"No," Sophia said that one word with finality and glared at the man across from her.
The man raised his hands to placate Sophia, "You just praised the progress she made the last few weeks. We all heard it. And I'm here giving you a very good proposal. This would be good experience for her."
"She is not ready for something this big!" Sophia pointed at the folder in front of her like it's the most disgusting thing she had seen.
"It's a once in a lifetime chance!"
"One more word from you Emmanuel and I swear I'll make your life a living hell!"
"You do realize I don't need your permission? Eduard can give her to me."
Eduard, the Head of the Talent Department, tried his best to ignore the two bickering kids, "Do not put me in the middle of this."
"You might not need my permission but he needs mine! She's a trainee at this point and before she can go on an audition do you know who needs to green light that? ME! I sign off if she's completed her training, I let you know if she's good enough."
"For the love of all that's holy Sophia! We just heard you sing her praises. Minutes ago, you were so pleased with yourself and now you don't want to release her? Make it make sense, woman!"
Sophia pointed her finger at him, "Do not raise your voice at me!"
"It's one audition, Sophia! For something we are investing in!"
"There are others." She practically hissed it.
"That's the problem there are no others!"
Sophia just intensified her glaring, if she could have shoot lasers from her eyes Emmanuel would be dead.
Emmanuel turned to the Ava at the head of the table, "Make her see sense!"
Ava raised a hand to silence everyone, "Alright, let's go over this one more time and talk it through like reasonable adults and not toddlers."
Ava turned to Sophia, "You must admit that Emmanuel has a point. You did just let us know she had been exceeding your very high expectations and that is no small feat. Then Emmanuel raises a possible opportunity but you shoot him down. Why don't you walk us through your thought process on this?"
Sophia knew that last one wasn't a suggestion, "Kiera is good. One of the best students I have ever taught. It's like she had been acting for years and learning from observing others. It seemed like she put together jigsaw puzzle pieces that didn't quite fit. And all she needed was guidance on how to properly fit them together. I reprimand her for something and offer a suggestion and in the next run through she fixed it. I'd offer her to Emmanuel on a silver platter if the audition is a month from now. Heck, I'd say she'll be good after another two weeks. But you want her to audition this Friday. Four days, you want her to be ready in four days!"
Emmanuel leaned forward and, in all earnestness, said, "Yes, the audition is on Friday. Yes, we have four days to get her ready. But it will be one scene, and I'm pretty sure which scene it will be. You go ahead and train her non-stop for that one scene in the next four days. Once she gets the role it will be a month or so before we actually start the filming so you will have the time to polish her as much as you want."
Sophia gritted her teeth, "It's not that simple Emmanuel! You might be sure of that one scene and sure we can focus on that. But what if they're torn between two individuals? Then they'll most probably choose another scene until they can actually make sure they're making the right choice. What then? Should we stop the audition and ask them we need another four days?"
Before Emmanuel can respond, Eduard raised his hand and added, "And that would be the scenario if this was a regular casting call but this is an audition for a replacement. Everything is technically in place. The script is there and not only that but it's based on a book. They can choose any scene they want."
Emmanuel shook his head, "No, the author made this one request. For this role she wanted that one scene. It would be a turning point in the entire show. Get that wrong and we'll see the ratings tanking." He sighed, "But yes, another scenario might happen. I admit that but as long as we get it right for that one scene then we might not need a tie breaker."
Eduard shook his head, "You're being optimistic. Sure, we have a vote to get her in but the other producers might not agree. They already think they have that character for themselves. We got into this game late."
"We can't throw this away! They want Amira to take on the role! That girl has been getting roles because of her family, she has zero acting ability. We let them put her in this role and there will be losses!"
Everyone in the room flinched at the name and they all looked at the Head of Production and Investment and saw that he was genuinely frustrated about the entire thing.
"I just want the director and other producers to have another choice. I want them to see how bad of a choice Amira is. We have a substantial investment in this production. Us backing an actress is nothing to be alarmed about. They also can't simply push us away like the others."
Ava looked from one person to another, she pushed the call button at the table and asked her assistant, "Emily, kindly ask Ms. Moireach to join us as soon as she can."