Chapter 55

“I swear, Ted, I’m so damn tempted to slug you one…”

“I’m sorry, Boss. We just couldn’t think of anything else.”

“You should be sorry. That was a damned dirty trick. You, of all people, ought to know how I feel about flowers and chocolates and all that romantic schtick.”

“But—”

“Don’t interrupt. Not only did you make me spend the entire weekend in a hotel where every damn bellboy tried to make sure our stay was ‘romantic’ enough, but you did it by going behind my back like a sneak thief. How am I ever supposed to trust any of you again after this?”

“But Boss—”

“And another thing: you orchestrated the wholesale invasion of my studio. I am not going to put up with any more would-be filmmakers or wanna-be porn stars mooning around the place.”

“Got it. But really—”

“You owe me big time.”

“Right, boss.”

“And I’m going to expect you to work your ass off to make this next one work out just as well as mine did.”