HWI 145

[Shout out to Mili B!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 145

Kazir stumbled to the railing, wobbling quite a bit.

The woman turned to her right and found an unsteady man.

"Excuse me, are you okay?"

She looked up at the city lights as the man stepped onto the balcony. Still, this was a party and the balcony was free for everyone to use.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine," Kazir replied, kneading his forehead hard.

"Um, do you want me to get you a glass of water?"

"Thanks, I really need it." He smiled bitterly.

His head hurt and his vision was blurry. He also felt like throwing up.

Kazir Grey likes to drink, but he never likes the feeling of a hangover. So he never gets to the point where he has to go blank. But today's party affected him.

To be precise, he was happy about winning the golden statue and got drunk because of it.

"O- Okay, I'll get you one."

The woman went to the party and found a waiter handing out glasses of water. She grabbed two glasses and returned to see the man vomiting violently. Kazir was leaning against the wall, spitting out what he had ingested.

The woman flinched. It was disgusting to see a stranger throwing up.

Still, she handed him the water.

"Here."

"Thanks..."

Kazir Grey sobered up after vomiting and drinking two glasses of water.

'Damn, I'll definitely have a hangover tomorrow."

He thought.

"It's okay. Alcohol can be dangerous sometimes." The woman put down the glasses.

"Too much alcohol is dangerous."

"That's true." She agreed.

"By the way, have we met before?"

Curious, Kazir looked at the woman. He felt like he knew her, but he could not remember.

"Your pick-up line is too rusty. You should use a better line."

The woman sighed. It was the third time she had heard it tonight. She was here to make connections because her career was not getting any better.

She had heard that Grey Pictures was a new production company and the prospects were good.

But all she got was endless flirting from the opposite sex.

"Ah? I think you misunderstand, I have no intention of doing that."

"Okay?" She tilted her head.

She helped the man to his feet. The light on the balcony was too dim, so she had to get close to see his face.

Suddenly, the woman remembered a scene in the gym three years ago. She could not forget this memory because it was quite funny.

"Ah, now I remember. You're the fat guy who was wheezing in the gym!"

"..."

That was embarrassing. Sober for a while, Kazir remembered that scene as well.

"You're Jennifer Connelly."

"That's right. Wow, I can't believe you look so good now. Looks like you work hard."

"I'm proud of my accomplishments."

"It looks that way."

They both looked into each other's eyes before realizing that they were quite close. Jennifer was the first to step back. She smelled the terrible smell of alcohol on Kazir.

"Anyway, what's your name? It seems you're part of this industry too."

"I'm a director."

"Oh really?"

"I'm Kazir Grey."

"... You've got to be kidding me."

Jennifer Connelly was stunned. She didn't expect to hear that name from the man who threw up.

When she attended the party, her agent told her to flirt with Director Grey. To be honest, she didn't like the idea.

But now that she saw Kazir's performance... She had second thoughts, no, third thoughts.

"W- Well, I guess I have to go now. See you later."

"Okay, take care. Thanks for your help. You can go to Grey Pictures if you're interested in working with us."

Kazir waved his hand without a problem. He was shocked to see an actress alone on the balcony, but that was all.

He didn't have to act starstruck, he was a famous person too.

In fact, his name is probably more famous than Jennifer Connelly's. Especially after the scandal two years ago. Almost everybody knows his name.

Of course Kazir Grey found her attractive, but he was not a creepy asshole.

'Besides, I don't want to be part of the Me Too movement, the negative side of it, of course.'

Well, the main antagonist of the Me Too movement was none other than Harvey Weinstein.

"Jennifer Connelly, huh?"

Kazir actually has a crush on the actress. He was one of his top 5... that sounds bad.

Anyway, Kazir said goodbye to the party and finally returned to his apartment. He hired a taxi because it was too dangerous for him to drive.

As expected, he threw up in the toilet again.

He fell asleep in his dirty tuxedo. He was too tired to change.

...

...

...

When Kazir opened his eyes, a sharp pain hit his head. He groaned and rolled over to the left side of the bed.

"Fuck..."

He said. Then he sat up and looked at his watch. He realized he was late.

"Fuck!"

Kazir had never been late for filming. This might be the first time. He didn't have time to shower, so he changed his clothes instead.

He checked his phone and found dozens of messages and missed calls.

-- Hello, Kazir? Where are you?

Producer Harold Witsend contacted him.

"I'll be there! Just give me 15 minutes, no, half an hour. Give me half an hour and I'll be there. While I'm gone, tell Fremont to shoot the gas station scene."

Kazir quickly came out of the apartment and ran to the elevator.

"Okay. By the way, congratulations on the Oscar."

"Thanks." He said and ended the call.

Kazir Grey smiled. He was happy to have won Best Original Screenplay...

Unfortunately, the throbbing pain hit him again and his smile disappeared.

"Fuck. Painkiller might not be bad..."