Chapter 176 | Vacation

A/N; I've been going through some stuff in the last couple of days. And hopefully, I get back with the normal updates now that I feel a lot better. Happy reading and don't forget to vote with powerstones! Join the discord server! Also, read all the written chapters in -Patreon.com/TC_L.

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Weaving through the wide roads of the city of Los Angeles, Ian worked his way through the traffic in a bid to lose the annoying paparazzi that seemed desperate to give him chase.

Though Ian had to admit, the thrill of the chase, sitting behind the wheel of his Pagani Huayra, gave him this almost indescribable sensation. All that power lay at his feet, beckoning him to use, almost whispering to him like a seductive mistress. It sent a thrill down his spine.

Ever since he'd participated in that street race, it had become something akin to an addiction to him. Cars, the roaring engines, and the adrenaline rush that came with each burst of acceleration were like a drug to his system.

Yet, he maintained a close eye on his speed on the road, he was not in a mood to be chased down by cops, or have to pay a fine.

The various twists and turns that Ian made through the heavy traffic, and the narrow misses were enough to confuse his stalkers and gave him enough time to make an exit toward Renner Studios head office.

But, in the end, it was for naught. Even here, there was a huge crowd of TV vans, news reporters, etc who were waiting for him to arrive. Luckily the security crew had them cordoned off to a side, and they weren't spilling out into the roads and streets.

Spotting the entrance to the building garage, Ian drove his car into it, as cameras flashed around him in an attempt to take more pictures. The windows were luckily able to prevent Ian from having to listen to any of their god-awful questions this time.

Within a minute he'd parked his car and made his way to his office. On the way, he met Mason, and the rest of his friends, including Raelynn, Nico, and his assistant Murphy, who were waiting for him with sympathetic expressions on their faces.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. The security wasn't able to make them leave, and we've already called LAPD, but they're saying they can't do much in this situation." Mason said as he greeted Ian, "Raelynn here had to honk several times and waited fifteen minutes before they cleared off the garage entrance, and that too because the building security made them."

Ian could see the stress marks on Rae's face, and his frustration due to the paparazzi just doubled.

"I'm sorry that happened, Rae. They're here for me, and I really don't know what to do to make them go away. Heck, they were waiting outside the hotel for the after party of yesterday's premiere." Ian apologized.

Raelynn smiled and replied, "Don't worry about it, it's not your fault."

Ian nodded, and then turned to Murphy and said, "I'll give you the keys to my Pagani, you and a few of the boys from security send a few decoy cars out of this building. Make sure you leave first and take it to my mansion. Tell the others to take a few other cars down in the lot, and drive them around the city for a while. Once you've lost them, come right back. Leave my Pagani at the mansion. I need to finish the script of my next movie, I will be in the office."

Saying that Ian walked into his office, to continue working on the script for his next movie.

Ferris Bueller's Day off is one of the more innocent movies from Ian's past life. It was a sweet, warm-hearted comedy about a teenager who skips school so he can help his best friend win some self-respect. The therapy he has in mind includes a day's visit to Chicago, and after we've seen the Sears Tower, the Art Institute, the Board of Trade, a parade down Dearborn Street, architectural landmarks, a Gold Coast lunch, and a game at Wrigley Field, we have to concede that the city and state film offices have done their jobs: If "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" fails on every other level, at least it works as a travelogue.

It does, however, work on at least a few other levels. The movie's main lead Ferris a bright high school senior from the North Shore who fakes an illness so he can spend a day in town with his girlfriend, Sloane, and his best friend, Cameron.

At first, it seems as if skipping school is all he has in mind - especially after he talks Cameron into borrowing his dad's restored red Ferrari, a car the father loves more than Cameron himself.

The body of the movie is a lighthearted excursion through the Loop, including a German-American Day parade in which Ferris leaps aboard a float, grabs a microphone, and starts singing "Twist and Shout" while the marching band backs him up. The teens fake their way into a fancy restaurant for lunch, spend some time gawking at the masterpieces in the Art Institute, and then go out to Wrigley Field, where, of course, they are late and have to take box seats far back in the left-field corner. (The movie gets that detail right; it would be too much to hope that they could arrive in the third inning and find seats in the bleachers.) There is one great, dizzying moment when the teens visit the top of the Sears Tower and lean forward and press their foreheads against the glass, and look straight down at the tiny cars and little specks of life far below, and begin to talk about their lives. And that introduces, subtly, the buried theme of the movie, which is that Ferris wants to help Cameron gain self-respect in the face of his father's materialism.

Ferris is, in fact, a bit of a preacher. "Life goes by so fast," he says, "that if you don't stop and look around, you might miss it." He's sensitive to the hurt inside his friend's heart, as Cameron explains how his dad has cherished and restored the red Ferrari and given it a place of honor in his life - a place denied to Cameron.

Ian believed it would be a great movie to divert attention from himself, caused by the scandal, and the courtroom drama.

He had just made the last finishing touches to the script, and thought of the various actors that he'd need to cast for the movie. His mind immediately recalled the casting agency from the previous night, and he used the intercom to call his uncle Mason to his office.

Within a minute the man had answered his call, and was seated comfortably in the chair opposite him,

"So, tell me, is that the script for your next project?" Mason asked as he glanced at the file that had just finished printing and was placed neatly on the table.

Ian nodded and said "Yeah, another rom-com. A very light-hearted and fun tone, not like Marriage Story, how are the final numbers for that by the way."

Mason pondered the question and replied, "Well, as you had expected, it didn't do very well at the box office-"

"It wasn't meant to"

"-yes, well. Apart from that, it received hate online from your detractors over the scandal, but now that the curtains on that have closed, the critical response is very good. There are rumors that the academy is considering it for an award. I don't know to what end."

Ian nodded, as he absorbed that nugget of information, and said "Well, this should more than makeup for the box office, and the budget is small too. Not more than ten million dollars, that too is a stretch. What I want to know is whether you received any calls from RedHub Talent Agency or any such companies for a contract over actors. I don't really want to spend much time over casting choices for this movie. Well, apart from the female lead, I have a name for that, Alexandra Daddario. Please get in touch with her agent, I want her in the film."

Mason nodded, as he remembered a few emails that his secretary had fielded that very morning from Talent Agencies. He said as he stood up to leave "I'll look into it, and I will proofread the script as well."

"Thank you, uncle," Ian said, as he too got ready to leave home. "Has murphy come back yet?"

"He should be outside, I believe," Mason replied.

Murphy was seated at his table outside Ian's office, and he had a frustrated expression on his face, the very same could be seen sported on almost all other employees on the floor.

"What's wrong?" Ian asked the man.

"It's just those paps, they haven't left. They were back within an hour after we returned. And their numbers just increased. We called the cops again, and they did leave for a time, but they returned again."

Ian sighed, as he looked out the window blinds, and saw the massive lineup of Camera crew and TV vans outside the office, parked along the public parking.

"This is getting out of hand," Ian commented.

"Their interest in you will die down eventually." Mason commented, as he glanced out the window as well.

Ian rubbed his forehead out of frustration, and said "I-I think, I will let it die down, and I will go on a vacation. It's high time that I take one anyway."