We had returned from Paris a few weeks ago and were back in New York. The second season of Eye Candy would start production very soon; but for the moment we were in the midst of the pre-production; the part of television that is often overlooked but where most of the heavy lifting takes place. I was at the studio with the rest of the writing staff working when I received a call from Greg Johnson my boss asking to meet with him in his office.
"Hey Greg, how are you?" I asked him as I sat down in the chair opposite him. The same chair I had sat in the day he offered me the job that would change my life.
"Doing well Duncan. Thank you for asking. You and Victoria all set for the Emmys?"
"Very excited. We hope we can bring at least one of those statues home."
"As do we. There's a reason I asked you in here. Do you know who Eric Strong is?
"Yeah of course."
"Well his manager called me and Eric is very interested in being a part of Eye Candy."
"With all due respect didn't he just come out of rehab with a pretty serious drug habit?"
"Yes but that is all behind him now. I heard you had set up a casting call; searching for a new love interest for Lindy on the show. He would be perfect for the role."
"I'm not so sure. Aside from the rehab he has been a pain on the set of everything he's ever done."
"That is true but he is really turning over a new leaf."
"Why do I get the feeling that this has more to do with brand recognition, than actually being a good fit?" I asked furrowing my brow. I knew very well where this was headed.
"Well I cannot deny that having his name attached to our studio could only do wonders for our show and our network." Greg responded seeming just as wary as I. "We also would appreciate if you made his arc on the show mirror some of the addiction he's been dealing with in real life. We think it would help the audience grab on to him quickly."
"So not only are you telling me who to cast you are also dictating how I should write the show?" We stared at each other neither of us really prepared to lose any ground. We had always had a good relationship. True we didn't speak much and he mostly stayed out of my way; but this was ridiculous the show was doing so well and now he wanted to put his stamp on it.
"Duncan I am your boss after all. You've been doing great work but you've never run a hit show before."
"I got us Emmy nominations. Something this network has never had before. Not one but three." I spat back at him feeling the anger rise in my chest.
"You've admittedly done some great work. But truth be told we are just not sure you'll be able to keep it up."
"You gave me this job because you thought I had talent and could get you to the next level."
"No!" He answered coldly. "We gave you the job because your girlfriend threw a fit and gave us no damn choice. We thought you would come in crash and burn and we would cancel the show and bring something fresh along to be rid of the both of you. Now things have changed; we have a hit on our hands and we intend to keep it that way." He took a beat and stared daggers my way. "With or without you."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. After everything I had done for the show they still looked at me as though I was expendable. They never believed in Eye Candy, they were prepared to cut their loses.
"If I were you Duncan I would tread lightly." He continued. "Do what we ask and you and your girlfriend may have another season. Refuse and we can easily replace you. Writers are a dime a dozen."
"What about Victoria? She's the star of the show? Can you just as easily replace her?" He almost laughed when I said that.
"You believe that she would follow you out the door? She is the star of a hit show she will stay put. Even you're not naΓ―ve enough to believe otherwise. It's just the nature of the business."
I was beaten. We both knew it. I would have to suck it up and do what they asked even if it meant putting the show in jeopardy. I thought that all the hard work we had done would have earned us some faith but I was wrong. They now knew what they had. I nodded to Greg and left the office almost in a daze. I was almost to my office wondering how I had gotten there when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to find Kiersey smiling at me.
"Hey Superstar!" She said full of enthusiasm and excitement. We had gotten along very well since I took the job and we hadn't seen each other since the last season had wrapped. She saw the look on my face and her excitement quickly turned to concern. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I just had a meeting with Greg didn't go too well." She nodded knowingly.
"I bet. He can be a real jerk at times. How badly did it go?"
"Nothing too serious! Just deal with the devil type stuff."
"You want to talk about it?" She asked sweetly? She had always been a good friend.