Genevieve "Phoenix" Benali is a 22 year old film student at UCLA. When she gets the opportunity to join the crew of Infinity War, she catches the attention of one of the biggest stars on the planet.
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Liked by lukasabbat and 683 others phoenixbenali: daddy's house 🥰 View all 57 comments lukasabbat: fuck come back 🥵 December 14, 2016
"Could you get off your phone for one minute?"
"Why?" Phoenix asked, barely glancing up from her Instagram feed. "I have nothing better to do."
"Don't start, Genevieve," her dad said, frowning. "Do you know how hard I worked to get Joe and Anthony here? They're busy men."
"Phoenix," she corrected, her tone flat.
Her father sighed, muttering something about "kids these days" and Phoenix tuned him out, scrolling past an influencer's selfie in front of the Eiffel Tower.
The doorbell rang and her mood flipped in an instant. She jumped up from the couch, nearly dropping her phone in her rush to answer it. "THEY'RE HERE!"
The second she swung it open, she was greeted by the warm smiles of Joe and Anthony Russo.
"Words can't even describe how happy I am to see you both," she said, stepping aside to let the director duo in.
"It's good to see you too, Phoenix!" Anthony replied. "How long's it been? Two years?"
"Three," she corrected. Before she could say more, her father appeared in the hallway behind her.
"IF IT ISN'T THE RUSSOS!" he bellowed. "GETTING TOO FAMOUS FOR US, HUH?"
"Too famous for Richie? Never!" Joe laughed as Richard pulled them both into one of his signature bear hugs.
Phoenix hung back, watching her father chat with his old friends from graduate school. This wasn't the first time she'd seen her chatterbox father like this. At the core of his being, he was funny, charming, and larger-than-life. It was one of the many things she appreciated about him, even if it meant his attention wasn't always hers.
After her parents divorced, she and her sister, Giuliana, moved to Orlando with their mom. But Richard Benali was far from an absentee parent. He called and texted and did whatever he could to stay connected, even from over a thousand miles away. Which worked in Phoenix's favor more times than not. Being one of the most well-known attorneys on the East Coast, her dad had an extensive network... one that had helped her progress in her dream career as a director and filmmaker. Case in point: his old college buddies, the Russo Brothers.
"So..." Joe said, turning to her. "How's UCLA treating you? What are you, a junior now?"
"Senior," Phoenix replied, a hint of pride bubbling beneath the surface. "Just one semester left and I'm FREE."
"Your dad says you're interested in working with us on set," Anthony chimed in.
"That's right," she said. "To show you I'm more than qualified for such a huge project, I've put together a reel of every short film I've written, directed, and produced this semester. I can grab my laptop if you'd like."
"Richie already sent us your reel," Anthony said, grinning. "You've got a ton of talent and oh so much potential."
Phoenix blinked, surprised by the news that her father not only acquired her reel but sent it to the Russos. She shot her dad a look but he only smiled back in response.
"But you already knew we were gonna say something like that," Joe let out a quiet laugh. "We're starting production at the end of January in Georgia. Based on what we've seen, we'd love to have you on the crew."
