My Life in Hollywood C30 Stranglehold (Patreon)

In Las Vegas, deep inside a nightclub where bass thundered through the walls and neon lights painted everything in electric blues and pinks, a private VIP room offered a quieter sanctuary. A man in his thirties sat sprawled on a leather couch, a stunning blonde beside him.

"Whatever you want, baby. Just say the word. I'll order the most expensive bottle they've got." The man's confidence bordered on arrogance.

The blonde giggled, adjusting her sunglasses despite being indoors, playing her part perfectly. She flashed him the kind of smile she'd practiced in the mirror a thousand times—inviting, mysterious, just flirtatious enough.

"I'll have whatever you're having, babe," she purred.

Inside, she wanted to throw up. She hated this place. Hated the stale cigar smoke, the tacky gold fixtures, the whole damn charade.

But most of all, she hated the man sitting next to her.

'If it wasn't for that role, I wouldn't be here.' Lana clenched her jaw behind the smile. She was C-list—had been grinding since she was fifteen, four years of auditions and bit parts and commercial work. Now nineteen, she was still recognizable only to people who'd seen that one studio comedy she'd been in. Barely.

She wanted more. Needed more. And that big role in UBA's new series? That was her ticket up. But getting it meant sitting here, entertaining this asshole.

"Don't be shy with me." The man grinned, his eyes roaming over her. "I know this is new for you, but you'll get used to it. Trust me."

Lana's stomach turned. He was right—it was her first time doing this. If she'd started playing this game earlier in her career, maybe she'd already be B-list. Or higher. But she'd had principles back then. Funny how desperation changed things.

She felt his elbow brush against her breast. Not an accident. He did it deliberately, confidently, like he owned her already.

Her eyes flicked to his face. He looked proud of himself.

She clenched her fist beneath the table, nails digging into her palm. She wanted to deck him. But she couldn't. Because the man sitting next to her was Christopher Doyle—chairman of Blockbuster Cinema.

His family had founded the company, built it into a multi-billion-dollar empire. Christopher had inherited it three years ago when his father stepped down, and he hadn't lifted a finger since. The company printed money. He just showed up to collect.

"Hey." Christopher leaned closer, his breath reeking of expensive whiskey. "After this, we should go somewhere more... private. Have some real fun."

"I—" Lana hesitated, her mind racing for an excuse.

A man in a dark suit approached their booth. She recognized him—one of Christopher's assistants, always hovering nearby.

"What?" Christopher's face twisted with annoyance. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"My apologies, sir." The assistant bowed slightly. He was Asian, built like a linebacker. "But the company's been trying to reach you for three days."

Christopher barely showed up at headquarters anymore. He'd rather party while his executives ran the show. The board didn't care—profits were up, stock was stable. Why rock the boat?

"Why do they need me? Can't David handle whatever it is?" Christopher waved dismissively.

David Lopez was the CEO his father had handpicked before retiring. The man was competent, detail-oriented. That's why he still had the job.

"Mr. Lopez said this requires your attention specifically. He's focused on operational issues, but this is more... delicate. The board's pressuring him to act, but he says it's your call."

Christopher's eyebrows rose. "David can't handle something? That's new. What is it?"

Lana sat quietly, pretending to study her nails while listening to every word.

"It's about news that's been circulating the past few days. About the company."

"News? What news?"

The assistant explained the situation—the teenage filmmaker, the interview, the predictions about Blockbuster's obsolescence.

Christopher's expression darkened. "Some kid said that? About us?"

"Yes, sir. Mr. Lopez thinks it'll blow over—just a teenager talking big. But the board disagrees. They want to push back hard, make sure this doesn't happen again. Mr. Lopez says he doesn't have authority over something like this. It requires the chairman's decision."

Christopher's face flushed red. He grabbed a wine bottle off the table and drank straight from it, gulping without any of his earlier sophistication.

Lana watched, genuinely surprised. A sixteen-year-old had pissed off a billion-dollar company, and now she was watching the chairman lose his shit over it.

"Looks like we're cutting this short." Christopher turned to her, forcing a smile. "Don't worry though. Next time, we'll have that 'fun' I mentioned."

He stood to leave.

"The role..." Lana's voice was small, hesitant. She could see how angry he was.

"Don't worry. It's yours." Christopher looked back at her, and his smile widened.

That smile sent a chill down her spine. On his wide face with those cold eyes, it looked less like reassurance and more like a threat.

---ᕦ⁠(⁠ò⁠_⁠ó⁠ˇ⁠)⁠ᕤ---

At Blockbuster Cinema headquarters, the conference room was tense. David Lopez sat near the middle of the long table, looking sharp despite being in his fifties. His dark hair was slicked back, his expression calm but tired.

Around him sat the company's major stakeholders—board members with significant equity, all of them older, wealthier, and far more concerned with optics than actual business strategy.

At the head of the table sat Christopher Doyle.

"I really don't think this warrants our attention." David's tone was measured, diplomatic. "It's a sixteen-year-old kid. At that age, people say reckless things. It'll blow over."

Slam!

Christopher's fist hit the table. "You know what kind of message this sends? Some punk kid disrespecting us in the press?"

"With all due respect, sir, he didn't really disrespect us—" David tried to interject.

"No." Christopher's voice went cold. "This gets handled."

The room went silent. The board members nodded in agreement, their expressions grim.

David sat back, his jaw tight. 'How the hell did we end up with this idiot running things?' It was absurd. Nepotism at its finest—inherit billions, contribute nothing, make terrible decisions. And people like David had to smile and nod and clean up the mess.

---ᕙ⁠༼⁠◕⁠ ⁠ᴥ⁠ ⁠◕⁠༽⁠ᕗ---

A few days later, Marcus had been pushing hard to scale Netflicks faster than planned. Subscribers were flooding in—over five thousand in just the past week. The monthly revenue projections had jumped to around $180,000, maybe more if growth kept up at this pace.

More subscribers meant more demand. Which meant buying a hell of a lot more DVDs.

They'd ordered around 12,000 discs across multiple distributors to meet demand—roughly $200,000 worth of inventory at wholesale prices. It was a massive order, but necessary if they wanted to actually fulfill rentals.

Then the problems started.

Shipments got delayed. Not just one—all of them. Different distributors, different logistics companies, same result: "Unexpected delays, we'll update you soon."

Then came the price hikes. Suddenly, the same DVDs they'd been buying for $15-17 wholesale were now $22-25. Every distributor, almost overnight.

At the Netflicks office, Jefferson stood across from Marcus, his expression grim.

"This isn't a coincidence," Jefferson said flatly. "They're making their move."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah. Blockbuster's got relationships with these distributors—probably the shipping companies too. They control the whole physical supply chain." He leaned back in his chair. "They're choking us out."

Even in his previous life, Blockbuster hadn't been this aggressive. They'd been big, sure, but not ruthless like this.

"I didn't think they'd come at us this hard," Marcus admitted. "It was just an interview."

Jefferson's expression darkened. "Kid, I've met the chairman of that company. Christopher Doyle. Three times, briefly." He shook his head. "That man doesn't let things slide. And there are rumors about him in Hollywood—they call him one of the predators. You don't want to know what that means."

Marcus absorbed that. 'So this world's Blockbuster is run by a real piece of work.'

In his previous life, Blockbuster had been a corporate giant, but relatively clean. Here? Different story. Maybe it was because they had no real competition. No one to keep them in check. In his old world, Blockbuster had rivals pushing back, keeping the market competitive. Here, they were unchallenged.

"So what do we do?" Jefferson asked, his worry finally showing through. "Distributors won't sell to us at reasonable prices, shipments are stalled... how do we operate?"

Marcus went quiet. He'd talked big about DVDs becoming obsolete, but he couldn't underestimate their importance right now. Rentals were a core part of the monthly subscription. Without inventory, they had nothing to offer.

He tapped his fingers on the desk, thinking hard.

He needed to beat Blockbuster. Not just for the 1,000-point quest reward—though that was huge—but also because the system had started throwing milestone rewards at him, just like with Paranormal Activity's box office. Progress milestones against Blockbuster would earn him points—starting small but increasing with each percentage gained. Right now, he wasn't even at 1%.

A notification appeared.-

[Minor Quest: Break the Supply Chain Stranglehold]

[Objective: Secure reliable DVD inventory despite Blockbuster's interference.]

[Description: Your enemy has leverage over traditional distribution channels. Find alternative suppliers, negotiate new deals, or develop creative solutions to maintain inventory flow.]

[Time Limit: Six Months]

[Reward: +50 Points]

Marcus blinked. 'Minor quest?' This kind of challenge should be a major quest, shouldn't it?

Then it clicked. The system scaled difficulty to his current capabilities. What would've been "major" for someone else was "minor" for him because of his knowledge and resources. The system adapted.

He didn't dwell on it. Instead, he opened the system shop, scrolling through available items and skills.

[Advanced Marketing Psychology - 85 Points] - Understanding consumer behavior and persuasion techniques.

[Film Production: Special Effects Fundamentals - 90 Points] - Basic knowledge of practical and digital effects creation.

[Screenwriting: Character Development - 65 Points] - Craft compelling, multi-dimensional characters.

Then he saw it:

[Knowledge: Entrepreneurial Problem-Solving - 95 Points] - Framework for identifying unconventional solutions to business obstacles. Includes creative thinking methodologies and adaptive strategy development.

Marcus stared at it. That could give him the perspective he needed. Sometimes the answer wasn't obvious—you had to approach problems from angles your competitors wouldn't expect.

He silently—and painfully—spent 95 points on [Entrepreneurial Problem-Solving]. Just like that, nearly a hundred points gone.

The moment he confirmed the purchase, information flooded his mind. His eyes widened as solutions materialized, clear and actionable.

'I never would've thought of these on my own. Not this fast, anyway.' He smiled to himself. This was his first real business challenge. In his past life, he'd been a programmer—comfortable with code, not corporate warfare.

"There's only one move right now," Marcus said, looking up at Jefferson. "We cancel our orders. All of them. We're not waiting around for distributors who won't sell to us."

Jefferson blinked, surprised. It had only been two minutes of silence. "You already have a plan?"

Marcus smiled. The knowledge from [Entrepreneurial Problem-Solving] had shown him several solutions, but he kept it simple. "I've got two ideas."

Jefferson leaned forward, curious.

"First—short term solution. We go local." Marcus explained. "There are hundreds of independent video rental stores getting crushed by Blockbuster Cinema right now. Mom-and-pop shops barely hanging on. We approach them directly, buy their existing inventory in bulk. They get immediate cash, we get DVDs without going through distributors."

Jefferson nodded slowly. "That could get us fifteen, maybe twenty thousand DVDs if we hit enough stores."

"Right. But that's just temporary." Marcus smiled faintly. "What we really need is to go straight to the studios. Cut out the middlemen."

Jefferson's eyebrows rose.

"We negotiate partnerships directly with them for rental rights," Marcus continued. "Here's how it works—we structure deals where they get royalty payments based on how many subscribers rent their DVDs. Revenue sharing. We don't have to buy thousands of copies upfront. We just store their inventory in our warehouse, and they earn every time someone rents their movies."

Jefferson's eyes lit up. "That's actually brilliant. The studios would love that—passive income from rentals without the upfront distribution costs."

"Exactly," Marcus said. "And it scales. As we grow, they keep supplying inventory. No distribution bottlenecks, no middlemen Blockbuster Cinema can pressure."

Jefferson sat back in his chair, genuinely impressed.

"You really came up with all that in two minutes?" Jefferson asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Marcus just shrugged. "When someone's trying to choke you out, you either find another way to breathe, or you die."