My Life in Hollywood C54 The String-Along (Patreon)

Inside the studio break room, everyone could feel the change in Lana. The moment she returned with Marcus by her side, she wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, her arms wrapped tight around herself.

"Something happen, hon?" Pia asked, genuine worry in her voice. She'd taken a liking to the young actress; saw herself in Lana.

Lana shook her head. "N-no. It's nothing."

But her face told a different story. The tremor in her voice, the way she kept glancing toward the door.

Pia and the others noticed her hesitation and didn't push. Not with their young boss and producer standing right there.

Gabriel, however, had a different reaction entirely. His jaw set hard, hands curling into fists at his sides like a volcano threatening to blow.

And all that barely-contained fury was aimed squarely at Marcus.

'Did this rich kid do something to her?' Gabriel's mind raced through possibilities, each worse than the last.

Marcus wasn't dense. He caught the glare immediately, though he couldn't figure out what the hell he'd done to earn it. They'd barely interacted beyond the audition. "We got a problem?"

"Problem?" Gabriel bit out the word. "Yeah, we got a problem. You made her uncomfortable. The hell did you do to her?" He jabbed a finger toward Lana.

Marcus blinked. "The hell did I do?"

Pia, Julia, Timothy, and the others exchanged uncomfortable glances. Gabriel was way out of line confronting their boss like this.

"Gabriel, man, just tone it down a bit. We don't even know what happened..." Timothy, ever the reasonable one, tried to defuse the situation.

"I'm not talking to you, Tim." Gabriel was a bull that had seen red. He scanned the room with open contempt. "You guys can kiss this kid's ass all you want, but I'm not gonna stand here while he—"

"Gabriel, stop." Lana set aside her worries for the moment; this needed to end. "Nothing happened, okay? Marcus didn't do anything to me. You're making shit up."

Gabriel's eyes went wide. "You're seriously protecting him right now?"

The betrayal in his voice would've been almost funny if the situation weren't so tense.

Marcus could see this spiraling out of control. He still didn't understand why Gabriel was acting out, but he knew enough to protect the kids from witnessing whatever came next. He looked at Leonard, the veteran actor cast as Jay. "Hey, Leonard, can you get the kids outta here? They don't need to see this."

Leonard didn't hesitate. "Yeah, sure thing." He was already moving, having reached the same conclusion.

The moment the confused child actors were out of the room, Marcus moved. He grabbed Gabriel by the collar, yanking him close.

Gabriel had been muttering something about "little piece of shit riding daddy's coattails"—

Everyone went still.

"You don't know shit." Marcus's voice came out ice-cold. "You wanna play hero? Fine. But get your facts straight first instead of running your mouth." He gave Gabriel a hard shove back. "Figure out what actually happened before you start accusing people of stuff they didn't do."

Gabriel could barely get words out. "You—"

"It wasn't Marcus." Lana's voice cut through the tension. "It was that bastard who's been making my life hell. Marcus showed up and got him to back off. So seriously, just shut up."

The truth of it hit Gabriel like a freight train. Heat crept up his neck, flooding his face. If there'd been a hole nearby, he would've jumped in and buried himself.

All the stupid shit he'd said...

Without another word, he bolted from the room.

Julia and the others released a collective breath.

"What the hell was that about?" Marcus shook his head. "Why'd he just blow up at me like that?"

"Okay, so..." Pia's tone turned awkward. "Gabriel's kinda been trying to get with Lana. Pretty sure he's just jealous."

"Ah. Got it." Marcus nodded, though he'd already pieced that much together.

"God, that idiot." Lana's frustration was clear. "I've been turning him down for weeks. How much clearer can I be?"

Pia and the others felt a twinge of pity for Gabriel, but they were still pissed about what he'd said.

"So wait," Julia changed the subject carefully, "that bastard you mentioned... that's the same guy from before, right? The one you told us about?"

Lana's shoulders tensed, but she nodded. Then she told them the rest: the guy's name was Christopher, he'd shown up at the studio earlier, looked at her like she was property he'd misplaced, made it crystal clear he expected her to come crawling back. If Marcus hadn't shown up when he did, she didn't know what would've happened.

Julia and the others felt their own anger flare.

Pia moved closer, offering quiet comfort. Timothy added a few words of support. Marcus watched it play out, staying out of the way.

'Good grief. I managed to cast good people.' He studied the group dynamics, filed away what he was seeing. 'But Gabriel... that guy might be a problem with that temper.'

He was already reconsidering Dylan's role in the show. Fewer appearances than the original, maybe. Give Haley a better arc instead.

Just then, he noticed Lana's fingers trembling. The encounter with Christopher had clearly shaken her badly.

He silently bought [Serenity Elixir] worth 10 Points from the system.

The elixir worked by calming the user's nervous system, bringing a sense of peace and mental clarity. Not a drug; it actually offered legitimate health benefits—lowered cortisol, reduced inflammation from stress, improved heart rate variability. The kind of thing that made expensive therapy sessions seem redundant.

Marcus stood and walked over to the water dispenser across the room. While his back was turned, he let a few drops of the elixir fall into the glass.

He returned to where Lana sat and handed her the water. "Here, drink up. Should help calm you down."

Lana took it with slightly shaking hands, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. She drank in large gulps.

At first, she figured it was just water that might take the edge off a little. But then something unexpected happened. A wave of calmness spread through her, sinking deep into her bones.

Even her surprise felt muted, softened by the sudden tranquility washing over her. She looked up at Marcus, a genuine smile spreading across her face. "Thanks, Marcus. I feel a lot better now."

"Good." Marcus returned the smile.

'Of course you do. I slipped the elixir in there.'

---◖⁠⚆⁠ᴥ⁠⚆⁠◗---

The next morning, Marcus woke up to Jefferson calling him in a panic. It wasn't even 5 AM yet.

"Jefferson, what the hell? Why're you calling this early?" he groaned into the phone.

"Marcus, we've got a situation!" Jefferson sounded genuinely alarmed. "It's all over the news—Blockbuster Cinema just publicly announced they're buying us out for $500 million! Their team's already reached out wanting to set up meetings ASAP to hammer out the details."

Marcus's eyebrows shot up. "What the actual fuck?" The curse slipped out before he could stop it. "Are you serious right now?"

"Dead serious! It's everywhere. They went public with this, acting like it's already a done deal!"

Marcus sat there, genuinely stunned.

"No way in hell am I selling. So just tell them no. I'm not interested." His response came without hesitation.

"Hold on, don't make any rushed decisions here," Jefferson cautioned. "We're talking about $500 million. You absolutely sure about turning this down?"

Even as a millionaire himself, Jefferson was clearly tempted by that kind of money.

"I'm sure." Marcus didn't even need to think about it.

"Well... maybe we can use this whole mess to our advantage," Jefferson suggested, his tone shifting.

Marcus's interest perked up. "Yeah? What're you thinking?"

"Here's the thing." Jefferson let out a low chuckle. "Blockbuster's so damn arrogant they're broadcasting this everywhere, right? So why don't we drag out the negotiation process, string them along, make them think they've actually got a shot at buying us... while we're really just riding all the free publicity they're generating?"

Marcus sat up in bed, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Now that's a damn good idea."

They talked for another twenty minutes before Jefferson hung up. Marcus made his bed, then headed to the bathroom for a shower.

He got up earlier than usual thanks to the whole hostile takeover news from Blockbuster Cinema.

When he came out, Arya was already awake in the kitchen, making breakfast for them. She'd gotten comfortable around the house; her shorts rode high on her thighs, tank top clinging to her curves.

Seriously. If he didn't have self-control, he'd be all over her.

Fortunately, they just talked over breakfast. Arya tried leaning in for a kiss at one point, but he pulled back—told her he'd be swamped later and couldn't afford the distraction.

As Marcus disappeared from view down the driveway, Arya stood at the window, arms crossed. 'Am I not attractive enough for him?'

She couldn't stop thinking about what happened that night on the couch with Ryan passed out beside them. The way Marcus's hands had moved over her body, how honest and raw it felt. Her fingers touched her lower lip, biting it softly. She could still feel that kiss.

---…⁠ᘛ⁠⁐̤⁠ᕐ⁠ᐷ---

Two days later at Netflicks HQ, Diana and her legal team were already scrambling. The "sudden" takeover bid from Blockbuster Cinema meant reviewing mountains of paperwork—purchase agreements, non-disclosure forms, asset valuations.

On top of that, Alexander's father's investment team had requested extensive due diligence materials—financial projections, subscriber data, content licensing agreements, the whole nine yards. They hadn't committed to investing yet; they were just doing their homework to see if Netflicks was worth backing. Diana's desk looked like a paper bomb had gone off.

It was chaotic. Marcus almost felt bad for her. After all, the paperwork from Blockbuster would ultimately be ignored—they were just pretending to consider it. In other words, he was adding work to her plate for absolutely no reason.

He and Jefferson had already discussed the strategy.

By noon, Marcus found himself sitting across from Christopher Doyle at a Michelin-starred restaurant downtown.

The place was upscale—white tablecloths, crystal stemware, the kind of spot where a steak cost more than most people's weekly grocery bill.

Marcus studied the thirty-year-old man across from him. He already didn't like the guy, but outwardly, he played the part of the eager young entrepreneur, smiling like he was flattered by the attention.

Jefferson sat beside him, playing his role as the "adult in the room"—the experienced advisor Marcus supposedly couldn't function without. The whole act was designed to make Christopher think Marcus was out of his depth.

"My team should've already sent over the proposals to yours," Christopher said, swirling his wine lazily. "$500 million's not a bad deal. Sets you up for life."

"It's definitely a generous offer," Jefferson agreed, playing along perfectly. "But no matter how many times I explain it to him, this kid thinks it's too low."

"Mr. Crown's got ambition, I see." Christopher laughed softly, though his eyes stayed cold.

Marcus smiled. "Half a billion's definitely serious money, but I think my company's worth more than that."

"Really?" Christopher didn't even try to hide the contempt. "Your company isn't even worth that much. I'm offering you a price that's already above market value, and you're still not satisfied?"

"Don't get me wrong—it's above current market value, sure. But the potential of my company? That'll blow yours out of the water." Marcus kept his tone casual, almost friendly, but the words landed like a slap.

Christopher's jaw tightened. "Blow mine out of the water? Ha! Bold words from someone running a startup." He leaned forward slightly. "You're seriously comparing your little operation to my billion-dollar company?"

Marcus just cut into his steak, ignoring the provocation entirely.

Jefferson, sensing the tension spike, jumped in with a conciliatory tone. "Hey now, let's keep things friendly here. I'm sure we can figure something out with this deal. After all, everything's got a price, right, Mr. Doyle?"

Christopher's expression relaxed slightly. He chuckled. "You're right about that."

What he didn't know was that Marcus and Jefferson were just stringing him along—dragging out negotiations to milk the free publicity Blockbuster was generating for Netflicks.