Page 4 of Second Act
All in all, it was a relaxing, easy weekend, and they made love again before they left the hotel. It had been a perfect break from their routine for both of them, and just what Andy needed to relax.
They landed back in LA at seven o’clock after a smooth flight, and got back to his house in Bel-Air at eight.
“Do you want to spend the night?” he asked her gently, and she nodded with a smile. The easy weekend in Napa had brought them closer, as their trips together often did.
The housekeeper had dinner brought in for them from one of their favorite restaurants, and they swam in his pool afterward. It was refreshing and relaxing, and they lay on lounge chairs after their swim, talking softly. She was meeting her agent the next day to discuss a part she was hoping to get, and Andy had no major dramasto deal with at the moment, except the sale no one knew anything about yet. He wondered when the deal would be signed and the sale confirmed, and didn’t say a word to Alana about it, as he had promised Tony Bogart.
They went to bed at midnight and watched a movie for a while until she fell asleep. He turned it off and watched her in his bed for a minute, exquisitely graceful and unnaturally beautiful. He wondered why he didn’t love her. She was perfect in many ways, intelligent, interesting, well-traveled, glamorous, charming when she wanted to be. He enjoyed her company and was used to her, but there was a part of him she never reached, and he knew she never would. He was never sure how sincere she was, and no matter what happened, she never touched his heart. He strongly doubted that any woman ever would again. Other than his daughter and her children, the only thing he had ever truly loved for years was his job. He smiled, thinking about it, as he turned off the light and lay down next to Alana. Even if they weren’t in love, it was nice having her in his bed. He didn’t need more than that from her. Even she knew that his work was his first love, and the enormous power and influence he had was his drug of choice.
Chapter 3
For three weeks after Andy’s breakfast meeting with Tony Bogart, things were strangely quiet. It reminded Andy of the proverbial calm before the storm. He had a sense of foreboding. If nothing else, there would be an explosion in the press once the news was announced that Global Studios had been sold, and it was going to turn the film industry upside down.
He called Tony twice, inquiring if there was news. Tony sounded in good spirits, almost jovial, and told him that things were moving forward, it just took time to get the contracts right and to tie up all the loose ends. Andy knew how long contracts could take, so he wasn’t surprised. They took months sometimes on complicated deals where multiple studios or production companies were involved. With two mammoth participants like AMCO and FAQTS, the contracts would be inordinately complex. According to Tony, there were sixteen attorneys working on it. Tony assured Andy again that he would call him as soon as there was news.
Andy went away with Alana on the weekends, to help pass the time. She had just agreed to do a new film, and had a starring role, so she was in good spirits. They went to Palm Springs for a weekend, where he played golf and tennis. Frances found a house with a pool in Malibu for them, on a gloriously sunny late March weekend. They lay in the sun together, with Alana under an enormous, glamorous sunhat. They walked on the beach. They hated to leave on Sunday night, and it made Andy almost want to buy a house in Malibu. He never had before because his own house was so comfortable, but a weekend at the beach had done them both good. It was the most romantic weekend he had spent with Alana in three years.
When he got home that night, he remembered the changes that were coming. He had almost forgotten about it all weekend. He was sorry to see Alana leave on Sunday night, but she had to go home. Her new trainer was coming to her house at 6a.m. She was getting ready for the movie, and wanted to get in top shape for the part. There were several nude scenes in it, and she didn’t like using a body double for them. She was proud of her body. She stayed in exceptionally good shape, which Andy liked. He was fit and athletic too.
Andy was up early the next morning and got to the office at eight-thirty. He was surprised to see Tony Bogart waiting in his office when he walked in, talking on his phone. He ended the call when Andy arrived, and was hale and hearty. He seemed in a very good mood and announced to Andy that the deal between AMCO and FAQTS had been signed at midnight on Friday night. He said he hadn’t wanted to bother Andy over the weekend and had waited until Monday morning to tell him. Andy was relieved to hear it, butwished he’d told him before the weekend, as it would have been nice and a relief to have been advised that the deal had closed.
“We’re sending out a press release at noon,” Tony told him, and Andy saw something strange in his eyes. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt almost as though he was lording the deal over Andy, as if it were some kind of victory for him, which Andy didn’t understand. The two men weren’t competing with each other, or they weren’t supposed to be. Tony worked for AMCO, so with the sale of Global Studios, he would no longer be involved. And Andy was well aware that if Tony had managed the sale well, he would be given a huge bonus, so it was a win for him. It was the size of the deal that was a victory for Tony and would make news, since he had been part of the negotiation.
“There have been some changes in the initial structuring of the deal,” Tony said, sitting comfortably in one of the chairs in Andy’s office. Andy sat down across from him.
“What kind of changes?” Andy asked.
“It was a surprise for me too,” Tony said innocently. “It was a deal-breaker for them. We tried to fight it, but we couldn’t. The new owner’s son has been running a TV network for ten years, very successfully I might add. The son wants to get into movies now. I think his father bought Global for him, and the profit we make, of course.” Tony’s face grew serious, his eyes steely, and Andy’s heart skipped a beat. “He wants your seat, Andy. He’s going to be the new CEO. I didn’t realize that was going to be part of the deal, none of us did. It was the sticking point and why it took us so long to sign, and giving him that was the only way the deal would close. It was a deal-breaker for them. We had no choice.”
“What do you mean?” Andy said to him, feeling as though suddenly Tony was speaking to him in Chinese.
“The son of the chairman of FAQTS wants your job. You know how these things go. You came in the last time Global sold.”
“You mean I’m out?” Andy looked stunned. He wasn’t clear if they were shuffling him into another job, or he’d just been fired.
“I’m afraid so. I’m sorry, Andy. I thought you were safe, but we never are.” As he said it, Andy saw the red doors to his office open and two of the familiar security men walked in. They didn’t smile this time. They stood quietly by the doors, as Andy looked from them to Tony. He’d had no warning, no time to prepare, no explanation until now. “AMCO is going to take good care of you. We’ll call your lawyer with the severance package this morning. We’re giving you three years’ salary, Andy. That’s one hell of a lot of money.” And so was Tony’s bonus, Andy was sure. And he still had his job.
“And I’m fired. Just like that,” Andy said in disbelief. Tony stood up then.
“You know how this works,” he said coldly, and nodded at the two security guards. “We’ll send you the contents of your desk, anything personal, and your art. This place won’t look the same without it,” he said, glancing around, and his eyes brushed past the wall of movie posters of Andy’s parents. “The boys will escort you to your car.”
“Can I say goodbye to my assistant?” Andy asked in a hoarse voice. His legs were shaking but it didn’t show. Tony shook his head and didn’t answer, nodded at the two men in black uniforms, and Andy followed them out of his office in a daze. The two girls at the desk stared at him in astonishment as he walked past them. Theelevator was there seconds later and Andy walked into it with a security guard on either side, as though he were going to pull out a gun and start a mass murder in the office where he had worked and been revered for nineteen years. He left the building in a straight line, walking blindly. The Mercedes-Maybach was waiting right outside. One of the guards opened the door, and Andy got in without saying a word. Julian started the car, and Andy managed to say, “The house in Bel-Air.” Julian glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Andy wipe a tear from his cheek as he stared out the window, while the familiar landscape rolled past. Andy felt as though he were in a foreign country, a place where he’d never been before. He almost felt as though he didn’t speak the language. He tried to remember Tony’s exact words, but he couldn’t. All he could remember was two security guards walking into his office without knocking, and realizing what it meant. He almost had the feeling that Tony was happy about it, and thought Andy deserved it. He didn’t believe now that AMCO had fought for him and his job. They had handed his seat to the new owner on a silver platter, along with Andy’s head. Swift as a saber, it was done and he was gone. The gaping wound it left in his heart and soul was bleeding profusely. It was a death blow like no other.
He was surprised when they got to his house. It had taken no time at all, without traffic. He got out of the car and Julian got out and looked at him.
He stuck out a hand to shake Andy’s. “It’s been nice driving you, sir,” he said. “They just let me go this morning. I guess they’ll get you another driver. They told me to take the car back to the garage afterI dropped you off.” He didn’t realize that Andy had been fired too, and what the security guard escort had meant. So, they had fired his driver, and were already reclaiming the car. Andy didn’t care. He had his own cars. But he had no job now. He was unemployed, fired, out of work. He had been the head of a major studio an hour ago, and now he was no one. Andy shook Julian’s hand, thanked him, and walked into his house.
Frances called him on his cell as soon as he got through the door. She was crying. “They just fired me. They wouldn’t even let me say goodbye to you.” She was sobbing.
“That’s because I’m not there,” he said somberly. “They fired me too.”
“Theywhat?”
“They sold the studio. The new owner’s son got my job. I’m out.” The reality began to sink in as he said the words, and he realized he had to call Wendy before she saw it on the news.
“How can they fire you?”
“They just did. That’s how I got in nineteen years ago, when they bought the studio and fired the previous head. It’s kind of like a domino game.”
