Chris sat across the table from Emilia Morse, an old friend who was now the head of production at Sony Pictures. He licked his lips nervously, his fingers playing with the hairs in his beard as he watched Emilia's eyes graze over his fiancée script; one he'd secretly printed after she'd gone to bed last night. He had no intention to go behind her back but he wasn't left with much of a choice after she turned down his suggestion to pitch it. He truly believed her series in its full, original glory deserved to see the light of day.

The second Emilia lowered the stack of pages down, he asked "what do you think?" He then added "do you like it?" before Emilia could even answer his first question. "'Cause I'll go on the record and say I love it, like- I'd love to direct something like that." Emilia chuckled at Chris' excitement, there was a distinct level of bias as it was his fiancée's work. "I know I'm her fiancé," Chris said because he detected it too. "Which is why I'm asking you, is this worth something?"

"It's good," Emilia nodded and Chris immediately grinned. "But," she continued. His smile faltered. "It's too perfect. There is nothing other than the pre-term labor scenario to spark excitement," she explained when she spotted his narrowed eyes. "There is no drama, no problem, and no resolution. It's too smooth a ride, it's not enticing enough. Yes, it's very romantic and incredibly sweet but- you know you need more than that to make a good movie, or even a television series."

"I know," he sighed, pinching at the hairs of his beard again. "I just- I thought with how messy and chaotic the world is today, you'd want this to help people escape." Emilia sighed then offered an apologetic smile. "Thank you for seeing me anyway, I appreciate it." Emilia nodded in acknowledgment. "Now I'm hoping her meeting with Geoff Davis went well 'cause I really do think she has a future in Hollywood."

"Oh, she does," Emilia assured him, again reaching for the stack of pages in front of her. "Your girl's got a lot of potential, she'll make it far if she gets the right person to look at her work." Chris smiled but it quickly faltered when Emilia said, "I can tell you right now Davis is not that person. He will cancel on her today." Chris frowned, immediately reaching for his phone to text Denise and ask if she was okay.

"Denise is a skilled writer," Emilia told Chris what he already knew. "She's got a gift for telling stories, she also has a very good eye for detail," she continued praising Denise's work as she skimmed read the pages again. "I love her dialogue, and her use of imagery is brilliant. She's got a good balance of clichés and originality, it sets her apart. Her vocabulary could be expanded, but she's getting what she wants to say across so- if it ain't broke." Chris chuckled. "She's good," she couldn't help but show Chris her approval through vigorous nods. "Her talent is- it's rare, under the right wing- she's going to soar."

"She's my one in seven billion," Chris said and smiled. He smiled every time he thought about her, and the idea that she really was his. He glanced down at his phone, trying to convince himself that it was a good sign that she wasn't replying. Her lack of response meant that Geoff was meeting with her and she was too busy to respond. "Do you have any other advice?" Chris reached over and patted the pages like he would a baby because it was a baby; his girl's baby. "I'd really like for this to become something."

"Chris," Emilia shook her head. "It's got potential but that's all it has. Unless she's willing to change the plot, or at least add some sort of conflict to the storyline- I can't help you." Chris sighed, causing her to sigh too. There was a brief moment of pause that reminded Emilia what Chris told her about how he met Denise, an idea sparked in her brain. "You said the two of you met because of the series, right?"

"Yeah," Chris nodded. "I found the link in my Twitter mentions a while back, read everything, and just fell in-love with it. Everything's fairly anonymous on Tumblr, despite my best attempts to uncover more information about Denise, I couldn't find anything. I thought about leaving a message in her inbox but- I don't know, I guess I was too scared to dive into the deep end without first acquiring a lifesaver."

"Understandable," Emilia nodded; she knew Chris well enough to understand that initial fear.

"But apparently none of that mattered, because as it turned out, we were fated to be. A few months after I first read her series, I ran into her at JFK." Chris continued. "I saw her in the check-in line and I had this inkling about her, like I had to talk to her. I missed a few very good chances and thought that was it but um-" he chuckled when he remembered all his failed attempts to approach Denise. "I caught her at Starbucks, made my move, and the rest was as they say...history. We're engaged now and I couldn't be happier."

"How was the getting together for you?"

"God," Chris groaned then laughed. "It was a lot of unnecessary drama and road blocks, we practically-" He cut himself off when he realized what Emilia was getting at; the gleam in her eyes and the all knowing smile on her face had said everything she wanted him to hear. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'm saying 'talk to your fiancée first.'" She answered and Chris quickly nodded, an excited grin visible on his face. "If she's happy to sell your love story, I can assure you that many, including myself, would love to buy and produce it." She slid the stack of pages back across the table to him. "This is good, Chris, but your love story- it's going to be a lot better."

"Yeah," Chris agreed without hesitation, "it is."

• • • • • • • •

Denise stared at her phone, contemplating whether or not she should reply to Chris' "is everything okay?" On the one hand, if she didn't reply he'd think she was still in her meeting, thus giving her more time to come up with her story of what happened. On the other hand, if she replied he'd come pick her up so she no longer had to sit alone at Starbucks like a complete loser. As much as she wanted to escape into the comfort of her home, she couldn't respond just yet. She needed more time to perfect her story, she didn't want to lie but she didn't want Chris to cause a scene at New Line Cinema. And she knew he would, he was too protective of her not to. It didn't take her long to decide to ignore her fiancé's text and continue doodling on her paper coaster.

She absentmindedly stirred her untouched vanilla latte, which had gone cold; the toasted blueberry bagel she'd bought and not even taken a bite of had gone stale as well. She wasn't in the mood to eat or drink anything, not with everything she'd heard those at New Line Cinema say about her and her relationship running through her mind. She didn't think it bothered her until she realized she'd lost her appetite because of it. Like she'd written in her mini series, she doodled a cartoon version of herself, except this time she was holding a broom and not an Oscar. It was apparent where her future laid; absolutely not in Hollywood. She knew she was being melodramatic, she also knew it was only meeting number one and she'd already broken the promise she'd made Chris, her mom, and Luca: to not let one rejection upset her. In her defense, it was a hard promise for someone as sensitive as her to keep. She thought she'd prepared herself for how brutal the rejection was going to be, what a fool she'd been to think that.

"Miss Hogan?" A familiar voice greeted Denise and she looked up. It was no wonder she found it familiar, it was only a voice she'd spent the last two years listening to at lectures. If she could speak with the omnipotent power in charge of her life, she'd thank it for Chris then question why it liked messing with her. Of all people she could run into after getting rejection by New Line Cinema, it just had to be her least favorite professor: Prof. Daniel Killian. She managed a smile because she had to be fair, he was only her least favorite because he was boring compared to the rest of her professors- he was a good teacher who'd always been kind to her. "Is everything alright?"

"I'd lie but I feel like you already know the truth." She answered and he nodded, chuckling. He used his right hand to gesture at the empty chair across the table from hers, politely asking wordlessly if she minded he joined her. "Oh, sure," she quickly nodded. "Yeah, go right ahead."

"Would you like to talk about what's bothering you?"

"I would, but not with one of my old professors." She admitted and he nodded understandingly. "Can I ask you something though, and will you be honest with me?" She asked. He didn't hesitate to nod but she hesitated with her question. He drank from his paper cup, waiting. Seconds ticked by and she finally spoke, "did you mean it when you told me I had potential?"

"I don't say things I don't mean," he answered as she'd expected; simply and to the point. "What happened, Denise?" He asked and she quickly dropped her gaze, pointlessly stirring her cold coffee. "You wouldn't be doubting yourself if nothing happened, so what happened?" He pressed but she remained silent. "You doubted yourself a lot in class too, you know. I'd tell you to change one paragraph, just one, and you'd freak out and question your entire piece. It's sad to see someone so brilliant have so little faith in herself." This wasn't the first time she'd heard those words come from a teacher's mouth, all her teachers since she was in grade school always had that same comment. "You're good, Denise. I could tell you that a thousand times but you need to believe it yourself, you're never going to get anywhere if you don't."

"I know," she nodded, lowering her hand onto her lap. "I just-" she huffed. "I had a meeting with New Line Cinema earlier and- they didn't even want to see me. I didn't even make it past the front desk," her eyes welled when she admitted that to him and he sighed. He'd warned her about the setbacks that came with the industry she wanted to be a part of, he thought he'd prepared her but he realized he'd been wrong. "They were so mean about it too. I don't understand, I just- are they all going to be like that?"

"Yes," he nodded. There was no such thing as sugarcoating in the film industry, if she wanted to find success in Hollywood then he was going to need her to toughen up. "I told you what would happen, you said you could handle it." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look," he began, cutting himself off with a chuckle. Denise reminded Daniel a lot of his younger sister, even the twelve year age gap between them were about the same. He couldn't help but feel attach to Denise, the resemblance was too much. "I know it's hard, rejection is always going to hurt. But if it is what you are passionate about then- just keep pushing until you get there. You've got potential, Denise. There is a lot you've yet to give to the world. So just- push, believe in yourself because you are good."

A smile spread across her face, "thank you, Professor Killian."

"You can call me Daniel, it's not like I'm your professor anymore." He told her and she nodded in acknowledgment. "Which is kind of a relief, 'cause I honestly hated being your least favorite." He felt smug as he teased her, laughing when he saw the heat rush to her cheeks.

"No, that's not- you weren't my least favorite, I actually-" Her protest was cut off when his laughter increased and he shook his head to inform her he was joking. "I liked you as a person, you were always very nice to me. I just-" she winced as she admitted in a sheepish tone, "compared to the others, you were kind of boring and uninspiring."

"Not every teacher is meant to inspire and mesmerize, Denise. Some teachers are just there to guide an already brilliant mind," he told her and she smiled. "I'm sorry my methods weren't what you expected. One of my favorite things about being a professor is changing the lives of my students for the better. Sometimes it's being inspiring and mesmerizing, and sometimes it's just learning to take step back. You were one of the students that I needed to just let grow on her own," he mirrored her smile. "You may not have been the valedictorian but you are the only one I see doing some very incredible things. Just keep doing what you're doing and don't let the setbacks extinguish that fire inside you because that is what makes you and your writing special."

"Do you have any other advice?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "You should dump that fiancé of yours." She immediately frowned; all the fondness she had towards him dissolved as soon as he spoke badly about Chris. She felt her jaw tightened as he continued, "you're never going to make it if you stay with him. No one is going to take you seriously if they can only see you as Chris Evans' fiancée. You were turned away today because of him, weren't you?"

"It doesn't matter why I was turned away," she bit and he knew he'd struck a chord. He'd done it on purpose just to see how she would react and so far, it was exactly as he'd expected. "And I don't care if they can only see me as his fiancée, I love him and I'd die a happy woman if marrying him is the greatest achievement of my lifetime."

"I know," he said then chuckled at her facials; it had turned from anger to confusion. "I just said all that to see if you really love him as much as you say you do." She looked even more confused because she couldn't remember ever talking to him about Chris. "I read it, your mini series? It's aspiring, it's the kind of love people spend their entire lives trying to find. I'm lucky because I've found that with my wife, and you are too." He affirmed with a nod and her smile returned. "So don't let anyone convince you that being with him alters your fate. It won't because you are talented and everything is going to work out for you. It'll take some time but it'll work out."

"Thank you."

Denise's phone chimed; the screen lit up as both their gazes darted to it. Daniel drank the rest of his coffee and rose to his feet, "I should probably get going. Mandy sent me to get diapers and this was a little detour." She looked up at him with a surprised smile. She'd no idea he was a father but she was sure he was a great one. "It was nice seeing you again, Denise."

"You too, Prof- Daniel," she corrected herself. He smiled, turned on his heel, and made his way towards the exit. She waved at him as he got into his car then turned her attention back to her phone. She picked it up and opened Chris' text, chuckling in absolute awe and amazement when she saw what he sent her.

Coming to get you now, someone wants your story.