Page 1 of The Producer: Aaron

The chairs in the meeting room are uncomfortable, especially if you sit there for eight hours straight. It is difficult to work in the fast-paced Hollywood world. To do it with back pain that torments you for days doesn’t make it easier.I must remember to tell Tracy to add office renovation to the budget.

“We can add a supernatural element.” Jacob Lautner’s voice brings my attention back to the fifteen people in front of me.

The emergency meeting I called last night is not going as I expected. When my father stormed into my office and slammed the paper with the audience ratings of the last episode ofSweet Riveron my desk, the lowest in the history of the broadcaster, I had no choice but to summon everyone this morning.

My father threatened if I didn’t shut down the show, he might reconsider my position as head of the streaming project. Considering that he is the owner of the largest and oldest broadcasting company in the United States and he thinks the streaming division is a whim I’m obsessed with, I believe him.

It’s always like this with him. He wants me to sit on the throne of his empire once he retires, as he did with my grandfather, but he never gives me the reins of anything. My every decision is subject to his opinion. If my idea doesn’t suit him, he forces his hand to direct my project where he wants.

This continuous power struggle has been going on since I was twenty, and I began to follow him in his work. I’m thirty-six now, but nothing’s changed. He still treats me like that inexperienced kid who can’t make decisions. If I didn’t love this job madly, I think I would have punched him and left by now. Indeed,if I changed companies, I would undoubtedly occupy a better position than the one I’m in now.

My father keeps me here as a producer, even though we are all aware this is not what I am. I am the head of an entire division, not a simple producer of the shows we air, but this is my father’s way of holding me in the palm of his hand. He wants me to be conscious I am nobody compared to him.

“We could introduce a shapeshifter or vampires. Or fairies. Teenagers are crazy about fairies right now,” Jacob continues with his ideas.

One of the young interns can’t hold back a half-laugh that he badly disguises with a cough. Jacob Lautner is one of the decisions my father forced me to make. He’s one of the old-school screenwriters he likes so much and forced me to hire as head of writers when I needed funds to start theSweet Rivershow. He doesn’t have the faintest idea of what it means to write for the new generations, and the historic low ratings are a clear example of this.

“Sweet Riveris an old-school teen drama. We chose a very specific path, dealing with topics such as drugs and alcoholism among teenagers, taking a position on the matter. You want to put vampires in it? Are you kidding me?” Sarah Weber, one of the producers of the series, snarls.

I’m glad to have her on board with this project because, in moments like these, I would fire on the spot another of my employees who without a doubt does not know how to do this job. I always respect her ability to impose herself on decisions in an industry like Hollywood, where women are often considered only beautiful faces.

“Not to mention that our flagship show,Hunters of Shadows, is based on the supernatural, and you’d be going to compete with it,” I say.

They all turn to me with wide, terrified eyes. We’ve beensitting here for eight hours trying to find a solution to save a beautiful show with important themes that’s sinking faster than the Titanic. It’s a project close to my heart, and I would like to see it come to a second season.

“It was just an idea,” Jacob mutters.

The truth is he has no valuable suggestions on what to do. I turn to the guy struggling to hold back laughter and nail him to the chair with one glance. His hazel eyes are huge and terrified.

“You. You don’t think the supernatural is a good suggestion. Do you have any ideas about the show?” I ask him amid the surreal silence in the room.

“He’s an intern! What could he suggest?” says Jacob, raising his voice, upset.

I turn to him, and every protest dies on his lips at once. I’m known in this company asThe Butcher. I have fired people for much less. I don’t care if my father worships him. If this show shuts down, he will find himself out of work.

I glance back at the intern who, in the meantime, has paled even more. “I want your sincere opinion. No bullshit. There are no right or wrong answers. You’ve been here since the beginning of production. In your opinion, what does it take to make a change in this show?”

He gazes around disoriented and then focuses on the notebook in front of him. I wonder if something is written on it or if he is trying to come up with some ideas on the fly.

“In my opinion, the protagonist’s girlfriend should kiss his best friend. Or rather, the best friend should follow the momentum and kiss her.” His voice trembles, but it is loud enough to hear his words clearly.

“She’s a good girl, a goody-two-shoes. It’s entirely out of character,” says Jacob, outraged.

I turn to the head of the writers, and I glare at him. He clenches his jaw, but I notice he would like to insult me in every language.I hope he chokes on those insults. It would save me a lot of headaches.

“Explain yourself,” I order the intern.

“She is too perfect. She’s boring. She is the one who is adored by her boyfriend’s parents. They see them practically married with a family, but she is also the one who always goes to save his best friend whenever he makes a mess. So far, she’s done it because she wants to avoid upsetting her boyfriend, but what if it were not so?”

I lean back in my chair and cross my arms. It’s the first time since we got here that we’re going in a direction that could turn the show around.

“Go ahead,” Sarah urges him to continue.

“When they are all three together, they have fun, are in harmony, and experience a deep bond. But what if the friend feels something more toward his best friend’s girlfriend and guilt strangles him? It could be a drunken kiss when she goes to bail him out of jail after yet another fight. But it must upset her. It must shatter all her certainties, make her lessflawless,” he adds more decisively.

Sarah turns to me with a smile on her face.

“His alcoholism problems could be related to the abusive family and the guilt of being in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. After all, the couple is the only real family he’s got, and his betrayal would ruin it irreparably,” she adds, following the intern’s train of thought.

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