99 97. A busy bee, A Lonely Soul and A Missed Lover.
Disclaimer: The story takes place in an Alternate Earth with a slightly different timeline of events. So people may be born early, some may be born a few years later or maybe not at all.
This gives me more freedom to write characters as I want, also the characters in my story are obviously not an accurate portrayal of their characters.
Please remember that this story is a wish fulfillment story set in Urban Hollywood with some Fantasy elements because of the system's shenanigans so please don't take it too seriously.
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Opening Author's Note –
Hello readers! I am back with another chapter. Before you guys dive into it, though, I would like to tell you how relieved and happy I was with the reception of the latest chapter. The one where I introduced a new celebrity and future potential waifu for Mark – Angelina Jolie.
I tried to create a small sense of tension with her being unnamed at the start and about to die. I wasn't sure if I was able to do that scene justice, but I am glad you guys liked it. That scene was going to be even more over the top, but while writing the final draft, I dialed it back.
If you guys want to read the original scene where Mark saves Angelina Jolie in an even more dramatic way, then please let me know if I get enough requests. I will post in my pat. reon/ko. -fi that is in the works. And with that, I come to my main point in this note.
I am going to be creating a pat. reon/ko. -fi for those who would like to support my work financially). You all reading and commenting makes my day already, so please don't feel pressured to contribute.
But to reward those who subscribe to my pat. reon I will be releasing extra chapters so they can read ahead, including R-18 pictures that obviously can't be posted here and there. You guys can even commission me to write stuff for you.
Though it will still take a little more time as my bank is having some issues, when that's sorted the pat. reon will be up. Thanks for reading this note; now let's get started with the chapter.
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Recap of the previous chapter –
We see the POV of Rian Jonson and his brother's, they are listening to a radio show called - Daily Dose of Pop Culture. Where they are waiting to hear some behind the scene news and his take on Mark's comics.
The RJ praises the art style in Mark's new comics, saying that he has set a new standard. He tells them about his hope for Marvel's revival with the Secret Wars and the probable reboot it's heading towards. The small details and Easter eggs he found in the comics.
The POV then shifts to an unnamed girl. We see her monologue about her life and how she is one step away from death, even though life hasn't been good. She still doesn't want to die; she cries out for help and someone listens, that someone turns out to be Mark.
He saves the girl and later finds out that she is actually Angelina Jolie, seeing the state she is in and knowing some of the details of her past. He decides to help her avoid those pitfalls and carve out a happier life for herself.
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– Quote of the Chapter –
Why should I apologize for the
monster I have become?
No one ever apologized
for making me this way.
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~ Sofia Coppola's POV ~
(Mark's apprentice)
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Date: Monday, 1st October, 1990.
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Time: 1:32 pm.
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When Mark told her that he would be putting her through the ringer with this job, he really hadn't been kidding. Even her friends told her that she was pushing herself too hard, that she had all the time in the world as she was only 19, and that she should live a little.
But when she looked at her goal, she didn't think she could afford to laze around. Mark was just 20, and he had already filmed and released his first movie to great critical acclaim and public adulation.
She knew she might be setting too big of a goal for herself, but if a goal didn't seem big enough, was it even worth chasing? So here she was knee-deep in work, having taken a leave from her university while she was in New York.
Mark's first movie was still being released. The creatives of the crew had taken two months of well-deserved rest, but Mark has still been hard at work - setting up the comic book side of his business, writing books, doing publicity tours, etc.
'His flight must have landed by now, and now that he has returned from the tour, was he going to sit back and relax?'
'Well, maybe for a week or two, but she knew he would straight right into helping with the pre-production so that the filming could begin.'
When she had a mentor like this who was so strict with himself, how could she afford to slack? It didn't mean that she didn't take breaks or have fun from time to time, but she knew she wasn't out partying every weekend like the rest of her age group.
She didn't judge them; instead, she felt a bit jealous of their freedom.. freedom from responsibilities, she now had expectations for herself. Mark had high hopes for her; she could tell, and those came with good and bad.
Good in the sense that it felt good to be recognized, appreciated and trusted for her capabilities and; in the sense that sometimes she felt like the weight of those expectations might crush her.
Mark had never told her this, but it was clear to see how much time he was investing in helping her develop. When a person is at his level of wealth, "time" is their most important asset, and it isn't given away to just anybody.
Even his friends only meet him face-to-face for friendly chat on a weekly basis, yet he made sure to make time to give her private coaching for an hour or two every day.
He let her shadow him as he filmed Knives Out, explaining his thought process while he was involved in the creative process. It was an eye-opening experience, where she learned far more in a day than she ever did at school.
At first, she had her doubts, 'Was he only helping her to curry favor with her dad?' 'Why was he willing to go so far just to help her so much?'
It was only when she talked with Sarah, the youngest of the group, that she realized that Mark genuinely thought that she would make a good director, and as the head of a studio, he would be in need of good directors to collaborate with.
She swore to herself that she would pay him back for his support; she would have his back, just like he did now. She would work hard to become a director who could hold the weight of their expectations and create movies for Mark that would change how people see women.
"Sofia!" she heard her name called in the distance, by Jon.
"Yes, coming." She replied as she made her way towards Jon and Todd. The duo of Mark's AD's had been hard at work finishing up the last of the principal photography set to be done in New York.
"Did we get permission to shoot the bank scene here?" Todd asked as he referenced the story boards Mark had drawn for them to know the kind of building to select.
"I hope we did; this place looks perfect, and the surrounding buildings are also of good height. We'll just need to change the decor of the place so it looks more upscale." Jon said while staring into a viewfinder.
"We did; the paperwork has been settled as well. The shooting date is scheduled for November 29th." She replied succinctly.
"So 2 months." Todd remarked.
"Yup." She nodded as she handed him a slice of pizza and moved towards Jon.
"Thanks. Mhm, this city definitely has good pizza," Todd said, enjoying his dollar slice.
"That should be enough to complete the pre-production even with Mark's more demanding needs and get set up here for filming." Jon said, accepting his slice.
"Mr. Spencer, really came through for us here. I didn't think it was even possible to get approval so quickly in a state like New York."
"Well, that's the neat thing about having one of New York's finest lawyers and the best closet in the city as your father; after all, knowing the right people is also very important." Jon told Todd and further went on to explain why all those parties are actually held.
She left them to talk, as she made her way towards the roof, she wanted to get some alone time and enjoy her coffee with her lonesome.
Mark had been adamant with using real life locations and practical effects for this film, wanting to give it a different feel than Knives Out.
According to Mark's words - The Killing Joke was going to be a contrast between the Joker's scenes, which would be much more raw and rough around the edges; the dark and gritty scenes wouldn't be polished or censored.
But in Arthur's, the scenes would be more bright and colorful even, but they slowly lose them as the story heads towards Arthur's demise and rebirth as the joker to create a sense of contrast.
Mark wanted the film to carry this sense of tension, for it to feel like an old-school noir crime documentary. But the most crazy thing was his secrecy with the script; no one except maybe Evelyn had gotten to read the entire script yet.
Even River, who was the main lead and a close friend of Mark's, didn't get to read the complete final script; she had been promised by Eva to not tell anyone outside the circle about it.
She, as Mark's apprentice, had gotten one of the more complete scripts, and to say that she was blown away after reading it would be a gross understatement.
She used to look down on comic books before thinking that their stories weren't nuanced or meaningful, as it seemed like just two guys in spandex beating each other up.
But when Mark told her that KJ had been inspired by one of the oldest comic book characters, She realized that to become a good director, she needed to open up her mind to all forms of media.
After all, great stories can come from anywhere. When she read the script for KJ, It was truly an eye-opening experience to see the various ways a story could be told.
It was these things that gave her hope that she was on the right track and that she would succeed. Her life has been hectic for a while, as she was trying to juggle being a student at Cal Arts and also an intern at Eidolon. But she wouldn't trade it away for anything.
She couldn't wait for Mark's to start filming KJ; her experience on the set of Knives Out had changed her life. But for some reason, her heart told her that it would be the Killing Joke that would change the lives of many around the world.
She didn't think anyone else would even dream about putting up 75 million dollars to produce a movie that would be dark, psychological, brutal and definitely get an R-18 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
As she thought about her efforts to build her career, her thoughts wandered to the friends she made from the animation department who were working even harder than herself to make something of themselves.
Unlike her "friends" from the direction or production department, they actually shared her drive for self-improvement and growth.
Genndy had easily landed a job as an intern at Hanna-Barbera with his student film and her glowing recommendation. He was still working on his student film, which he named Dexter's Laboratory on the side, which was going even better with the new resources at HB.
The rest had requested to put in a good word for them as well, but Genndy had defended her and said that all she could do was write a letter of recommendation as their friend. Whether they get accepted would still mostly depend on the quality of the work.
He had told them that If he didn't have the rudimentary artwork of the dexter and went solely based on the recommendation, they most probably wouldn't have gotten that intern position. Though, she promised all of them to write a recommendation letter if they had the work to back it up.
She also shared with them some of the behind-the-scenes development at HB and Eidolon, like the plan to produce an animated movie under the banner of a new studio called Eidolon Animation, which will be a mix of talents from HB, Pixar and new hires.
Andrew had even told them how there were rumors going around at Pixar that Jobs might be looking to sell the studio to someone.
She really hoped that someone was Mark, because she had gotten a sense of how ambitious his slate for future movies was, and she knew that he was going to need all the studios he could pull for help to produce those movies.
Looking down at the empty cup in her hand, she sighed as she thought about home; she did miss it quite a bit. This new-found sense of direction and purpose was doing wonders for her confidence and self-esteem, but to be honest, she missed catching up with her family.
This was the longest she had been away from them; she did talk on the phone, but it wasn't the same. Alas, work comes first; hopefully they will wrap up soon here and return to California. The weather here was too cold for her liking.
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Mark and Eva had just left the room where the nurse had taken care of his injury; they were on their way to Angie's to see how she was doing and then be on their way.
Mark started humming a tune; she felt like she had heard it before but couldn't put her finger on where. She didn't even notice when Mr. Kim came up beside them.
"Report?" Mark asked as he stopped humming.
"Here." He replied and passed Mark a folded note.
She tilted her head to see what was written on the note.
~ Name - Angelina Jolie.
DOB - 04/06/75.
Parents - Jon Voight (father), Marcheline Bertrand (mother).
Parents separated, dropped out of acting school, and probably have an eating disorder. We also observed to have signs of physical abuse but were unsure whether it was self-committed or from bullying or domestic abuse. ~
"I see," was all Mark said as he kept walking, but his countenance told a whole different story. She could tell he was a little sad, she could tell.
She moved closer and rubbed his back in comfort. His face turned towards her, and despite the mask, she could tell that he had an appreciative smile on his face.
"Thanks," he said.
"It's gonna be okay, Mark. We could help her." She didn't know why she said it, but if helping this distraught young woman would help Mark, then she would do her best to make it happen.
"We can, hmm. Thanks, Eva." He muttered as they reached the door to the room, assigned to Angie.
Mark pocketed the note and knocked on the door.
Knock x3
A nurse opened it and stepped outside. She told them that Angelina was just fine, but because of her prior health conditions, She would need at least a day of bed rest before they could let her go.
They obliged with the formality and asked if her parents had been notified.
The nurse told them, "Yes, her parents are on the way, but it may take them a while. Mr Spector.. thank you, for helping this poor girl."
Mark just sheepishly chuckled and said thanks in reply, as the nurse smiled and left.
"Shall we?" he asked her, and she entered with a nod of her head.
"Hi, Angie. It's me, Mark, again. I just came to see how you were doing." He said this as he entered, not wanting to startle her but also to help her identify him as he was wearing the mask again.
"Mark!" she exclaimed, as her features immediately brightened.
"Thank you for saving my life." Tears gathered at the edges of her eyes, but she wiped them away.
"Don't worry about it, and it wasn't just me out there trying to save you."
"This is Evelyn, but I call her Eva; she is my manager and my best friend." He introduced her as some kind of realization seemed to dawn upon the girl.
"Hi, I'm Angie." She said, but her eyes stayed on Mark, especially his mask in particular.
"Hi, you can call me, Eva."
"Marc, are you sick? Why are you wearing a mask?" She couldn't help but laugh at her innocent question.
She could tell that Mark was blushing in embarrassment over it, and as fun as this was, she thought about helping him out.
"No, Angie.. um, can I call you that?" The girl just nodded in acceptance.
"Well, Marc here is a very private person. Actually, Marc Spector isn't even his real name; it's a stage name." She just tilted her head in confusion.
Mark decided to explain his situation: "Only my friends and family have ever seen my face, and maybe a few close, trusted colleagues. And now you have as well."
"Nope. I was so out of it that I couldn't see properly, and your face was all too blurry to get a good look at." She said it with an impish grin, knowing what he was asking of her without even saying it out loud.
"Thanks, Angie. I really appreciate it." He said this as he sat down in a chair while she went outside to give them some privacy.
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"So tell me, do you like movies?" He asked, trying to see if she would be hesitant to share personal information.
"I do; I love watching movies; I even wanted to become an actress because I was envious of the actresses." She was freely talking to him; he understood that his act of saving her, had made her place her trust in him.
"Wanted to?" He could use that trust to help her overcome her problems and not backtrack into even worse situations like her previous life.
"I dropped out of acting school.." She looked sad at admitting it to him.
"It was a dream of yours, right?" he spoke, gently pushing her towards realizing the answer.
"Yes." She mumbled softly.
"It must have been something really good or really bad that made you stop chasing that dream of yours." He said vaguely, as he didn't want to tip off in any way that he had already done a small background check on her.
She stayed silent for a moment, and it seemed like she was struggling to open up herself to someone else after so long, so he decided to gently prod her.
"The truth shall set you free, Angie. I promise I won't judge; I am here to help. But I can only do so if you let me."
Her lips quivered as she weighed her options to see if she should trust him. His selfless act of diving in head first to save her flashed before her eyes, and she made her decision to take her chance on him.
She told him about her father being Jon Voight, about her small stint at acting at the age of 7, about her parents' separation, about how isolated and out of place she felt in school, and how she was teased for being extremely thin and for wearing glasses and braces.
Mark didn't look at her with pity; he knew she didn't want that. He stayed silent as he thought of the offer he was gonna give her that might get through to her and save her from the dark times ahead.
He had read articles on it before; the things she said till now were bad, but unfortunately for her, her life would only get worse, she would suffer from depression, and she would have used "just about every drug possible," particularly heroin.
She would even plan to commit suicide twice—at age 19 and again at 22, when she attempted to hire a hitman to kill her.
After she was done speaking her part, she fell silent as she stared down, unable to meet eyes with him, afraid of his eye's full of judgment towards her, after she had bared her insecurities and vulnerability to him.
"Angie, look at me." He asked her gently.
She didn't want to, afraid of seeing the pity and judgment in his eyes.
"Angie, please. Look at me. You can do this." She finally did; his eyes were filled with sadness at her plight, but also determination, like he wanted to help her.
"I can help you." He used his charm to the max to convey trustworthiness and confidence.
"Ho-how?" she choked, as tears fell from her eyes. He drew closer and knelt beside her bed as he handed her a handkerchief.
"Here," she took it, as he continued saying, "well, firstly, we need to get back into acting school once again. But I have a proposal for you."
"What is it?" She was interested in hearing about his plan to help her.
"Would you like to see what an actor's life is actually like on set?" Her eyes lit up, and he knew that would get her attention.
"You can do that?!" Her excitement was clear to see.
"Hmm, it seems like I haven't formally introduced myself. Hi, I am Marc Spector. I own a movie studio, and I am an amateur director."
"Wait! You made Knives Out?!" She exclaimed, surprised to hear him being the director behind the super-hit movie that everyone was talking about.
He just nodded and shrugged. "But you look so young; how old are you?" she asked, feeling puzzled.
"I am 20." He replied nonchalantly.
"That's way too young to be a director." She blurted it out before she could think properly about it.
"I don't let age define what I can or can't do." He replied firmly.
"So, I have a friend who is going to be part of my next movie. He's out touring and promoting Knives Out currently, but he'll be back soon." He then explained the situation.
"Here, I would like you to have it." He said, handing her a trinket that he took out of his pocket.
"What's this?" She looked at the small, stylish emblem that looked like a lotus.
"It's a free pass to my studio. You just need to show this to the security, and you'll get level 1 access to my studio. It's like a guest pass."
"Johnny should be back in a week from the tour. I want you to think about my offer and, if you feel like you want to take a bet on it. Then come and meet me in a week, but give me a call before you do so. I will call him in as well and introduce you two."
He handed her a piece of paper as well that had Rose's number. "This is my secretary's number. Just say that you're Angie, a friend of mine, and she will help you get to me."
"Why are you going out of your way to help me?" She asked in a tone filled with disbelief.
"No reason in particular, actually; I just do whatever I want to. I am helping you because I want to," was his nonchalant reply.
She nodded in understanding and asked, "What will your friend be doing?" She wanted to know the purpose behind this experiment.
"He will be mentoring you, to find out if "acting" is actually something you want to do. He'll tell you about all the things that come with the life of a celebrity. The good, the bad and the very ugly."
"You speak as if you believe I could be an A-list actress; I didn't even make it in modeling." She said, her head mired in pessimistic thoughts.
"To achieve something, you must first believe that it can be achieved." He didn't reassure her directly; instead, he gave her a quote that he himself followed and lived by.
He then explained to her, his plan for her. "On the 1st of November, we will be hosting a party in celebration of the successful run of Knives Out."
"After that party, the preliminary work on my next movie will begin. If Johnny agrees, I want you to shadow him; see what he does on set as an actor, how he performs."
"Not just him, but every other actor as well; you can ask us questions after a scene is done and listen in on our conversations about how we as creatives work together to make a film."
"I am actually thinking about starting an apprenticeship program. You and another kid will be the first batch in an attempt to see if we could help the next generation of aspiring actors find their way in the industry."
"So, talk with your mom; let her know about my offer and talk it out. And come in next week if you want to change your life."
"Thanks again, Marc, for saving my life." She cried a bit in relief and spread her arms like she wanted a hug.
Mark obliged and hugged her, whispering that she could do this, that she could be brave, ask for help, turn her life around, and that it's never too late to start again. He felt her nodding against his chest, and he smiled, hoping that he had gotten through to her.
As they broke the hug, he patted her head and said, "I will be waiting for that call."
She sniffled and replied, "See you in a week."
Mark just nodded and headed out.
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He was now finally on the way back to the studio along with his entourage, except for Bob, whom he left behind to notify Angie's parents or guardians of the details of the incident that occurred.
Along the way, he asked for Eva to continue with the report; she had been giving him a rundown of where they were at with the tasks that he had delegated them before he left for the tour.
"I think I left it off at the Stark Mansion." She said, to which he just nodded his head in confirmation.
"Well, the project has been picked up by Gehry Partners."
"They agreed?" He was surprised, they were one of the best in their field, he didn't think they would actually agree.
"Yeah, they thought your design was borderline impossible and very challenging so they took the job." she replied with a smile.
"They have given us an estimate based on the type of land in that particular area, but finalizing the proper design and then beginning the actual construction and finishing will take at least 4 years."
"It's fine; there is no urgent need for the Stark Mansion. Tell them that the deadline is 5 years and at most 6 if there are any unforeseen developments that might cause a delay."
"I will let them know." She noted down his response.
"Next on the topic would be the new hires for the IWA, when you sent out that recruitment call. We got recruitment letters from all across America and even the UK."
"After going through their credentials, this is the list of people we could possibly hire. Have your pick from these; these are the best that have applied for the job."
"Sure, just write down the names I mention," he said, taking the file from her.
~ 1. George Raymond Richard Martin –
Martin began his career by selling science fiction short stories professionally in 1970, at age 21. His first novel, Dying of the Light, was completed in 1976, but money could keep him going for so long.
Due to the need for a day job, he once worked as a tournament director for the Continental Chess Association. He then got a job thanks to his friend Guthridge, Martin was an English and journalism instructor at Clarke, and he became Writer In Residence at the college from 1978 to 1979.
After the death of a friend and fellow author, In 1979 he resigned from his job and moved from Dubuque to Santa Fe, New Mexico at the end of the year.
Even though the place provided him with a good environment to write, he found that working for television paid a lot better than writing literature, so he decided to move to Hollywood to seek a new career.
At first he worked as staff writer for The Twilight Zone, and then as an executive story consultant. But unfortunately the show was canceled and he was out of work.
"He is seeking to work as a collaborator to work on your books while he earns enough to write his own books on the side."
— Eva. ~
"Mr. Martin."
Eva nodded and wrote down the name, she was almost certain Mark would select the man. After all, the man was one of the most experienced out of the bunch that had applied, so she had put his name at the front.
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~ 4. James Dover Grant – Grant joined Granada Television, part of the UK's ITV Network, in Manchester as a presentation director. There he was involved with shows including Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker.
Grant was involved in the transmission of more than 40,000 hours of programming for Granada, writing thousands of commercials and news stories. His pen-name is Lee Child. ~
"Lee Child" Mark remembered him being the author of the Killing Floor, a book that featured Jack Reacher.
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~ 9. Robert Lawrence Stine – Created the humor magazine named Bananas, it was written for teenagers and published by Scholastic Press for 72 issues between 1975 and 1984.
In 1986, Stine wrote his first horror novel, called Blind Date. He followed with many other novels, including The Babysitter, Beach House, Hit and Run, and The Girlfriend. ~
"R. L. Stine." one the most well celebrated children and young adult horror novelist, of course he would pick him to be on this team.
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~ 13. John Ray Grisham Jr. – Written a book inspired from one of the cases he witnessed, he heard a 12-year-old girl telling a jury what had happened to her. Her story intrigued Grisham. He saw how the members of the jury cried as she told them about having been raped and beaten.
"I remember staring at the defendant and wishing I had a gun." He had stated and then that he would write such a story, Grisham later wrote in The New York Times, that a story was born.
Unfortunately, over the next five years, he wrote his first book, A Time to Kill. The book was rejected by 33 publishers till it landed on the desk of an editor at Eidolon Publications who decided to take a bet on this man.
"Just as your publication was the only one who took a bet on me, I would like the opportunity to take a bet on you and work with you at IWA, Mr. Spector." - JRG Jr. ~
"John Ray Grisham Jr." The man had been rejected over 30 times but still kept trying, Mark respected such grit. He could also feel that the person took pride in their work and wasn't disheartened by the rejection.
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"Hmm, that's enough for now." In total he selected just 6 out of the pool of 25 people Eva had shortlisted for him.
"Looks like the IWA is getting popular." He was happy seeing it happen.
"Why wouldn't it be you're providing them with top tier salaries, health insurance and even covering their transportation and rent. It's the dream job for any writer. On top of that all these talented people get together to work in one place where they can freely ask each other for help or brainstorm ideas."
"And all they have to give you in return is the right of refusal. I don't think they will get a better deal than that anywhere else and I'm not even mentioning the benefits of drafting or co-authoring books with you."
"That does sound good." Mark admitted and chuckled.
"Anyways how's Jan and Chris's Christmas present coming along?" he asked, remembering about the duo.
"It's coming along nicely, the crew has been gathered, you can go through the list once again for a quality check if you would like."
"Hmm, okay leave it on my desk, I'll get back to you tomorrow morning if I think anyone needs to be removed." He said, handing over the list of IWA candidates.
"What about the kid?" He asked.
"Macaulay?" She asked, he just nodded, "well, we offered the parents 250,000 dollars to hire their kid for an acting gig that would last around 4 to 5 months with paid private tutoring."
"You couldn't imagine, they signed that contract so fast as if they were afraid we'll take it away."
"You made sure to make them realize what they were signing up for right?" He was dead serious, as he asked her all humor and fun drained from his visage.
"Obviously, when have I ever done things not by the book, especially when a child is involved." she was a bit annoyed at him questioning her like that.
"Sorry, it's just a little tiring to see such greed. Anyways, I want River to mentor him." he said in a firm voice, showing that his mind was already made up.
"River?" she sounded unsure.
"Yeah. It will be his test to see how well he has recovered and maybe having a child by his side that wants to grow up and be like him, might help him keep himself grounded and detached from the persona of the Joker." he still explained his reasons.
"Hmm, that's a good idea, and I have met the precocious kid, he reminds me of you actually, just less disciplined and also lacking the creative vision of a hundred men."
"But if the kid is cultivated properly he might become the next big thing." She made her assessment.
"Hmm, is the renovation complete and what about the trademark?" he asked as that was the last thing to tie the bow on the present he had prepared for Jan and Chris.
"It is all taken care of, the guild has been registered as well. Though, Mark, I think you're playing it a little bit too risky with that endeavor." She warned him to be cautious.
"What do you mean? It's just my own little book club. It's nothing big."
"Yeah you tell yourself that, the only reason they haven't rallied against you and torn you a new hole is that it is not an exclusive guild and the members are free to be part of SAG."
"Damn, I just wanted to make the graduates of our workshop feel a little special and protect them from being taken advantage of.. Is that so bad?"
"It isn't.. but you should be more careful when doing things like this, at least wait until your base of power is strong enough."
"You are right, Eva. This is the last time, don't worry I promise."
"How is the trademark that I had given to Harry to register going? Also I completely forgot to ask but did we win the case already against Nirvana?" He really had forgotten about it, as was merely a blip on his radar.
"Yeah the case against Nirvana is already over, we won the protracted battle, not that they had much of a case to begin with. And as you had asked, they did not get even a single dollar in compensation." She replied with a smirk.
"Good."
"As for the trademark, well the brand name for the chain of hotels you plan on opening has been registered."
"What about Pixar?" He asked, hoping for some good news.
"The negotiation with Mr. Jobs is going smoothly as well, I would say at most another month before he folds as well." and she didn't disappoint, that was some great news.
"Good I can't wait to get my hands on Pixar's animators and image rendering software, with them in our fold. Eidolon Animations will have a much easier time creating Beauty and the Beast." He had a big smile on his face as he imagined the future pixar movies and money from the sales of the merchandise.
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"Are Janet and Chris around the studio?"
"No, I suggested Janet take a vacation with her family, so she is away. As for Chris, well he still hasn't come back from his visit to his hometown. I did call him though, they both will be back in a week."
"Hmm, I see, don't rush them, let them take their time. Because when they start on this project they will be very busy for quite some time. Let them enjoy the vacation.
"My hero Academia hits the shelves today." She reminded him.
"Hmm, I'm excited to see what the readers think of it." He did change things up but it was still based in Japan but he changed the names of the countries to have more freedom. It was story based 200 years in the future so it was something he could easily get away with.
"I am sure they'll love it." She said with full confidence.
Mark just hummed and drew her in for a hug as he laid his head on her shoulders. She gently wrapped her arms around him as she began caressing his hair.
"I missed you." She said as she buried her face in the crook of his neck as she breathed him in.
"Me too, honey. Nice time if I have to leave on tour. Come with me." He replied, kissing her cheek.
"I will nee-" She wasn't sure it would be possible even if she very much wanted to.
"Shush.. just say yes, we'll figure it out later." he put a finger on her lips and shushed her.
"Yes." She replied with a slight blush.
"Good girl. Wake me up when we reach the studios" He replied as he decided to take a short nap, he was still feeling a little exhausted from exerting himself to lift and pull the car.
– To be continued…
{Special Thanks to Rycork for the mentorship program idea. I will be expanding upon it in the future, so please look forward to it.}
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{Closing Author's Note:
In my patreon/kofi account you guys will also be able to do lots of stuff like – buying a one time option to have add a waifu you like to the harem list, select which movie Mark will film in the future, even select the field of business you want Mark to head into and even commission me to write*special* stuff for you.
There will also be polls, access in development fanfics, exclusive content, an updated character list, etc.
But most of all you all will have my gratitude and love for supporting my passion and work.
I hope you all have a beautiful day and Ramadan Mubarak to all those who are celebrating the day.}
