The Beautiful People

30. Joshua

     It was a little after high noon when I finally opened my eyes and groaned my way out of bed. I had been up working most of the night creating some new material. The fireworks from the previous night had inspired me a great deal and I was too excited to sleep. I was up until five in the morning, typing away at the keyboard as if I had a deadline on Monday. It had been a while since I was that inspired and it felt good to feel the words just flow out. By the time I went to bed, I could already hear some people up and starting their morning. That was kind of typical for me; when everybody else is getting out of bed, I'm usually getting in it.

     So when I finally got out of bed it was around twelve thirty, and the one thing that really caught me off guard was how quiet it was. I looked out the window, and there were no signs of life. No one smoking on the deck, no one shooting the shit. Nothing. It seemed odd so I put on some slacks and a t-shirt before strolling downstairs. When I reached the bottom of the staircase, I was greeted by the same silence and lack of bodies. I had overheard something about a hike, but I had assumed them would have been back by lunch. I decided to stroll into the kitchen to investigate further.

     As I strolled into the kitchen, there were still no one there but there was a message left on the counter. As I opened it and started to read it, it was then when I realized it was from Angie's boss, Mr. Parsons. The message was quite interesting, as it read:

Josh,

I heard you were up all night working, and hope that you were productive. Everyone has joined my wife and I on a hike to the lake. What everyone else is unaware of is beside the lake is our camp, and we'll be staying at this campsite overnight. We shall return tomorrow before lunch, but that means you're on your own. At the bottom of the letter is the WiFi password, so you can access the internet. I'm sure you can use the time alone to do more work while we're gone. The fridge is fully stocked so you can whip something up or just attack the leftovers from last night.

Sincerely,
David Parsons

     I looked at the letter and read it again. I couldn't help but grin, as I knew how much Angie hated camping... which was almost as much as I hated camping. I'd rather stay at the house and do more writing than hike to the lake. I felt like I was getting a pass on something that I would not have enjoyed. Not one bit.

     I made myself a cup of coffee and then after a few sips, I brought my laptop down and used the password from the letter to access the WiFi and get back on the net. I had the laptop sitting on the island in the middle of the kitchen when I was finally able to launch the online chat program. It took only a few seconds to finally connect with my agent, who I hadn't been able to talk to since the previous morning. He seemed happy to see me.

     "Josh!" the agent called out. "Where are you?"

     "I'm still at the cabin," I answered, "I'm connected to the WiFi, so this is as good as phoning ya. So give me the skinny, Eddie, where are the negotiations?"

     "It's getting intense," Eddie answered, wiping the sweat from his brow.

     "How intense are we talking here?" I asked him, eager to know more.

     "The studios are matching each other every six hours." Eddie replied, "The bids are just over ten million. And because of the rumors, your book sales are up two hundred percent."

     "Damn," I said, sipping my coffee. "So no matter what, I'm making some serious coin."

     "Pretty much," Eddie said, "But in the end, the decision is yours. You get to pick who you prefer to work with and why."

     "Understood," I said, pondering the power I was just given. "Let the studios know that I was full creative control. I'm not going to sabotage my own film, cause I want it to succeed but I have to approve all major casting decisions, so this film meets my vision and standard. Understood?"

     "Some studios might not like that," Eddie said.

     "Good," I replied, as I honestly didn't care. "That might narrow the field and make our decision a little easier."

     "Good way to put it," Eddie conceded, "I assume that's a deal breaker?"

     "You assumed correctly," I concurred, "No creative control means no contract. Anyone who refuses is basically disqualifying themselves from consideration."

     "What if they all refuse?" Eddie asked.

     "They won't," I countered, "There's one studio out there that wants my business so bad that they'll give me anything I want. We just have to find them."

     "Alright," Eddie said, deeply sighing. "I'll let them know."

     "Don't pout," I told the agent, "We are going with who gives us more control, not the highest bid. But if we can get both, that would be a bonus."

     "I hear ya," Eddie said, "When are you coming back to town?"

     "Probably early Monday." I answered, "This company weekend thing is so weird."

     "What do you mean? How weird?" Eddie asked.

     "Weird enough to the point where I spend all night writing new material." I replied.

     "New material?" Eddie repeated, "I do like the sound of that."

     "I'm sure you do," I said, waving to him. "I'm going to get back to work, I suggest you do the same."

     "Will do," Eddie said, "Have a good weekend."

     "You too, bud." I said before shutting down the video call.

     I sat there at the island, sitting on one of the stools thinking about everyone else. I wondered what the look one everyone's face was going be when Mr. Parsons revealed their outdoor accommodations for the night. Jimbo would be fine, he seemed like a camping and fishing kind of guy. For a moment I wished I could have been there to see the look on everyone else's faces, especially Angie and Rachel. I chuckled for a moment and then sighed, content to miss it cause I was glad that I managed to avoid getting dragged out there and bitten by a zillion mosquitoes. That amusing thought was again starting to inspire words, so I opened the word processor and just started to type. Like the night before, the new words were again flowing out. With the peace and quiet that surrounded me, I was going to get a lot of work done today.