When Life Gives You Lemons

I woke up early in the morning and the first thing I checked was my room hoping that it was a dream but no luck there. You know those quotes that tell you that a good night's sleep will clear all your problems, utter bullshit I tell you. The sleep did help me in processing my current circumstances but I need some time to adept to my situation. I don't know how those main characters in novels adapt so fast in the first chapter; my author probably hasn't even passed the prologue stage yet.

"Whatever, I will deal with the problems as I go, that's what life is all about isn't it?" That's my motto because when you have luck like mine then without a motto you will not survive a month.

I got out of the bed and went to the washroom because the best place to think is either your shower or the toilet seat. Once I settled down in the washroom I went through the conversation I had with Cyrus. One thing was clear that I didn't actually have a choice, I either take his deal or I go to jail and believe it or not jail is not my favorite place.

So my choice was set and I was going through my options of which company I am going to take from him. I had the option t not take the company but it was better to have an established platform then to struggle at the bottom. I had a lot of experience in different fields from my previous life and although previous Alexander was an asshole, he still somehow got a degree in literature. So my options were quite broad.

It's not like I had to choose a company already under the name of Cyrus. He is the CEO and a major shareholder of the Trident Group. He can buy a small company and slap it in my face anytime he wants, not that I am complaining. Speaking of Trident Group, it's a behemoth in automobiles in this world and has branches in many other businesses from food and beverages to fashion and luxury brands.

When you have so many options to choose from it becomes a new kind of problem that peasants like us never had a chance to experience. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury to waste time on these options and I had to choose before breakfast.

I narrowed it down to fields of finance and software because I know the future trends and I have somewhat relevant experience in both fields. Even if I didn't have any relevant experience I would still have chosen these two fields. You may ask me why; well it was because when I reported the manual bug to Admin he promised me a perk and the perk was that I can obtain a limited amount of information of any field I want from my previous world. The information may be limited but it contains all basic and professional knowledge about said field.

"Thank god I didn't have the time to use this perk yesterday before I was called to the dinner table otherwise I would have regretted it." It was a blessing in disguise.

Now I had to choose between these two fields, which was not difficult at all because finance is highly dependent on luck and I can confidently say that I have very bad luck. My choice was set, software it is. Feeling confident about my future for the first time, I called for my system.

"System"

[Demo System AF350013 is at your service]

I paused for a second and thought about something more important than information selection.

"Can you change the way you reply to something else?" I asked as it was a very cheesy line and it reminded me what I got was a demo system.

[Affirmative]

[...]

"….."

"....Then change it to a simple yes." I forgot in my excitement that it was an artificial retard not an artificial intelligence.

[Affirmative]

[Request is being processed….]

[Request processed successfully]

[...]

"….."

'Calm down… Calm down, it's a retard system, not worth getting angry over.' I am going die early to high blood pressure because of this system.

"System" I called again.

[Yes]

"Finally! Now system can you activate the perk of one time information download." I tried to be as specific as possible because I don't want to feel stupid later.

[Affirmative]

[Request is being processed….]

[Request processed successfully]

As soon as the information was processed a window opened in front of me with different options listed on it.

I excitedly scrolled through the list and found the option for software related information. I clicked on the option and screen changed to a progress bar. It showed that it will take 10 minutes to download the information. While the information was being downloaded I took a quick shower and changed my clothes to a nicely fitting suite with a silk tie and leather shoes.

'I look quite handsome in this as they say, clothes make a man.' As I was feeding my ego in front of the mirror a ding sounded indicating that the download has finished and the screen in front of me automatically closed.

[Ding]

[Download complete]

I was feeling giddy like a 5 year old on sugar high; I swung my fist in the air and even did a victory pose towards the sky.

[Information about Movies and TV series is being stored in the database. Please wait...]

I froze like a statue right in the middle of my victory pose. It took a few seconds for my brain to process this totally unexpected notification.

[Information storage in database completed]

"No I chose the software information. Where did this information about Movies and TV series come from?" I hurriedly asked the system before I could even understand what was going on.

[Request cannot be processed]

"I want to choose again I want software related information." I asked more specifically this time.

[Request cannot be processed]

[You have already used your one time use download perk]

'Is it a fucking bug again?' This was the only explanation of the current situation.

"I want to contact the admin and report a bug." I was really feeling betrayed right now. How come the perk I obtained by reporting a bug also contained a bug? What is this, buy one get one free sale?

[Request cannot be processed]

[You have already used your one time opportunity to contact the Admin]

[A report can be sent back due to discovery of a bug. Do you want to proceed?]

"Yes, Yes I want to proceed." I got scared there for a moment but thankfully there is a report function. It's all in the manual but I completely forgot about it in heat of the moment.

[Report is being sent. Please wait…]

[Report sent successfully]

[You have received a reply from the admin department. Do you want to read it?]

"Yes I want to read it. What else can I do right now?" this system is too mechanical for my taste. Wonder what kind of thing the developer smoked when he created this system.

'I also want that shit.' Sometimes my thoughts scare me. I put my scary thoughts aside when another window opened in front of me. It had an inbox like interface with only one message in it. I clicked it open and started reading the message. It read:

[Mr. Marcus, we would like to thank you for reporting the bug in our system. We appreciate your efforts in helping us perfect the system.]

"…." I continued scrolling maybe I missed something but it was the only message and after reading the massage the window closed automatically

"That's it? Where the hell is my compensation, my second chance after they fixed the bug? Where is the manager? I want to report to the manager." They blew me off with a single thank you. I was incensed and my veins were bulging due to anger.

[Request cannot be processed]

After hearing the reply of the system I deflated like a balloon and slumped on the bed powerlessly. What else could I do in my current situation other than take the cards I have been dealt. The only way to reverse the situation was a dead-end.

This was not an unsalvageable situation per se but it derailed all of my plans and that's what ticks me off the most. Man proposes and system disposes I guess. I squeezed all of my positive energy and scrapped the original plan to make a new one. My original plan was to obtain a small software company from Cyrus and get a head start by bringing the near future's successful ideas to life. Of course I can still go in software field and start by scratch but that will be giving away my advantage.

It was a near perfect plan but it died a really early death. To boot, I was not a Movies and TV series fan in my previous life. Sure, I have watched some popular movies and shows but that's it but it's not like that I was completely unrelated to the field. I was a hustler and a jack of all trades in my previous life so I have some technical knowledge, not enough to make a movie but it's not little either.

It's not all bad news, but a mix of some good in all the bad. First good news is that the mother of previous Alexander, Emily Jane Stone was an experienced actress and Alexander being very close to his mother often accompanied her to the shoots. Meaning previous Alexander also had some knowledge about movie making technicalities. Combining my knowledge with previous Alexander's knowledge and the new basic information in the database, it is barely enough for the movie industry.

The Second good news is that Cyrus owns a movie production and distribution company named Starlight Entertainment which was originally owned by Emily. This company was constantly loss making company under Cyrus but due to sentimental reasons he did not want to sell this company after his wife's death. You may be wondering that what good news is this. The good news is that it's a medium sized company and a distribution company at that.

Hollywood is a closely knit circle and to start from scratch in Hollywood is extremely difficult. My identity as the son of a previous actress and owner of an already established company can let me bypass many hurdles normally faced by people without backgrounds. Starlight Entertainment being a distribution company is also very important.

What is the most difficult problem faced by movies in Hollywood? Is it production, Script or Director? No, it's the distribution of movies. Most indie movies are not even distributed in cinemas and those that are released in theaters earn some pennies for the director and crew. Most of the profits are sucked by the distribution companies; in many cases they completely buyout the movie rights of promising projects without giving any benefits to the main crew. This is how Hollywood works.

I have a preliminary plan set up now. I have knowledge about filmmaking, a target company, money to start some projects and Information about movies from my previous world. Now all I had to do is to convince Cyrus to hand me Starlight Entertainment.

'It's not going to be easy convincing him to handover his wife memento to his most useless son.' I hope Cyrus will at least hear me out before deciding that jail is a better option for me.

"Yosh! Fighting." I slapped my cheeks, gathered my courage and made my way to the dining room where my fate was going to be decided.