"Murphy! What are you doing!? I told you to act shocked, not elated!" A bald man whose face rapidly turned red from the strain of yelling as the veins on his neck bulged under pressure, raised his hand holding a stack of paper while sitting on his foldable chair.
"Sorry Mr. McCarty. I will act properly this time 'round!" Eddie, wearing a janitor's costume, apologised in the most 'white english' as he called it when describing it to Mark, while bowing slightly.
"Hmph. Do you even know how much film we just wasted on this scene? Do you even know how much it costs. Ah! It's almost lunchtime. Murphy, get the damn scene right so we can all go for lunch!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Eddie apologised some more, but he did not mind. The role was his. He would be getting a good 5 minutes of screen-time, and a hefty $3 grand for it! Plus, all shooting should be completed by the end of the day! He would be making three thousand dollars for 5 minutes of acting in just a single day!
With such pay, who would care about the director's treatment. Plus, he was clearly treating all other actors, both famous and non-so-much, so who was he, a non-name actor with just a few side-roles under his belt, to say anything about the treatment.
"What in the- Who are you kid? Why are you in school at this time! How did you even get in? And who is the retiree?" Murphy put down the mop and bucket and began walking towards the teenager in a red jacket and tight jeans, an angry and confused frown barely hidden under his fake moustache.
"Doc! Run!" the actor exclaimed and the camera followed the duo to the door of the set, as Eddie stopped running once the camera passed him.
And after completing the scene properly this time, he was given his payment... and sent home. His scene was done, and his payment was received, just like that.
"Now... gotta get ma a*s to the the Actor's Guild. They gotta have some roles for little ol' me, right? I wonder... how is Mark's scriptwriting is going?" Eddie sighed as he went to the bank to deposit the money in his personal bank account, keeping $50 for his own expenses.
...
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Olivia Gabriel twirled her hair as she raid a financial report on the two apartment buildings she had obtained from her divorce; one in San Rafael, and one in Las Angeles. The money she was earning in the form of rent was enough for her to comfortably live off without having to work.
However, she did want to live such a life of leeching off others. As such, she put down the report that was all in the green considering the building in LA was one that had only recently been built and was in almost mint condition. Instead, she reached over to pick-up her telephone, her hand accidentally touching a white book next to it causing her to flinch slightly.
She stared at the cover of the cookbook for a moment before picking up the phone and ringing a different number to what she originally planned to call.
"Yes, hello, its me, Olivia... Yes, I want to sell the apartment complex in San Rafael... No, not immediately. Take your time, I want a good price... Yes, 4 months will do... The price? Hmm... What could I possibly get for it? Yes, I will not keep my penthouse either... All the renting contracts will naturally go to the buyer... $2 million? That is a lot more than what it was worth during the divorce... Ah, housing prices have risen? Alright, start at $2.5 million, and I am willing to go down to $1.9 million. You get 1% of the value as a broker, so make sure to get me a good deal... Haha, yes, I will treat you to a meal when the deal is complete."
Putting the phone down, Olivia glanced back at the cookbook next to the phone and sighed. She did not know why she was ding this. Perhaps she was getting to attached to this place... or to him. Perhaps, she didn't want to be in a relationship again... at least not yet, so she was already distancing herself from him.
'But I was the one to invite him over to prepare food for us first... I took the first step... Sigh... I hope this doesn't cause problems in the future,' she leaned back on her chair that was in her room, taking a sip from her 'healthy morning drink' that looked suspiciously like a Gin and Tonic, with the whole set of ice and lemons.
Moments later, she got up, and changed into her work clothes before heading over to her lawyer's office. there were still a few things to settle from the divorce, and she also needed to get his insight on what to do with the money she would get from selling the building. She had heard selling something you gained as a divorce settlement involved a considerable amount of taxation from the government, or so the rumours said and she needed to understand it all before trying to work with the lawyer to produce a solution.
...
Meanwhile, a few students found the recruitment notice and contacted Mark over the next few days. And Mark set-up a meeting with all of them individually for privacy reasons for the students, and for convenience for himself as well.
And today, as the heat of the summer wained and the chill of the autumn encroached, Mark walked into a café with his hands in his jeans pockets and a dark-grey sweater.