I woke up the following with my head and abdomen on fire. I quickly ran to the bathroom and vomited. When I was done, I sat on the cold bathroom floor, breathing heavily. I had to slow down. Had to give my body time to heal. The beating I took, as well as the fucking, was taking a great toll. I eventually got up, brushed my teeth and took a shower. I gingerly made my way to the bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed.
I sat and thought about what would be my next move. I had to act quickly before Derek retaliated. My phone rang. I frowned as I saw it on my nightstand. I crawled to it and answered.
"Hello." I said.
"Duncan, it's Mike." Michael Ellenberg was my boss. He and Casey Bloys were the head of production over at HBO. They had been very good to me since I had signed on. The sound of his voice letting me know right away that something was going on.
"Hey. How are you?" I asked wearily.
"Yeah all's well here. I was wondering if you had the time to come by the office today. Just wanted to talk and touch base."
"Yeah sure. I can be there in a couple of hours."
"Great, see you then." He told me before hanging up. I got dressed and made something very quick to eat. I got in my car and drove towards the HBO offices. I walked into the elevator and leaned against the back wall. Someone slid their hand to keep the doors from closing. I looked up and saw Ben Affleck. He was huge. Taking the role to play Batman had forced him to get himself as big as he could. We had both been at Stamp's dinner a few months but hadn't had the chance to speak. A look of recognition swept across his face.
"You're Duncan right?" He said holding out his massive hand to me.
"Yeah, how are you?" I said shaking his hand.
"I'm great. Congratulations on your Emmy win. I've been watching your show. You do great work." He said sounding incredibly sincere.
"Oh thanks. I've been watching Project Greenlight. It's really something special what you and Matt do."
"Thanks man, that means a lot. What do you think about my next role?"
"You mean Batman?" He nodded. "I'm not going to lie, I groaned when I heard you got picked." He laughed.
"I bet. I think the whole world groaned simultaneously." He said laughing.
"Yeah but seeing the trailers and the images, you look great. I think you'll do a great job."
"Well I can't wait for you to see it. You know Margot, talked to me about you when I was in Toronto."
"Yeah, we're good friends. She's really something special."
"Oh, she sure is. Boy I tell you!" We both laughed as we reached his floor. "Look Duncan, i'd really like to keep talking." He pulled out a card and handed it to me. "Give me a call sometime next week."
"Yeah sure no problem." We shook hands and he went his way.
I got to Michael's office and his secretary told me to go right in.
"Duncan. How are you?" He asked standing from his desk.
"I'm good Mike. How are you?"
"Have a seat. Things are going well. We're excited about the second season. You outdid yourself."
"Thanks Mike. You guys make it really easy. It's a great place to be."
"Thanks for that. With that said Duncan. I'm sorry but I have some bad news."
"Oh wow, you're not canceling the show I hope." I asked halfway kidding.
"No, no not at all. We love the show. And we love you working on the show. But circumstances have arisen and we have no choice but to let you go." He said looking away from me. I didn't move. I barely reacted. All things considered I saw this coming a mile away. I looked at Mike and waited for him to look back at me. When he finally did, I held his gaze.
"I won't even ask you why. Derek Stamp is making you fire me isn't he?" His eyes slid to the left. I caught it quickly enough. "Mike it's alright. You've always been straight with me. Don't stop now." He blew out a heavy breath.
"Okay. He did ask us to let you go. He threatened to not work with us anymore. With his roster we really don't have a choice. We need top talent to continue to put out the quality we are known for."
"Mike, I understand that. But that talent wants to work for you. You don't think that they'll push back against Stamp if he stops working with HBO. He's bluffing."
"That may well be the case. But it's not a risk we can take. There are way too many competitors in the market currently. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Showtime continue to put out quality. We need to stay ahead of the pack. Getting top notch talent is one of those ways. And you're an incredible writer, but stars get us exposure."
"You can fight back Mike. You don't have to be at his mercy. Stand up to him."
"Duncan, i'm sorry. It's done. You'll get a full severance package. As well as a glowing letter of recommendation from me. You'll still be credited for all your work. But this is just the way it has to be."
" Alright." I told him standing up. The meeting was clearly over. "Thanks for everything." I said as I walked to the door.
"Duncan." Michael called to me before I stepped out. "Whatever your troubles with Derek, get them settled. As long as he has a grudge against you, it'll be very difficult for you to work."
"Don't worry Mike. I'll get it settled." With that I left the office closing the door behind me.
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I sat in my BMW for a long time in the parking lot. I knew that Derek would pull a stunt like this. I thought that I was prepared for it. It hurt more than I had imagined it would. My phone buzzed in my pocket. They had already announced my departure from the show. It was my second firing in as many shows. I would start to garner a reputation. I lay back against the headrest, closed my eyes and breathed out a deep sigh of frustration and anger. My phone continued to buzz like crazy. I reached for it and saw Ariana was calling.
"Hey." I answered trying to keep my voice light.
"Duncan are you alright? I just heard the news." She said sounding clearly worried about me.
"Yeah, it's getting around quickly. I'm doing okay." I told her hoping that I was convincing.
"What happened? They're claiming creative difference."
"Yeah, I figured they would say something like that." I replied feeling more than a little resentful.
"Duncan, what's really going on?"
"It's complicated." I told her.
"Duncan, enough! I'll be at my house in 20 minutes. Meet me there okay?"
"Okay. I'll be there." I conceded. I had nowhere else to go.
I turned my phone off and took my time driving towards Ariana's. I couldn't help but feel sad. I loved working on this show. Stamp had taken away something else that I loved. I couldn't fully blame him, I knew that. It was my decision to go after him. If I had kept my head down, none of this would have happened.
I arrived at Ariana's, we were both pulling in at the same time. She left her car and ran towards me as I was getting out of mine. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her. She was wearing a short dress. She looked and smelled wonderful. Just feeling myself with her helped to forget the sadness that had enveloped me.
"You don't look so good." She said running her warm fingers along my face.
"Yeah, it's been a rough few days." I admitted.
"Come inside. I cancelled my day. We'll talk." I nodded and allowed her to drag me inside. I watched her small frame and couldn't help but smile. "Sit on the couch, i'll order some food." I just nodded. I sat on her couch and looked around her house, once again loving the cozy feel of it. The piano at the side of the kitchen quickly caught my eye. "Food's on its way." Ariana said as she sat down next to me on the couch and held me tightly. "What's going on?"
"I got fired. It had nothing to do with my work. I got fired because of something else I did."