Page 3 of Second Act
Andy had no plans to retire at fifty-seven. He loved his job. He knew that Tony was planning to retire in the next year or two, saying he had had enough of corporate life. Andy wondered if that was true. What would Tony do with himself without being a key player in the power game? The young blondes he collected, or even a new wife, wouldn’t be enough to entertain him. He had a yacht and a plane, and lived a high life. Andy couldn’t see him being satisfied with chasing women and playing golf. But for now, Tony was still in the job, and the news he had just reported to Andy was major.
“I wasn’t expecting that. I thought you were going to blow off the rumors. I thought they were just the usual bullshit. I denied them to Phil Lieber last night. I didn’t think there was any truth to them.”
“Well, keep denying them for now. We won’t be ready to make the announcement for a few more weeks, maybe a month. We’ve agreed to the terms, but we haven’t signed the final docs yet. And you know how that is. Some kink always comes up at the last minute that can screw the whole deal and needs to be ironed out. We don’t want that to happen. AMCO wants the money, and it will be a record-breaking deal when FAQTS signs on the dotted line. You’re part of industry history, Andy,” Tony said, and patted him on the back, but Andy Westfield already was legendary and had been for nearly two decades. Being part of a multibillion-dollar deal would only add tothat. “And remember, you’re in good shape here. You have my personal guarantee of that.” Tony paid the check then, on his AMCO credit card, and the breakfast meeting ended on the astounding news he had shared.
Julian was waiting outside for Andy in the company car, a Mercedes-Maybach that was even more expensive than the Bentley Julian had driven for him the night before, which Andy owned. He often preferred his own car to the larger, even showier car the studio provided for him. He was pensive on the way back to his office and had a lot to think about.
New ownership was likely to be complicated for a while. There would be a long period of adjustment while he and FAQTS got used to each other, while Andy learned what their vision was for the company. They weren’t likely to just leave things as they were. He would have to discover the changes they wanted to make, and negotiate for the studio and convince FAQTS that he knew how things worked best. It wouldn’t be an easy time, and would inevitably require a major revamping of Global’s systems, particularly since FAQTS was so high-tech. A private owner could be much harder to deal with than a corporate one, which was more impersonal. Now he’d be dealing with the personality and quirks and prejudices of an owner. It could play to his advantage in the end, but would take finesse and grace until he learned what a new owner expected of him. He was glad that Tony had warned him so he could think about it and prepare, and he was also grateful that Tony had reassured him that his job was safe. It had never even occurred to him that AMCO might sell Global Studios one day. It was the farthest thing from his mind.
It pained Andy to realize that others wouldn’t be as secure, andhe would inevitably have to let some key people go when the new owners arrived. He knew what that could do to people’s lives, and it would be a challenge to maintain morale during the handover, with people panicked about losing their jobs. He would have to stay close to his top management to avoid mass panic in the ranks. It was going to be an unsettling time, but at least he had time to prepare for it now.
Andy thought of Global almost like a family, with him as the patriarch at the top. He cared about each and every one of his employees, all the way down to the lowliest ones. There was no such thing as “lowliest” to him. They all mattered to him, even those he didn’t know and had never met. They all had lives and dreams and families that depended on them. And for those he would have to let go, it would be life-changing for them. Maybe for the best in the end, if they found better jobs. It would be an art form to integrate new faces in with the old. He was going to suggest several retreats to HR, and training programs with games to facilitate the change. There was a lot to think about, not for himself, but for all the others. With more than a thousand employees, the ripples would be felt throughout the company, and he would have to keep the ship steady once the sale was announced. It would be huge news in the industry, and there would be the press to deal with too. Global’s media and PR departments would be busy, keeping a positive spin on the change. Maybe it would be good news in the end. Maybe a fresh point of view would strengthen the studio even further. It was all he could hope for now, waiting for the news to become public. Tony had said in a few weeks or a month. Andy had some serious planning to do until then.
—
Andy was quiet in the elevator riding up to his office, his mind whirling with the news Tony had shared with him. He looked serious when he walked into the inner sanctum, after the receptionists greeted him when he walked by. Frances was putting messages on his desk when he came through the red doors. She turned to look at him with a smile and was surprised that he didn’t look happier after the wins of the night before.
“Are you okay?” she asked cautiously. She thought he looked serious and perturbed.
“I’m fine.” He smiled at her, always polite and personable, and professional in his demeanor, but she knew him well. Something seemed off to her. “Just a lot on my mind. I’m tired after last night. Wonderful news, though, and not surprising. They’re both great pictures.” He set down his briefcase, which she took and put away as he sat at his desk. He looked more stressed than tired, and she wondered if there had been a problem with Alana. She could be a diva at times, although he was patient with her too. He had an even, calm temperament, and was slow to anger, which his mother had always attributed to his father’s Montana origins. His father had been good-natured too. His mother had a cheerful nature but could be high-strung at times. Andy was used to women who could be nervous and demanding, although his ex-wife had never been difficult. She had been easygoing, reasonable, and fair, even about their divorce, which was why they were still friends.
The women since her had been better looking but not as easy to get along with, but since he wasn’t married to them, it rarely upsethim. A little time and breathing space always calmed things down, and eventually a change of woman would be inevitable. After fifteen years, Frances was surprised that Alana had lasted this long, but Alana was careful with Andy and didn’t make scenes with him as a rule, which wouldn’t have gone over well. Frances had always liked Jean, with her calm, down-to-earth style, and very few of the women since her. Alana was always haughty and high-handed with Frances, with the arrogance of some stars, and made sure that Frances felt she was an inconsequential being in her life. Her only importance to Alana was as Andy’s assistant, to help her get whatever she wanted. Frances hoped she’d like the next one better. Lately, she had a feeling it might not be too long a wait. Alana was getting increasingly pretentious and demanding. Andy had noticed it too, but he didn’t want to deal with it yet. There were still things he enjoyed about her. And she was a good traveling companion. He liked going on trips with her.
Once Andy was settled at his desk, Frances reminded him that he was going to the Napa Valley the next day, with Alana, to stay at a newly redecorated hotel she wanted to see. They’d been to Napa before, and she loved the wine and the food. He was planning to use the company plane, as he always did, and land at a small airport not far from the hotel. Frances had arranged it with her usual efficiency and everything was in order. He saw she had written him a note about it as he went through his messages.
“Thank God you reminded me, I almost forgot.” Tony Bogart’s news had blown everything else out of Andy’s head. “What time do we take off?”
“You have a ten-fifteen takeoff slot. Probably getting to the airport at nine-thirty or nine forty-five would do it. You won’t have much luggage for the weekend.” He smiled at what she said.
“I won’t, but Alana will have four or five bags for costume changes. We’ll get there at nine-thirty, just to be safe, so we don’t miss our slot.”
He sent Alana a text reminding her shortly after, and she responded at noon.
“Awfully early, no?” she said.
“It gives us time to check into the hotel and have a nice lunch,” he responded. They had several favorite restaurants in the area. It was a trip they always enjoyed, and Napa would be lush and green by then, with vineyards everywhere that made it look like Italy. Alana had traveled to Europe with him too, and had been on many vacations with him, even on boats he had chartered in the Mediterranean. She always made the trips better and more fun for him. She was a good companion, whatever her motivations for being there. He wasn’t entirely naïve about that, but it was a fair trade. Good company for him, and luxurious holidays for her, in the utmost luxury that was a given in his life, much of it due to his job, like the plane.
—
Throughout the day Andy’s breakfast with Tony Bogart came to mind, and the shocking news Tony had shared. It raised many questions in Andy’s mind about how best to handle it when the time came, and how to make the announcement with an appropriate mix of glitz and compassion so the new owners would feel they’d beengiven their due, and the worried employees of Global, and those who would lose their jobs, could face it with a minimum of panic. So many of them had families that depended on them. Andy never lost sight of that, particularly since his own job was secure. He could think of everyone else, as he always did.
He spent a quiet evening at home and picked Alana up at eight-thirty the next morning, to get to the airport on time to board the plane calmly without rushing.
As he had predicted, she had four valises and half a dozen garment bags with clothes she had borrowed for the weekend, most of them from Chanel. Her agent called the publicity offices of major designers, and either facilitated borrowing clothes for her or got her a big discount if she had to buy them. She was always elegantly and tastefully dressed and would have enhanced the image of any man she accompanied. She looked like a star. And Andy constantly looked like what he was, a very important man. Even in tennis shorts and a T-shirt, or jeans and a sweater, he had the aura of power about him. He had been at the top of his game for so long that it was part of him now, second nature. He got outstanding service everywhere he went. It never dawned on him that that might not be the case. Frances saw to it that every possible mishap was avoided, and he was shielded from any inconvenience. He got the best suites in every hotel, the smoothest reception and the best food at every restaurant, and service by the manager in every store, without even realizing it. The best of everything was reserved and set aside for him, and his every desire and need was anticipated before he could even think of it himself.
Even as a star, Andy’s father hadn’t received the kind of service hedid. As a studio head, Andy was far more important and powerful than any star. He was the maker of stars, the ruler of his kingdom, whether he acknowledged it or not. Most of the time, he wasn’t even aware of it. It was just how he lived, and what happened to him in the golden life he led. He had no real sense of how other people lived. He never thought about it. Everything in his life was designed for his comfort, with as little hassle and stress as possible. Frances played a big part in that, but people wanted to please him, and they wanted his business.
When he got to the plane, two stewards greeted him on the ground. The bags were whisked away. As soon as the plane took off, brunch was served, according to all Andy’s preferences and Alana’s. She thoroughly enjoyed being part of his rarefied world. She had dated other important men, though none quite as powerful as Andy, or as nice. Most men in shoes similar to his had a mean side to them, based on their own sense of importance. It was a personality Andy didn’t have. He didn’t need to make anyone else feel small in order to elevate himself. He was who he was, and had been in the job for nineteen years. His real power and influence in the industry were enough for him.
They landed in Napa at eleven-thirty and got to the hotel shortly after noon. The manager was waiting for them, with his assistant, and the best suite had been set aside and filled with flowers, with a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket. A waiter opened the bottle for Alana. Andy didn’t want to drink that early in the day, but Alana never turned down champagne. Andy noticed that it was her favorite, Cristal.
They went to lunch at an excellent French restaurant, and for a drive afterward, enjoying the beauty of the valley. Frances had arranged for a car for them, a Range Rover. Alana thought a sports car would have been more fun, but Frances knew Andy would prefer an SUV or something similarly more discreet. Andy was never vulgar or showy. Alana had reminded Frances several times that Bentley made an SUV now, and was always slightly annoyed that she didn’t take the hint. But Frances was there to serve Andy’s needs, not Alana’s, and always politely made that clear.
They went back to the hotel for a nap after their afternoon drive, and made love in the beautiful room with the view of the lush valley. He was an ardent lover, and they got along well in bed, which was part of her appeal to him. It was more athletic than romantic. Alana was a skilled lover, and so was Andy. He had learned some new things since the divorce. His lovemaking with Jean had been perfunctory in the last ten years of their marriage. Things had improved since then, although there was no deep emotion involved. Alana wasn’t a warm, emotional woman, or a nurturer. She was more of a femme fatale, which suited her role in life as a movie star.
She looked suitably glamorous when they left for dinner. She was wearing beige suede slacks with a matching coat from Chanel, with elegant beige suede high-heeled boots and diamond studs in her ears that Andy had given her the year before for her birthday. People noticed Andy and Alana immediately when they walked into The French Laundry for dinner, and recognized her instantly. Several people came to their table to ask for her autograph. Alana loved it, and Andy watched her bask in her glory. He had lived with that allhis life. People had asked his parents for autographs everywhere they went, even in gas stations, hospitals, or the post office. It was just part of their life, and he took it in stride. It was newer to Alana, who had only lived with it for some fifteen years.
They went to sleep with a fire in the fireplace in their room, and got up the next morning to go for a walk. Alana was wearing another Chanel outfit, in denim, with a denim bomber jacket, designer jeans, and matching shoes again. She looked like she had stepped out of a magazine. Andy wore plain jeans and his favorite old cowboy boots and a cashmere windbreaker that cost a fortune but didn’t look it, which was more his style. He had brought an old Stetson cowboy hat too, and looked more like his father when he wore it. Alana could easily see the resemblance. He looked like one of his father’s movie posters as they wandered through one of the small towns near the hotel.
