“Now that the Real Estate shooting is over, get to the editing immediately,” Ian said, looking at Niko, who also acted as the chief of the editing suite.

The conference room looked rather small, as every director was participating in the meeting that Ian had wanted their attendance.

“On it, Ian. I will start as soon as possible. I am pretty sure we are on our timelines, and with a little bit of luck, I am positive that we can bring something even better.”

Ian smiled, looking at the crowd.

“The last two times you said that, we ended up over-tiring the team, and we had to extend deadlines with everything,” Ian brought up facts and showed Niko what he was working with.

“Well, things happen, Ian.”

Ian nodded. “Things do happen, but I also believe that things shouldn't always happen. I'll increase your team's income, including yours, by 25%. If... if, and if only, the timeline stays true, and the deadlines must meet,” Ian said and showed a wicked smile.

Niko’s eyes rose up. Many directors in the room adjusted themselves in their seats, hearing the increase in income.

It was truly something. Their income was already high, as Ian left no space for people to doubt their valuable work, but doing this made the hearts of the directors and editors rise.

“That sir, will be done. There are more than three people who need that raise, so I'll try my best.”

Ian nodded.

“I'm sure that you will.”

“Twenty-five percent?”

[From Will's perspective]

It had been half an hour since they had all walked to the meeting with Ian to discuss post-production for the Real Estate project. It had been a rollercoaster of surprises since they arrived.

When Ian offered the raise without any negotiations, Will was utterly speechless. He didn't believe Ian should spend money like that, even for hard work.

"25%?" Will asked immediately.

Everyone in the room turned to look at him. While it was true that Will and Gar didn't have the best relationship with Ian, he was being honest. He didn't want Ian to suffer losses.

"Do you have any problem with it?" Ian asked.

"Well, as a fellow producer, that's a lot to give to the editing team. I wouldn't recommend it, even if it's for an enemy."

Ian frowned at his statement, but then he smiled.

"I understand where you're coming from, Will. And I'm not throwing any shade your way. But at the moment, there's only so much I can do for my editing team. Moving forward, there's one more conversation left."

"Is it about the next movie?" Will asked.

"Yes, it is. But, Will and Gar, I believe our contracts have come to an end after Real Estate. I wish nothing but the best for both of you. It's been a real pleasure working with you both, and I'm sure my cast and crew would say the same."

Will and Gar both stood up, taking their cue to leave the room.

"Yes, Mr. Renner. We'll meet again very soon, everyone," Will said, and they left the room.

As they walked through the office corridors, Gar asked, "Will, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. How about you?"

"I'm fine too. Been better," Gar said and shrugged. "What are we going to do next?"

"We had a plan to associate with Ian, right?"

"Yeah, of course. But I think it's all good now. What we wanted was for our careers not to end, and I believe we got what we wanted. There's no reason we should be in that guy's way. You saw how he worked, right? Even during the meetings, the guy had proper vision, proper ideas...and even very good creativity."

Gar nodded, understanding where Will was coming from.

"Well, our little situation of wanting to do a movie with Ian has finally come to an end. It's better that we focus on the movies provided by Lincoln Studio. There's no conversation in that."

Gar nodded. "Yeah, maybe I'll focus more on composing music. During the shooting, I felt like I was missing something, and that's art."

Will smiled. "Now I know I have healthy competition in the industry. It's time that I focus on my own art as well."

Thus, the two people who thought that Ian used different methods to go to the top realised that every ounce of his work and creativity was the result of hard work.

[Back in the office]

"Who read the script?" Ian asked, and everyone nodded.

Niko, Raelynn, Martin, Ryan, and Jeff were all present in the office. They were the main directors who worked for Renner Studio, apart from those who worked for Netflix, a subsidiary of Renner Studio.

"Yeah, we did. It truly was something."

“It was intense, Ian. I wasn’t expecting to be hooked from the very beginning. As we all know, I wasn’t much into the setting of vintage, but I was hooked from the beginning and that was the facts,” Niko said and shrugged, almost as if to say that it was true.

"Yeah, same here. The way the story was set up and the characters were introduced was masterful. I couldn't put it down."

"I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant to read it at first. But now, I'm blown away by how well-written and gripping it was."

"I agree. The dialogue was sharp, the pacing was perfect, and the plot twists were unexpected."

Niko, Raelynn and the rest of the group fell into the discussion.

"And don't forget the characters. I felt like I knew each of them so well, even the minor ones. It was like they were real people."

"So, what do we think? Can we make this into a movie?"

"Absolutely. But we have to do it justice. We need to find the right director, actors, and crew to bring this story to life."

"And we can't cut any corners. We need to give this movie the time, attention, and budget it deserves. Although Ian has the upper hand, after reading the script, I can’t help but think… how much of a masterpiece it could be… The potential it has, ah! Ian, you're gifted.”

“Well, well, well!” Ian said, gaining their attention. “Great discussion, but I still haven’t decided who would be directing it with me.”

He smiled after saying his thoughts.

“Yeah, Ian…?”

“I’ll tell you if you can answer one question.”

-

-

-

give me lots of powerstones! i need them to survive in wn!

read ahead: www.patreon.com/TC_L