Whimsical Perfection

2. Introduction

"Hell is empty and all the Devils are here."
                  —Ferdinand, The
                      Tempest

~♤ ▪︎ ♤ ▪︎ ♤~

Luckily, the producers didn't call for a meeting that day, which was kind of suspicious because they should have been dying for an opportunity to grill me, but they got one and didn't jump on it. Nevertheless, it meant I had some more time to prepare myself, and maybe create a list of potential actors who could, and would be willing to fill in the spot of the male lead in the play.

For me, I wasn't that accustomed to working with the same people over and over again, especially actors, because once they used my name and became famous, they would develop the ability to talk back to me and command me to do things a certain way. I found that highly comical – and offensive – that someone who once didn't even know the nuts and bolts of a business, would try to teach me after rising somewhere.

I had been in this business since a decade, first as an assistant director, and then had produced so many legendary plays as the main playwright and director, but these younglings still wanted to have a go at it with me. As if they would have been this successful if they didn't have my name at the back. So, working with new fresh faces was my motto, but sometimes I did break it, only to fall into a huge mess. Those moments only strengthened my belief in my way of working, every single time.

The next week, all I did was look through a plethora of portfolios of young actors, match them with clips of their plays, and determine whether they were good enough for the role or not. But, as I dug deeper, I could see the mistakes I had previously made. It was so fortunate that Asher had quit himself, because now I was suddenly beginning to regret that decision. Doing all this homework, which I had left out in the past because of a packed schedule, was now telling me that this time, I will need an experienced actor. This time, I will need someone who can pull of different characters at the same time, and be experienced enough for various costume changes in a matter of minutes.

Considering all the points, I groaned at the realization. The time had come, and I wasn't ready at all. It felt like I had not just been hit, but completely swept off the ground by a moving truck, and then smashed back at it. Had I gotten some more time to prepare for the tempest that was about to occur in my life, it would have been better. But it was just slapped onto me, and I now had no choice but to grin and bear it.

I called John to tell him about this discovery, I hoped he wouldn't get too mad at me for not telling him earlier, and that he would understand me.

"Hey Scar, good evening. What can I do to help you?" Came his usual cheerful voice through the phone, but I, as usual, ignored it and went straight to the point.

"Well, there is something that you need to know. Something I should have realized earlier and told you then. But now that we have the opportunity, I can't make the same mistake again."

"Okayyy, and what might that be?" He asked me with a hint of concern and curiosity, his eager breaths rushing to my ears.

"The point is, that we don't need young or new actors for this play, it just wouldn't work. I need someone experienced, someone famous. Do you understand what I'm saying?" I told him anxiously, still not wanting to hear him switch from a cheery mood to an angry one.

"Dear, why do you think I'm the only one out of all those producers who can handle you? That's because I'm the only one who understands you, even when you don't understand yourself. I had predicted such a situation would occur ages ago, and had prepared just in case. But now that you yourself are seeing where you went wrong, and that Asher lad also left, I feel more at ease. Also, when we go to that meeting with the proposal of having a top notch actor in our wing, they won't be able to point fingers at us. Trust me on this, okay?"

Listening to his reasoning and planning almost made me feel ashamed of myself. For the first time in my life after a long time, I got reacquainted with that feeling, and I wasn't feeling good about it. Still, I was inwardly thankful for his insight, because that literally saved my ass from getting fired.

"Thanks for being insightful, but who do you have in mind? Is there someone who can match well with me?" I asked with arrogance, mild curiosity taking an undertone in my words.

"That, you will know at the meeting. I'm going to call and see when we can meet. Once everything is finalized, I'll tell you the details. So just wait until then. See ya."

"See ya."

Two days later, I was standing in front of the boardroom door, taking a breather before I put my work mode on. No matter how much I convinced myself that it would go well, I couldn't help but feel like this was just the calm before the storm, as if the disaster hadn't even shown me its countenance. Praying once more that I would be proved wrong today, I opened the door of the conference room where all the directors were gathered, along with the new male lead who would preferably, be of my choice.

But one look at all the faces crushed all my hopes when I locked eyes with a certain someone. A devil with blonde hair and hazel eyes, and the name Isaac Williams.

The best of the best play artists, but the worst of the worst humans.

Totally not my ideal type, but definitely my ideal nightmare.

~♤ ▪︎ ♤ ▪︎ ♤~