Ch-100

I blame my teenage hormones for agreeing to Emily's request. Any sane person would tell me that this is a very bad idea. Kissing someone for a scene is one thing, but doing it for 'practice' while all alone was unnecessary and almost as bad as cheating. I knew that very well. Still, I agreed to Emily's request for reasons that I couldn't fathom.

But it wasn't meant to be. As if some divine power was watching over me, I got a call from Emma right at the moment when Emily was about to kiss me.

"Hi, Troy!" Emma said over the phone. "Did you get the present that I sent over to you?"

"Emma?" I asked in surprise. I was not expecting this call at all. "Of course, I received your present for my birthday. It was so good." I walked a few steps away from Emily to get some privacy. "I needed a new watch anyway, and the Rolex you gave me was just the perfect addition to my wardrobe."

"Glad to know that," Emma said. "So, what were you up to?"

I knew that I could easily make something up. She was there in the UK, and I was here in the States. No one would know that something like that happened. As much as my hormones were telling me to lie, I couldn't.

"Emma," I said seriously. "I need to tell you something. You know Emily, right? She made a strange request to me…" And then I told her everything about Emily's request. But not the part where I had already agreed to it and was standing in her apartment to fulfill this desire of hers. I may be honest, but I wasn't stupid.

"Hmmm," Emma hummed audibly. "And?"

"What should I do?" I asked. "I'll do whatever you say. If you tell me to tell her no, then I'll do it."

Emma was silent for a couple of seconds while tension was building up in my head.

"I think you should give it to her," Emma said after some consideration, making me shocked. "I was re-reading that book you're adapting next, [The Perks of Being a Wallflower], and in it, there's this scene where Sam kisses Charlie because she wanted him to have his first kiss with someone who cares for him. You care for her, don't you? As a friend?"

"Yes," I didn't even have to think about it.

"Then do it," she said nonchalantly. "I wouldn't want my first kiss to be watched by some strangers either. So I understand her concern. She's in a different city, all alone. Just keep in mind that after today, only kiss her while shooting. As long as you don't give me the details, I won't mind it at all."

I knew right at that moment that I had the best girlfriend in the world. If our roles were reversed, I wouldn't have given her the permission to kiss someone else. Maybe this just shows how mature of a person Emma is, while I'm still a little kid acting like an adult.

"I love you," I said unconsciously.

"Love you too," she said. I could sense the huge smile that must have been pasted on her face at the moment. "It's getting late," she continued. "Talk to you soon, yeah?"

"Goodnight. Dream of me," I quipped.

She laughed. "Always."

I disconnected the call and walked back to Emily. The girl who was confident and daring just a few moments ago had lost all her steam as I stood in front of her. Her demeanor screamed that she had realized the call was from my girlfriend. I decided to end her hesitancy and moved in for a kiss.

I didn't expect things to get a little out of hand like that. As soon as I realized that other parts of my body had started reacting to Emily, I got up, made a quick exit from her building, and got in my car. This was a disaster. I felt guilty as hell for doing it, even if I had received Emma's blessing. She had told me to kiss her, not to make out with her! Not to mention Troy Jr... I shook my head to clear that line of thought. I didn't want to even think about that right now.

Right now, I should think about my next course of action. While one part of me wanted to call Emma and tell her everything, I knew that would be a stupid decision. She already knew we kissed. Telling her the full-blown details would just make her suffer. Moreover, she had specifically asked me not to tell her the details. So I scrapped that idea.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how big of a mistake I had made. I had asked Emma for her permission, but I didn't consider Emily's reaction to what happened. I didn't even stay behind to talk to her, which was rather immature of me. After a lot of brainstorming, I decided I needed to talk to Emily and nip this thing in the bud. Not only had she become a good friend, but she was also currently employed under me, which opened a whole host of ethical problems if we were to go beyond friends right now.

(Break)

"You seem troubled," Dad noted idly as I sat beside him for dinner.

"It's... just work," I stopped myself before I could tell him the truth. "I hadn't realized it could be so hectic."

"Of course it is hectic," he said, sounding slightly offended. "Do you think I click my fingers and we produce [Harry Potter] just like that? Pre-production is equally important to the actual production and post. In fact, I think it is the most important part."

Glad that I had diverted the topic, I asked something else, "So you'll be flying to London tomorrow?"

"As much as it pains me to do it, yes. As a producer, you'd understand why I need to work on the post-production of [Goblet of Fire]. But don't worry, you won't be alone. I've asked Tobias to stay with you full-time. Not to mention, this house is much more secure than any other in the area. The 24/7 guards, top-of-the-line alarm system, and the cameras will further ensure your safety."

"I'll be fine, Dad," I rolled my eyes in irritation. "I know you're worried after that incident, but you worry too much. Don't forget that I'm taking my martial arts classes every morning. If worse comes to worst, the next person to attack me will be sorry they did so."

I shook my head to clear that thought and focused back on Dad, who was speaking again.

"...he was offering you some advice about some new stocks in the market," Dad was saying.

"Who?" I asked.

"Andrew Cohen, your investment manager," Dad gave me a pointed look to pay attention. "He called me today and reminded me again that we need to tell him about your future investments."

"How much money do I have?" I asked curiously.

"Even if we ignore the investments you have already made in some stocks, a lot. Your returns on making [Billy Elliot the Musical] have been phenomenal. Out of the initial investments of $19 million, we have recovered a total of $43 million, giving you pre-tax profits of $24 million to date."

My eyes widened at that announcement. When I planned to make the musical, I hadn't expected to more than double my money in less than three years. The show's attendance in New York and London had lowered a little since I was not performing anymore, but they were still running successfully.

"We also have received offers to take the musical to Australia and Japan as well," Dad continued. "Japan mostly because of your popularity there. We can position both these releases so that they coincide with [Goblet of Fire]. Then you can do a little promotion for it at the same time."

"That's a great idea," I said. "And it can be translated to Japanese as well by then."

"Exactly," Dad nodded proudly. "You catch on quick. Moreover, theater production costs are lower there, so we can produce the two for just $10 million. You will receive more than $90 million in a month or so, so that shouldn't be an issue."

I reeled back in surprise. "Come again?"

Dad looked at me as if I had gone crazy. "You hadn't realized it till now? From now on, you'll get 10% of every [Harry Potter] film revenue. Given the fact that the third film has grossed $900 million already and is still going strong…"

Of course, I knew that I would get a shit ton of money for the film, but this much?

"How much money do I have then?"

"After paying off your taxes and reducing the amount you have set aside for your next two films, your net worth after receiving your [HP3] salary will be somewhere around $150 million."

I could only sit there in silence. Why the fuck was I then being such a miser while making [Brick]? I know it may seem implausible, but it hadn't occurred to me till now how much money I really had. Making a film and working on it tirelessly made sure I knew the real worth of money.

"Don't think too much about it," Dad said, breaking me out of my deep thoughts. "Now that you have so much money of your own, you'll never have to work for it unless you squander it. A good rule of thumb would be to set aside $100 million in good quality stocks or whatever investments you prefer and have fun with the rest."

I nodded slowly before regaining my voice. "Okay. Tell Andrew that I will do some research and send him a list of all the stocks and sectors where I want to invest that $100 million. For the balance money, I'd like to buy some real estate in LA, NYC, and London, just like you."

As much as I wanted to buy out a big company entirely to leverage my future knowledge, that was too much work. Producing just one film had shown me how much went into the business side of things. I was happy being an artist and a passive investor. Moreover, I would need a place of my own to live in when I moved out of my parent's place in a few years.

(Break)

San Clemente, where [Brick] was to be shot, was 75 miles away from LA. We had rented a few adjacent houses in the area for the entire cast and crew to stay at for the next month, though we planned to be done in three weeks. All the filming equipment arrived on time. While we, the actors, were getting ready, Rian took the cameras for a test run and filmed some establishing shots of the background and the surrounding area, which are used to give more depth and realism to a film.

"Is it done?" I asked Tobias while Rian was shooting the front of the school. "Or will it take time?"

"It will take at least 10–15 minutes," Tobias replied. "Then we will shoot your scenes directly."

I nodded in understanding. "Then I'll be back in a few minutes."

Tobias was a smart man because he never asked me where I was going. I simply left the area. My guards quickly fell in step around me. I waved to the plethora of fans who had come to watch the shooting. There was definitely a shriek in the crowd, but I ignored it in favor of doing what I had been dreading for the last two days. Because we had a very small budget, we couldn't afford trailers. So, we had prepared two common makeup rooms for either gender for all the actors. As it would only be used for actors with a speaking role and not the extras, today there were just two actors on set: Emily and me.

Motioning my guards to stay behind, I knocked on the female makeup room.

"Come in," I heard Emily's voice from the other side, and I went in.

She turned to look at me, and I was impressed by the amazing work that had been done by the makeup artists. Her blonde hair was messy and tangled, her green eyes were red-rimmed, and her skin was so pale it seemed she hadn't been out in the sun in weeks, if not months. All in all, she looked like a picture-perfect junkie.

"Oh," she made a startled sound upon seeing me. "I thought you would send a crew member to call me. Just give me a minute."

I smiled unconsciously at her innocence. I shook my head as I began, "It's not that, Emily. We need to talk about what happened in your apartment."

"We do?" she asked in confusion. "I thought it was just a one-time thing? What else is there to talk about? I had a problem, you helped me out. That's all."

Now it was my turn to be confused. Didn't this girl say to me just a few days ago that she hadn't ever kissed anyone? And now she was acting nonchalant about me acting like a jerk after kissing her? Was she lying to me now, or was she lying earlier about being inexperienced?

"Nevertheless," I said, "I need to say that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bolted like that. It's just that... I really love my girlfriend. I even told her about this kiss."

"You did?" she asked, surprised. "That's good to know. But you really don't need to apologize. We're friends. Just friends."

I smiled at her. "I'm relieved to hear that. Now, if you don't mind, the shot will be ready in a few minutes."

"You go on ahead; I'll be there."

"Sure." I turned around and walked out of the room. Emily didn't have any idea how free I felt after clearing that misunderstanding.

(Break)

Emily looked wistfully as Troy left her dressing room. Some things just aren't meant to be. Maybe in some other world, she could be with Troy, but she knew that if she told him the truth, their friendship would be over as well and she didn't want that. As much as she would love for Troy to be her boyfriend, she wanted him as a friend first and foremost.

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