be back any moment."
Gerald followed her in and was amazed by the place. It had huge ten-foot ceilings. The woman led Gerald to the living room the was well furnished.
"You two sure have a nice place." Gerald said as he looked at the view of the city from the fiftieth floor.
"Yeah, it's pretty nice. Four bedrooms, three baths. Two rooms with balconies. The place is way to nice for either of us to afford, but splitting it works well. We each get one of the nice bedrooms and we converted both guests' rooms into offices since we work at home a lot."
"That sounds like a pretty good deal."
"Gerald!!!!" Screamed a voice after the front door was opened.
Amy dropped her grocery bags at the door and ran towards him and jumped into a hug.
Gerald, who was sitting on the couch was basically tackled into a hug. He didn't object.
Amy gave him a big kiss on the cheek and then she let him up. Gerald fixed his suit and then sat back up. The woman he was talking to had disappeared when he was distracted.
"How did you get in here?" Amy asked.
"Oh, your roommate let me in."
Amy gave him a confused look. "I don't have a roommate."
Gerald frowned but didn't call her out. "Then how do you afford a place this nice."
"Well, it wasn't too hard to get. The rent is really cheap because everyone kept moving out. The landlord gave me a great deal since it was haunted. They say a blond-haired ghost calls this place her home."
"Then… you mean… I met a ghost?" Gerald asked while playing along.
Suddenly, their was snickering coming form the kitchen as the blond girl walked back in with a bag of chips in hand.
"Amy, you are such a goof." Said the young woman as she sat across from the couple.
"AHHH!!!! GHOST!!!" Amy screamed and clung to Gerald's arm.
He just laughed and shook his head. The three chatted for a few minutes before Amy brought up the movie.
"Were you able to make any headway?" She asked.
"Yeah, I think so. Freemont is avoiding me but Big Deal will likely call you in the next day or two to work something out."
"That's good."
"Oh, by the way, have you heard about something called the Crenshaw Ball?"
Both girls suddenly looked at him. "Of course, it is one of the biggest events of the year." Amy said.
"All the movie makers, producers, and actors and actress show up and mingle." Said Jessica. "It is said that a third of all films are planned and started during that event. It is a huge deal. I would die if I could get a chance to go."
Gerald nodded with interest. The Amy leaned closer to him. "Jessica writes episodes for one of the cop/murder dramas, but she has been wanting to branch out into movie screen writing."
"Oh, I see. How does one go about getting tickets?"
"You can't just get tickets. You have to know someone, and that someone has to be important enough to be able to bring guests."
"Sounds like it is hard to get into." Gerald said.
"Try impossible." Jessica said.
"Why are you interested in the Crenshaw Ball?" Amy asked. "I didn't think that kind of scene interested you."
"It doesn't. But Tom George will be there. And I don't think he will agree to meet me. I thought a surprise visit would be nice."
"Yeah maybe, but it will be impossible to get in."
"Hmm, let me make a call."
Gerald pulled out his cell and dialed a number.
"Hello. What do you want?" Said a voice from the other side.
"Hey mom, can't your baby just call to see how you are doing?"
"Yeah, okay. Not buying it. What do you want?"
"Didn't you just call me the other day saying that I never call you?"
"Yes, I did. And I know my little boy. If you are calling me so soon, it is because you need something."
"Well… I do need something, but I am also interested in how you are doing."
"Spit it out, I have to go into a meeting in a few minutes."
"Okay, okay. Crenshaw Ball. I want to go."
"What?! Has hell frozen over? You want to go to a fancy public event. If you are being held against your will, use the distress word and I will take care of it."
Gerald coughed and cleared his throat. "Mom, you are on speaker phone right now."
"Hello Mrs. Acers." Amy said. "My name is Amy, I-."
"I know who you are. You are my son's girlfriend. I understand now. And you can call me Cheryl, Ms. Evans, or Mom."
"Oh, sorry Ms. Evans, I didn't know."
"No worries dear. Gerald has told me a lot about you, we are having a family dinner next week and it would be great if you joined us."
"Mom." Gerald interrupted.
"Shush." His mother and Amy said at the same time.
Jessica the roommate held a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter.
"I would love to go." Amy replied.
"Great, great. Gerald's sister and I are both excited to meet you. You don't need to bring anything, just bring that son of mine and make sure he doesn't run away."
"That I can do."
"Great, now how many tickets do you need?"
Jessica the roommate started motioning towards Amy while waving four fingers.
"Four would be nice, but if that is too hard, just one for Gerald would do."
"No, no, two is easy and four is no problem. How could you let Gerald go without you?"
"Mom, it's not a date. It's for business." Gerald said.
"Don't be dumb, why can't business also be a date? And what business do you have?"
"Business with a foolish man that has stolen from me and is blocking all my meeting with him."
"Do you want me to care of it?" She asked.
"No, I can deal with it."
"Okay, okay, I will get you tickets. Gerald, take me off speaker phone."
Gerald moved the phone to his ear after taking her off speaker. "I can help you, but you will have to do me a favor."
"What do you need?"
"It isn't something that can be discussed over the phone."
"Didn't we agree that I wouldn't do that sort of work?"
"Don't whine, that was before you were with military. And this has relations to the unit you work with."
"If I don't do the favor, can I still get the tickets."
"Nope, and you will have to break your date to your girlfriend who sounds pretty excited."
*Sigh*
"I will take that as you agree. I will text you an address. They will brief you there."
*Click*
The call went dead.