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As soon as the notification came to Ian’s phone, he knew who it was. Seeing the name confirmed his thoughts.

Brad Crutchfield.

“What is it?” Niko asked again.

“They gave the role to Aaron.”

“What?” Niko asked in shock.

“Apparently, the guy was too good for the role. Both personality-wise, and acting-wise. It’s okay, I’m sure there’d be bigger opportunities for me.”

“Yeah, and I’ve a feeling that this wouldn’t be the last. When the word goes out, things can get quite celebratory for you…”

Ian looked at him with questioning eyes. He knew what Niko said was true. Aaron was someone who had an obvious ego and pride written both in his personality and actions.

Once he gets to know that he actually won the role over Ian, the word would spread faster than the speed of light.

“I bet.”

Ian said. “Pull over at the coffee shop. I could really use one.”

The car pulled over. “I’ll take your order?”

“I need some air.”

Ian got outside and walked inside the little coffee shop. The small bell made a jingle sound, and the cashier looked at Ian.

“Welcome to the Mollys! Take a look at the menu and order, please!”

She said with a huge grin. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, yet she managed to be confident in front of Ian.

“Black coffee with no sugar,” Ian ordered without looking at the menu.

“Sure, Ian- I mean, sir…”

She immediately covered it up and walked behind to make the coffee. Oh! So she knew who Ian was!

It wasn’t surprising for Ian. In the streets of Hollywood, there was little to no one who didn’t know who Ian was. Likewise, Ian was glad that she didn’t make a big scene out of it, like, taking pictures.

“Here you go, a dollar and twenty cents please…”

Ian took the coffee and smiled at the woman. Handing the money he said, “I think I might have something for you.”

-

Ian walked inside his office and sat with a huge sigh.

‘After everything, I started as an actor, and I got rejected on my first audition…’ he thought to himself and took a sip from his coffee.

Someone knocked on his door.

“Come in.”

Murphy walked inside.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“It went well, but I didn’t get selected. But, good to know my skills are still intact,” Ian replied casually.

But the fact was true. When Brad gave both the people their scripts, he had one thing in mind. Both the scenes were supposed to be iconic, and he gave the scripts challenging the hardest parts that he thought they’d be.

Thus, when Ian got the part and he trained by himself, he was quite surprised.

“I’m glad sir. Here’s the schedule for today. You are also supposed to be meeting with a reporter from Vanity Fair. That’s the interview for this month, it’d be mainly focused on Netflix and your next project. Also, they’d ask questions about Raelynn.”

Ian nodded. “Thank you.”

-

Ian walked inside the conference room and he saw a man wearing a brown suit, with a recorder seated. He was scrolling down his phone, and his eyes were anywhere but on it.

“Mr Hamilton?” Ian asked loudly.

“Ian Renner, good to see you, sir! You’re as handsome as they say in the media!” He said happily and greeted Ian with a handshake.

“Ah, have a seat, please. Did you find your way easy here?” Ian asked.

“Oh yes, thank you for asking. Renner Studio has been renovated since I remember…”

“You’ve been here?”

“Oh yes, when Mr Striver was working here, we did several interviews on Sundays. He was such a good man. Hope he is enjoying his retirement well.”

Ian nodded and smiled. “Of course. Shall we begin?”

Roy Hamilton is a middle-aged man who started working at Vanity Fair as a journalist. It was his first job, yet he was really good at it, now he gets to meet all sorts of A-listed celebrities quite often.

In a way, celebrities feared reporters knowing that they could easily ruin or build up their careers based on the information they get. But there was a whole different reason why celebrities—especially A-listed celebrities feared Roy Hamilton.

“Yes, of course. So, Ian, what is ongoing? After your last movie, things have been very silent on your side… What’s happening?” Roy asked with curiosity in his voice.

“Well, Hollywood knows I don’t take breaks unless necessary. After my last movie, I wanted to do something different. John Wick really gave an entrance for me to create movies that are truly inspired by me, without, you know, running with the trends? So, I can happily say that something interesting is on the way!”

“Ian, you’re trying to hide things, but footage of movie shooting has been leaked. There was also an actor we’ve never seen leading the movie by the looks of it, what do you have to say about it? Is that something you planned? Isn’t it a risk?”

Ian smiled. The recorder was turned towards Ian. And Ian knew that Roy wasn’t going easy on him. The questions were straightforward, and with one slip of a word, things could change against him—And Ian wanted anything but that.

“Well, I’ve a feeling that you’re really interested, just like everyone else. But you know what? There are a lot of things I could tell you right now, I’d simply say, I know who I put forward in my movies. If there’s no match, I wouldn’t even dare to try. Because every dollar I invest is a gamble.”

“Being the producer and the director isn’t going easy, isn’t it? Anyway, Netflix did a huge relaunch in its brand, and when do you think people will get to actually use Netflix?”

“The dates are announced. So, it’s pretty soon. One more week.”

“How well do you think they’d turn out?”

Ian smiled again. “Hopefully, well enough.”

Roy nodded. “Ian, City of Stars… That was something so different, even for you… Any more music?”

Questions continued further and further as Ian selectively answered as much as he could.

From the first question itself, it was clear that the guy was asking questions that needed to be answered by the public. For Ian’s mysterious persona in front of the public, just as everyone else, even the competitors in the industry had so many questions. And currently, Roy Hamilton tried to get as many answers as possible from Ian’s mouth.

-

Ian walked inside his office after two hours of answering questions that were too tiring to dodge.

“Sometimes I truly wonder what’s the use of revealing everything to people, when all they want is to be surprised.”

“I mean, I don’t know. Sometimes the excitement is caused by the destruction of surprises if you know what I meant….” Raelynn replied with a wink.

“Right, I ruin surprises all the time with Keith, yet he continues to amaze me every day.”

Raelynn rolled her eyes. “Y’all truly came a long way since the first date. I still remember how you kept talking about him, even when I clearly said that I’d love to hear about anything, but that!”

“Can’t blame me! You should be working with Keanu now, where is he anyway?”

“He went to grab a coffee. And, it’s not just me, there are others too. You slipped away to watch Ian’s audition, how did it go, by the way?” Rae asked, suddenly remembering Ian's audition.

“It wasn’t that good, to be honest. I mean, when we were on our way, he got a text. And apparently, Aaron did a better job-”

Niko immediately stopped talking as he heard Ian’s footsteps reaching the door. Just like he had imagined, the man of the hour walked inside.

“I feel like I should move out and let you both stay here…” Ian said and rolled his eyes, as he walked around to get seated.

Raelynn shrugged. “We don’t mind having two offices here. Any questions about us?” she asked again.

“Yeah, a lot. I’ve a feeling that we should just reveal it to the public. You know, just share a post and say ‘woman of my dreams’!” Ian said, making both Raelynn and Niko laugh.

“Too risky. Not yet, let’s wait a little more…”

Ian shrugged. “Whatever you say, m’lady. Update me on Real Estate. And Niko, check the process with Feazel Gaming.”

“Right now?” Niko asked.

“Right now. Yes. Rae, tell me-”

Ian was again interrupted by his phone. As his phone was on the table, he saw the name of the sender of the text.

Brad Crutchfield

1 new message

1 new message

1 new message

Three texts were sent back to back. Ian frowned and reached for his phone.

Suddenly, it started ringing.

Brad Crutchfield.

‘Why?’ was Ian’s sole thought.

“Who is it?” Niko asked.

“Brad,” Ian said immediately.

“What?”

“What?”

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