Beginning of the End

"So, Cam and I have been really unhappy with dinner lately," Mitchell began, shaking his head. "You know how it is—all the work involved in getting Lily ready to go out, and, of course, our location. We're pretty much limited to walking distance, and that means our options are… well, limited to this nearby kebab joint."

"Oh yeah, I've been there with Haley," I said absentmindedly, then paused as I realized I'd mentioned Haley. The recent argument with her was still fresh in my mind. "Good place," I muttered, trying to move past it.

Mitchell sighed dramatically before continuing. "Well, we heard about this hot new eatery, Amelia's—apparently, it's the place to be right now. And as luck would have it, Amelia, the owner, is the mom of a little boy in Lily's preschool. So, we set up a playdate with him, hoping to get on Amelia's good side and, you know, get in at the restaurant."

I chuckled. "Been there as well. You know, you could have just asked me. Do you want me to set up a reservation?"

Mitchell winced slightly, a sheepish look crossing his face. "Yeah, I don't think they'd let us in anymore."

I sighed, already sensing disaster. "What did you and Cam do?"

"So, everything's going great, and Amelia even says we can get in, but right then she has to take a phone call. Cam and I accidentally overhear it on speakerphone, and let me tell you, she is not just upset—she's furious at some contractor. Like, borderline scary."

I nodded.

"Well," Mitchell continued, "Amelia asks us to watch her son Jackson while she deals with this contractor. So, we're watching Jackson, and then we notice one of Lily's juice boxes has been punctured and spilled all over this insanely expensive $50,000 carpet."

I couldn't help but laugh. "No wonder she's not going to let you in."

But when I noticed Mitchell's expression, I realized there was more to the story. He shook his head, the look on his face a mixture of guilt and horror.

"So, Cam and I are freaking out. We even considered moving the entire carpet to hide the stain, but we finally decided to blame Jackson—lying that he took one of the strawberry juice boxes and spilled it."

"That's messed up, Mitchell," I said, shaking my head. "Really? Blaming the kid?"

"What were we supposed to do?" Mitchell asked, throwing his hands up in defeat.

I shrugged, still amused. "Let me guess—it didn't work out?"

"Not even close," Mitchell muttered. "Turns out, Jackson is allergic to strawberries. The moment Amelia hears our story, she's getting ready to give him an injection, and we're holding him down, panicking, before we finally admit the truth. Needless to say, Amelia's is forever off-limits to us now. We ended up back at the kebab joint."

"Hey, those are good kebabs," I said, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"I'm glad one of the most embarrassing moments of my life amuses you," Mitchell said, rolling his eyes but with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Embarrassing moment of your life so far," I teased. "Oh man, Mitchell, I feel like this kind of thing happens to you guys a lot."

"You know, I think it does," Mitchell admitted, finally laughing along with me.

There was some silence between us for a time as we sat in the breakroom of the office. Mitchell took a sip of his drink and then looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "So, how's Haley doing?"

I sighed, knowing this conversation was coming. "She told you, didn't she?"

"Well, we talk," Mitchell said, shrugging lightly.

I hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Look, I don't even know if we're in a relationship anymore. It's been hard for a while now, and I think… I think it might not work out for us for now."

Mitchell tilted his head slightly, his expression softening. "For now?"

I nodded, trying to find the right words to explain how I was feeling. "Yeah, for now. We're just heading in different directions. She's going to college soon, and I'm going to be busy with the studio. It's like we're on completely different paths. Maybe if we'd met when we were older, things would've been different."

Mitchell nodded thoughtfully. "Haley can be a bit immature at times. I can see how that would be tough when you're dealing with everything you have going on."

"But I think you should talk face to face," he added.

I couldn't help but think back to the last conversation I had with Haley. It had been a huge argument, one that left me feeling like our relationship was hanging by a thread. "I don't think she wants to talk to me, Mitchell," I said, the frustration clear in my voice.

"Daniel, trust me," Mitchell said, leaning forward slightly. "You should talk to her. If you guys are going to end things, then end it amicably. She's my niece, Daniel. I don't want her first relationship to end badly. Trust me, I have an ex where things didn't end well, and I still feel bad about it."

I sighed deeply, feeling the weight of his words. "Fine, I'll talk to her. Maybe we can figure things out… or maybe we can't."

Mitchell nodded, giving me a supportive smile before taking another sip of his coffee. "Good. It's the right thing to do."

We sat in silence for a few more moments before Mitchell stood up, ready to head out. "Alright, I'll catch you later. Good luck with Haley, Daniel."

"Thanks, Mitchell," I replied, watching him leave before finishing my own coffee.

==========

After Mitchell left, I headed toward Lucy's office. We had some things to discuss regarding the upcoming release of A Game of Thrones. The book was set to be released in a month under the name George R.R. Martin, and the marketing campaign had been going exceptionally well. There was a buzz of excitement building around the book, fueled by early reviews and a generous endorsement from me, which had turned it into one of the most anticipated releases of the year.

There was already a conspiracy theory among my fanbase that I was the real author of the book, but for now, no one really believed it.

I walked into Lucy's office, noticing her deep in conversation on the phone. She gave me a quick nod as I entered, so I quietly made my way over to her desk and sat down. My eyes wandered over the various manuscripts spread across her desk. I absentmindedly began to flip through a few of them, looking to see if there was anything interesting.

As Lucy ended her call, she turned to me with a satisfied smile. "Good news," she said, clearly pleased. "Everything is looking great for the release of A Game of Thrones. The buzz around it is incredible."

"Good, good," I muttered, still distracted by the papers in front of me. But then something caught my eye—a manuscript with a title that made my heart skip a beat: The Hunger Games. I quickly picked it up, trying to hide my surprise, and asked, "Who's this from?"

"Oh, that," Lucy replied, noticing my interest. "It's from an author named Suzanne Collins. She's been having some trouble with her current publisher and came to me for help. We knew each other from a previous project. This is her new book."

I tried to keep my tone casual, though I already knew the potential of this manuscript. "Is it good?"

"Yes, I think so," Lucy replied, a note of confidence in her voice.

"We have to publish it then," I said, unable to hide my eagerness.

Lucy chuckled at my sudden enthusiasm. "Yes, Danny, I was planning to make her an offer. I've been told this will be a hit with the teen girl demographic."

A whirlwind of thoughts filled my mind. I knew how big The Hunger Games would become—I needed to secure the rights, not just for the book but for everything else that could come from it. "We should also talk to Suzanne about movie rights for this," I added quickly, trying to convey the importance of the idea.

"Movie rights?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Daniel, you haven't even read it yet."

I smiled, trying to play it cool. "I just have a feeling it's going to be good. You know, like Twilight. That series turned into a massive hit, and look at how much money those movies made."

Lucy looked thoughtful for a moment, clearly considering the possibilities. "Fine, I'll bring it up with her when we finalize everything."

"I'm serious about this, Lucy. Make her any offer she wants. I just have that feeling, you know?" I said seriously. Securing the rights for The Hunger Games would be huge for Stardust and would also calm down some of the board members who were still not on board with the DCU.

Well the book has to be successful this time as well.