Hollywood Tales Part 1 free porn video

April, 2022 Los Angeles, CA John Finn had flown his family across the country to spend the week in LA while he was forced to take several meetings with interested parties regarding the infamous book about his brother Roland Finn that Roland had written and their niece Hannah Smith had rewritten and that John held the rights to. John knew why he was really there but had to keep up appearances before he shot down a potential deal as some of the producers were legitimately interested in the story and not getting at his money. He would have to vet them to see who was the best fit and who were only paying him lip service. Hannah was alongside him as the co-author and the one who did the majority of the work on the story right down to changing the entire tone and events to reflect the truth. She wasn't one to put her work on the market, but she couldn't refuse her uncle's offer of it being a big step for her writing career. Her book had led to a deal with a publisher for her story idea inspired by her sister and cousin, it wasn't an option to refuse to work with producers as it'd hurt herself in the long run. Hannah hated flying out but kept her anger to herself as she dealt with her toddler twins. The two were a year old and made her life miserable- something John relished while her husband Pete fought a big smile over. It was a fitting punishment for her, they took after Hannah in all ways. John's four youngest were simply going because it meant trips to Disneyland and a TV show taping, the few things that they could agree on even if 12-year-old Logan Finn was starting to feel too old for that stuff. He wanted to join John in his meetings, which John tried to refuse but Logan's face was tough to say no to. He gave in, but ensured that Logan didn't get upset at people trying to manipulate John. The private plane landed and saw John met by his LA lawyers, Phyllis and Jo Kaplan. John would only trust their views on the project as the two had played the game for years and knew many producers to the point of having them on speed dial. If they vouched for someone, John would guarantee it was true. The family drove in three minivans to their hotel, with John and Logan going in one while Valerie Finn, their son JD, and daughters Ella and Cat went in a second. The Smiths went in a third, the twins trying hard to make sure that everyone knew that they didn't want to go and upset at going in a their car seats. The Kaplans had to hide smirks while John sagely told them, "Payback for doing the same to me." At the hotel, the Kaplans laid out what was going on: John was seen as an easily exploitable man who could easily part his money and film rights while Hannah was a nobody who wasn't worth looking into. John wouldn't get any real deal and was going to have to form his own production company to make the movie while a studio released it via another separate deal. It was for the best, he'd be able to make the entire amount and not share the glory or he'd take a hit and have nobody to blame for the loss. Jo added, "You would have lost money no matter what. The production company would get a huge part of the profits and likely never give you a penny. They'd try to tell you that you'd earn millions from the movie but in reality they'd slip in that you'd only earn money from the net instead of the gross. With all of the production done via your company, you'd only lose what you invested into it." He asked if they knew how to form one, with both handing him the required paperwork establishing the new company already filled out and just needing his signature. John read it over and nodded at all of the legalities that had already been addressed and taken into consideration by the twins. John looked it over a second time and saw that it had no name listed, with Phyllis explaining, "It's your choice, this is personal to you so you have to choose. I would rather that you name it because your money is as risk." John smirked and happily told them, "Inferno Pictures," with Valerie explaining, "All four siblings had the team name in common: they played for the Winnisimmet Infernos. It's his brother's biography, it's very poignant and as John has kept close to the high school it's part of him as well. There might be a few of the idiots who think it's Satanic but they'd complain about John and us no matter what." John filed the proper copyrights then and there and got the ball rolling as the twins filed paperwork and took out a lease on an office in LA for the company. John would hire someone to oversee the operations and have the twins acting as minority shareholders as they'd be the ones to oversee things on his behalf as the legal arm of Inferno Pictures. They tried to dissuade him, but John happily told them that they had already done what investors had done for other production companies making it legitimate. John had already added the 10% to them for legal services and representation, 80% was split between his Finn Foundation, Finn Group, and Logan and Ella's New Start Fund. The final 10% went to John's various family members as a whole, with the whole of the "Finn Family" benefiting from the movie. It was John doing something for everyone, it was his money and he'd do as he saw fit. The Kaplans left on that note, incorporating John's company an hour later while finding him an office in an upscale LA office building while posting a job offer that they knew would go to a young woman or man who was transgender, not even needing John's blessing to help someone in need especially as it was a fairly easy job that the person would be doing. They were tempted to hire an executive from one of one of the production companies, but chose to hire someone who wouldn't fall for the charms of others and who had no connections to be exploited by vultures in the business. Johns new production company would be laughed at, but it was legitimate and would fare better than others that were just starting out and who needed to rely on a lot of connections and money from outside sources to start. John was forced to endure phone calls from his accountant, Beverly Bollinger, and his sister/investment consultant, Karen Smith. John happily told his sister, "I was told to create my own production company to fund the movie myself. It's cheaper, I have full control over all assets, and I won't get screwed out of any royalties and have to endure 'Hollywood accounting' to keep me from the profits." Beverly grinned and watched as Karen fought for a joke but failed badly. Beverly wisely added, "It's for the best, you control everything and will hire/fire people. There's no way the director can force his view of how the movie should go if he's beholden to just you. And I'm sure that you already have most of the money going to the charities as well as the family- I've known you too long not to anticipate that." Beverly asked what limits he wanted to set for production costs. John had to think, then stated, "We can do it for $50 million. I doubt we ever reach that, we film on location and use a lot of voice-over as it's the best way to get the point across while giving the actor a chance to act without pressure. He'll need to be alright with cross-dressing and makeup but that's workable with him." Karen was researching major movie production costs and similar films and saw that John was way off- it was less expensive than that but it also meant that it'd give him enough leeway to not worry about the costs rising. He wouldn't let the director spend wildly and Beverly wouldn't let John waste his money, it was going to be John's most lavish expense but it was money that he felt he had to pay. Details were worked out for who would be involved, what kind of look he wanted the movie to have, who he was hoping to direct, etc. John looked over a list of people that were rumored to be involved and laughed at the choices: they were never going to work out and the movie would serve to be their vanity project more than anything. It was down to a few choices with all three being contacted for interest in the movie production. John went to dinner with the kids asking what was going on as their phones had messages from many of their cousins and 2nd-cousins about John involved in some kind of huge deal. John didn't say what he was doing, but his smile belied that he was up to something big. The kids didn't press him further, it was well-known that he wouldn't tell you if you weren't involved in something- especially monetarily. That night, he slept soundly while Valerie smirked at his expression. She knew that he was starting to be open to spending more of his wealth, especially now that his kids had their futures secured and his new grandchildren were doing well with their parents. There may have been some issues with Christina Finn's pregnancy that led to her having issues with his son Miles as her hormonal outbursts had been serious and violent, but it was short-lived and the couple endured it for the sake of their baby. John woke refreshed and ready for a long day, and laughed as he saw his phone had multiple messages from lawyers asking to speak with him alone about his potential deal. That wasn't going to happen, he wasn't stupid enough to talk to any lawyer without another lawyer present, especially when he had no reason to talk with them in the first place. The Kaplans were handling his meetings, anyone trying hard to not include the twins were clearly not ones he wanted to do business with as it was clearly shady. Breakfast was quiet while he worked with Valerie on where to take the kids while Logan protested to their going to visit places that he was "too old" to see. 10-year-old Ella giggled but told him that he was too much like John so it was better off without him. She cut off Cat from saying something, the six and a half-year-old was the biggest reason for him not going: she was starting to annoy him about being in the throes of puberty and Ella was trying to get her to leave him alone before she went too far and he cut himself off from the family to avoid the embarrassment. John had to smile as she knew her brother better than him and knew that it was best for Logan to go to the meetings with John as there would be less threats against him with a child present and it'd be hard to lie when Logan knew more than the executives ever would. Being a major investor himself, Logan had a right to be there and act on behalf of his share of the company and as Ella's proxy for her shares. It was going to be a fun day for Logan as he saw the real face of Hollywood, something that his sisters and brother didn't need to see for a long time as they were more innocent than Logan regarding people. The duo left the others, driving on to meet with the Kaplans at their office then on to another office that would serve as the Inferno Pictures office. John had to smile as it was in a luxury office building and was close to major studios, the perfect place for a production office. Leasing was being done as a tax write-off as the three charities would also be based out of the office as they were the primary owners of the production company earning the building owners more from the tax break than from the lease itself. John signed the lease and listened as the representative touted how many other companies were leasing space in the building. John didn't offer a reaction, but the Kaplans happily told the representative, "John is probably the only self-made billionaire among your tenants. He's not impressed by what they claim or what they may have done for others. His company is producing movies that he wants to produce and the profits are going to his family and to help people, unlike the profits from anything else made here." The group left with the representative laughing, but her assistant explained, "He runs those transgender support groups out of Boston that gives millions to help abused and transgender people. He's on the board of directors of a few multinational corporations including one studio's corporate owner. He's not one to be trifled with and he'd end your career and buy your assets out from under you- he has that much available to use without having to sell anything." John grinned as he heard everything and shot back, "I'm only leasing because I don't know if I want to be in this business. I might find an investor to take the lead and merge into but I'm more likely to buy an office building instead- at least I'd have a continuous revenue stream alongside producing movies. I can't say the same for other or yourself, then again I don't think the real owners would be happy to hear that one of their board members was mistreated while conducting an outside deal bringing in revenue." John laughed as the Kaplans shook their heads in disappointment. John casually told them, "Peterson owns the building. Patrick Peterson thought it might be wise to diversify their portfolio so that they had something coming in even when production slowed. He's right, it has proven to be smart in several of the locations including Alaska, Florida, and Boston. His Alaskan office secured a lucrative deal due to not having to deal with outside interests who could terminate their lease. In a few years it'll be a huge money-maker when the contracts start to mature as their data becomes useful and leads to changes." John casually added, "He's investing in a restaurant, one that's failing but has a lot of potential. He asked me to invest in it, I'm the majority owner and will only help when needed. We like the upside, it's close to Peterson's offices as well as major office towers giving a solid customer base. It's likely to be the second-biggest investment I ever make, after the investment in the movie." Their next drive took them to one of the biggest production companies in all of Hollywood, one known for its Oscar winners as well as its sleazy executives. The ownership group were former underlings of the previous owner who was sent to prison for raping multiple women. John knew that they were only interested in his movie due to the cross-dressing aspect of it- something that was hot in Hollywood as any kind of "deviant behavior" always got the critics going and audiences to see, "A guy in a dress." The meeting featured six lawyers, 10 executives, and the CEO. John shook his head and asked for their offer, read it over, laughed at how little he was going to receive and how it was to be paid from the net instead of the gross profits. Phyllis had to grin as John knew exactly what they'd try to pull and wasn't in the mood for their games nor going to let them bully him around. Jo read it and nodded, then told the assembled group, "No deal. This is grossly unfair and one-sided. He makes no money whatsoever from the movie as you and your lesser partners get first dibs on all of the profits. He gets paid net profits, we all know that you'll never allow him to see a penny as you have pulled this same trick on multiple authors and rights holders over the decades. He's not some rube who is going in here unprotected- he knew you'd pull this crap and won't deal with it." John smirked, then told them, "Save the threats. I own all movie rights as my brother gave the rights to the book to me as restitution for his past crimes against me. My niece, the author on which the movie will be adapted, gave me sole ownership of the adaptation rights. You won't get them, not after you just showed that you lied to her and my wife about what the movie would earn them." There was grumbling among the executives with one blurting out, "You will be destroyed if you go with another company. We are the most powerful production company in the world! Nobody tells us no and doesn't face punishment- we will destroy your lives and get that book and you will thank us for it." John grinned, then happily shot back, "Oh, really? I happen to have the ear of the CEOs of Sony, Disney, Warner Brothers, Fox, Columbia, Paramount, Universal, Dreamworks, Amblin, and multiple others with members of their corporate boards on speed dial. By all means, try to destroy me. My family is an open book so any of the things that you will try to use is already known and what isn't known is sealed by court order making any leaking result in your arrest. I don't play nice when it comes to my family and I have no problem destroying your company to protect them. Threaten me or my family again and every one of your contracts with those studios will be canceled with the movies made being produced by rivals. I don't like to toss around money, but for you folks I'll make an exception." The lawyers looked at one another then wisely told the executive that he was terminated immediately as he had just cost them a multi-million dollar deal. John got up and left, then told the rest, "I mean what I say. Mess with me or my family and I'll destroy each and every one of you. You need your reputation to survive, this will destroy it. You should know better than to go after families, especially ones who are not afraid to fight back and bring down companies. My wife is even more vindictive than I am, just be glad that I was here and not her or you'd be bankrupt from the lawsuits against you." He walked out with an evil laugh, while the lawyers each tried to dissuade any retaliation against John. He had made his point loud and clear and with days of preparation the lawyers knew Valerie was the one to fear more than anyone else. John was the money-man, but Valerie was the brains of the family. The same followed for the next five meetings, with John not batting an eye at the ridiculously low offer for the movie that each of them had given him. Two at least tried to lowball him by offering him gross instead of net profits, but even then it was in the single digits. John appreciated that they were trying to be respectful but as it wasn't a normal story and he wasn't a normal person, he declined but did leave an offer open for co-funding the movie so they'd make a potential profit off of it while also sharing credit. Lunch was spent at a restaurant near the Kaplans' office. They were joined by a man and woman named Faye and Percy Turner, with the couple listening to what the Kaplans were doing and why John was in LA. Faye smiled and asked them point blank if they had done the smart thing and gotten him to create a new production company then asked if he was in the dark about them. John shook his head and boldly said, "I only know that you know the Kaplans, not what you do." Faye happily told him, "You have yourself a studio to distribute your movie. We have been looking for a movie to start our branching into legitimate movies to go alongside our wrestler-starred movies. Your movie is perfect, it has everything that you want in a hit as well as Oscar contender. What you need is a studio who will help you instead of trying hard to take control of the production. We have a few people who will be perfect for the roles of you, your brother, your sisters, and your parents." Phyllis and Jo both nodded their heads, to which John happily told them, "These two know how to make an ambush. I don't care that your wrestlers may be involved, just keep your nephew out of it. He's toxic to any production, I'm no fool and can read between the lines about him- he's bad news to all." Faye shot back an angry, "He's barred from going near any outside the ring productions so he won't have a single bit of influence nor will he prevent anyone from starring in the movie. We love our niece, but she married a complete scumbag and is too blinded by love to get rid of him. He needs her but she just doesn't see that she doesn't need him. Mark my words: one day he'll go too far. I hope that he does so in spectacular fashion, he deserves nothing less than total humiliation." John verbally agreed to a deal, leading to them heading to the Global Championship Wrestling's LA office to finalize the deal. A video call was made to New York and saw John being introduced to the GCW CEO: the infamous Vince Turner. John was respectful of the man, knowing that he was entirely business when he was outside of the ring and what he played on TV was nothing like the real person. Vince questioned why there was a kid there, to which John happily explained, "He's seen LA before, he chose to go with me for the day to watch the real LA at work. He's already paid dividends as some of the lesser companies have seen fit to threaten my family, using his birth family as an excuse. As one of the shareholders of my production company he is also entitled to know what is going on with money that he is investing. I may be doing it on his behalf but he wants to know where it's going anyway." Logan was going to get up but Vince happily told John, "The legend is true- you are a family man in all sense of the word. He has a right to listen, he's probably going to be able to add more than some of the 'yes men' that are sent by production companies GCW Studios hired to produce our content. He at least knows the movie inside and out, unless I am mistaken he's even going to be in it!" John nodded, then moved onto the issues at hand. The studio would handle marketing with John giving a percentage of the gross to the studio to offset the amount. The studio had ideas for who would be the lead roles, with John having final say and setting conditions for the actors as well as director and writer. John was adamant, "No drugs. I don't care how big of a name the person is, any drug use is immediate firing. It's hypocritical, the movie is about a man who delved into a world of drug use to quench inner desires to dress as a woman. I can't bar alcohol, but DUIs and drunken behavior is also forbidden." Vince smirked as Percy crossed off several names while Faye happily added more as replacements. It was an easy choice to make, John was right and the ones Percy had on the list were recovering addicts who couldn't stay clean and likely had known some of the people John's brother Roland Finn knew. It was also sending a message to them that their behavior wasn't tolerated anymore, Percy might have been friendly with them but even he has limits and can't force companies to hire them anymore. Jo and Phyllis signed initial agreements then had Percy and Faye doing the same. They would finalize the deal in a week as the office was outfitted and John's operations became permanent with the new hires. Jo had the brilliant idea to setup operations for all of the charities in LA so that it was also used for good and gave the staff more to do, leading to John calling his in-laws for their input then saw them laughing and agreeing that expansion was a good idea as it'd benefit a lot more people. John bid the Turners goodbye and gladly accepted their offer of hosting the family whenever GCW was in Boston. Logan grinned at hearing that, with John explaining, "It's something that he can hold over the boys in his school as they love to point out that he's not my 'real' son and I don't know anyone famous." That set them off as Logan shook his head at their stupidity as John knew many people and wasn't shy about being seen with them at various events as he was one of the few who was genuine in his care for the people that the fundraisers were being held for- homeless, abused, raped, transgender, gay etc. The family spent the next five days going to different sites in LA, with John happy that they were able to see something new after visiting many of the top sites in the past. He avoided most of them but had to give in when the kids demanded to go to Disneyland with him, causing him to give in when Cat and Ella gave him their sad eyes that he always fell victim to. He could never say no to those sad eyes. Friday saw John being told about the press seeking information about his movie deal as someone at the production companies that he had rejected had leaked that one of them had signed a deal to produce the movie. He told them to tell the truth: Inferno Pictures was producing the movie and what they were told was a lie. He added a harsh, "Seek out who broke the confidentiality agreement as nobody was supposed to say anything. I want blood if it was Weinberg- no backing down, bankrupt them." He smirked as he said that, it would cost them dearly as the penalty for their lie and attempt to force him to sign with their companies or look like the movie wasn't going to be made thus giving it a nasty reputation before it started filming would be $10 million. None of the companies bothered to read that part of the bidding process, he figured it was worth a shot just in case. It proved prophetic in the end. John returned to the hotel and met with the twins, called the media, then setup a press conference for the next day so he could tell the truth and hurt those who were trying to hurt his movie. It was Roland's legacy, the one thing that he did right in his life. John was out for blood and would announce the deal himself to stave off the vultures, even if it meant a lot of unwanted attention to him. John slept soundly that night, his grin concerned Valerie but reading his notes caused her to shake her head- he was going to turn the reporters and paparazzi against one another as they fought over who had dropped the ball and used bad information given by soon-to-be fired senior executives who were going to be sacrificed to save the hides of the real leaks: the CEO. It was clear what he was doing: giving the sacrificial lamb a new job at higher pay and possibly a true future in the industry. John was a master of getting what he needed when he needed it and helping someone in need at the right moment. After breakfast, John casually walked down to the conference room and happily sat with the twins as the four kids and Valerie watched from the side of the room while Hannah took her family out to get away from the brewing firestorm. The media were led inside and seated, not in the least bit happy for an early press conference but John wasn't one to ignore when he demanded to speak in front of you. He waited for them to stop murmuring and grinned widely. John stood, looked over the room, then announced, "Yesterday reports surfaced of 'Closet Secrets,' the book written by my brother Roland and niece Hannah Smith, was being released by Weinberg Pictures. That report was an outright lie. I met with Weinberg Monday and was offended by their low offer for adapting the book. They were one of several production companies I met with that day, all of whom were low offers that would have kept control over the movie's script, acting, directorial choice, and budgets. I chose not to sign any deals and respectfully told them I would work in the future on other projects, but not on 'Closet Secrets.' Two I am genuinely interested in bringing in as producers, but only in a minor financial role. They didn't insult my intelligence and offered a genuine cut of the profits." Looking at the family, he added, "The source of the announcement was Weinberg Pictures. They had offered me an insulting contract that I would never have received a penny for no matter how much the movie made. I'm no fool, I can see a scam and that contract was a scam: I'd sign away the book to them and get nothing for it. I'd be lucky to get a ticket to the premier, and only if it benefited them. That was just the tip of the iceberg. Their SVP threatened my family after I refused their offer. He threatened to destroy my life if I didn't sign with them. I refuse to play that game, I've had actual threats against my life since I was a kid and face actual gangsters and people with weapons trying to kill me in my time as a reserve police officer so an empty threat from a fat, oversexed, drug-fueled man in a suit who actually wouldn't know how to find a hitman or thug let alone find a way of finding out something that would destroy my family doesn't scare me. My life is an open book, I am who I am and don't hide anything as my family has nothing to hide. Him and his colleagues on the other hand...well, always remember to pay your taxes. If you are going to threaten someone, make sure to not threaten them when they are required by law to send said threats on to colleagues in the state and federal government to investigate." He grinned, then explained, "You'll likely see that Weinberg Pictures is filing for bankruptcy after the company failed to pay taxes and are in debt after having to pay off a lawsuit filed by junior executives for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. They fired a young woman who refused to be the one blamed for leaking the false announcement, she sued for a hefty price and sparked others overnight to join her lawsuit. Weinberg's mystique is tainted now, they overextended their credit in three most recent movies and needed the Oscar season to recover from their flops. They chose to pay themselves instead of Uncle Sam and the State of California, ironic as they touted going after tax cheats last year!" Finally stopping his bit of fun, he announced, "After careful consideration, I have decided that 'Closet Secrets' will be produced in- house by my own production company. I will fund it with my own money with all profits going directly to the Finn Group, Finn Foundation, A New Start, and members of my family. I have enough money to do it and more than happy to lose every penny so long as 'Closet Secrets' is made to both capture how my brother was as a person and capture the reality of someone tormented internally. In addition to this, we have formed a distribution partnership with GCW Studios to market and distribute the movie and give a few of their wrestlers a chance to flex their underutilized acting muscles as several are perfect for roles in the movie." He smirked at saying that, it would cause a lot of speculation that the wrestlers would enjoy as they got a lot of press without knowing anything about the movie. The twins had to fight smiles, it was a bold move but one that Percy would enjoy and Vince would happily endorse when he saw who John wanted. John hit the media hard and gave them an even juicier story, getting them to focus on what was needed and what was going to feed them for months as the movie got rolling. Off to the side, Valerie was happy to let John take the spotlight and handle things on his own. She was happy to take the kids off for a bit as John drove to the production office and met with the very woman who had caused Weinberg Pictures to crash. It was awkward for him, but it was something that John had to do as the face of the company for the time being. John entered and saw a woman in her late 50s with a semi-masculine face and medium-sized breasts. The biggest feature on her was her height: she as 6'6," and looked like she commanded your attention. John had to grin, she intimidated Weinberg's executives and could break them in half if she got upset. John introduced himself to her, a woman named Nora Biggs who had been involved in movie industry productions since she was a child. Her family family had financed multiple movies before having their company merged into Weinberg Pictures. She was retained while her parents retired, telling her that she was on her own from then on. John announced, "We checked your past and reputation before asking you to come here. You know what you are doing and we don't. We'll be putting a lot of trust in you while giving you a lot of leeway in how you do things. I want this film to be a success as a lot of people will benefit from it, but I don't want to waste money if I don't have to. Can you do the job or should I find someone else?" She looked over the job description and offered an apologetic, "It's no different than what I was doing in my previous job. I did everything for them from securing investors to wrangling actors to reining in the directors. The only credit I ever got was when I was needed for diversity reasons. It's hard to find TG producers let alone one who aren't ex-actors or drag performers." John shot back, "It's why you were the first to go: you weren't of any use to them anymore. You were their token diversity hire, done to make it look like they gave a damn but really didn't care one bit about TG rights. You are a gem but the vultures who sexed their way to the top or who used sex as a weapon kept you from advancing or showing your true value." John read over the Kaplans' contract offer and signed, then handed it to Nora to sign. She read it over and gasped at what the pay was and what she'd earn from successful productions. John smiled and told her, "It's going to be a tough job given my family's penchant for trouble. It's only a matter of time before something happens to try to derail production, so you need to be ready for it- hence the high pay and perks like a car and condo. I'd rather you not worry about either housing or transportation." She asked how he knew about her past, leading John to smirk and happily tell her, "You applied for one of my scholarships to attend school again. I sense it was your trying to cover yourself for when there was no more need for you at Weinberg. You weren't chosen as there was someone with more need than you but we did direct your school to your need and suggested that they stop lying about being inclusive and give a a scholarship to someone who was what they tout as helping. You broke the mold for them, you were what they didn't think was possible: a smart, beautiful black transgender woman with a big pedigree in Hollywood. If you were just starting out and looked like a large white man you would have gotten the scholarship from them as well as be their spokesperson for inclusiveness. It's ironic that they would be so offensive, yet worked for you." She looked offended to which he happily stated, "I don't care about the color of your skin or what you look like on the outside. You are hired for your abilities, not for your looks. Your racial origins aren't a factor in your job and should never be. Black, Asian, Latina, Native American: it doesn't matter. You do your job better than others and you can see what's trash and what's worth putting money into." The salary was a whopping $500,000- double the market rate, but John showed that it wasn't fooling around and wanted whom he felt was the best. He had the Kaplans and others that they trusted look into who was the best to hire and found the biggest gem in all of Hollywood in Nora. She was held back at her job as she was only hired to make Weinberg look inclusive while never actually doing the job that she was hired to do and openly harassed by the company once her parents were forcibly retired. The contract was finalized, Inferno Pictures had their first employee and saw John asking her to hire someone to oversee the charities' west coast operations. She smiled as she had the perfect person to hire and would gladly let her do what she wasn't able to do: be the face of the company. John asked her affiliation, getting a blush and timid, "My ex- wife. We split when I came out but have kept close. I love her deeply but it's not sexual. Weinberg blacklisted her after she rejected the CEO's advances." John could only nod and ask for her resume, with him seeing that she had all of the right traits and even had some extras that would work for them. He was happy to know that someone was being helped alongside their friend and shot back, "She's getting a big payday from the lawsuit, but this will be a bigger help to her. I take it she feels beholden to you as your job was safe due to the company fearing what would happen if they let you go for anything except job performance, she doesn't have to be that way anymore and likely will see you two growing stronger. Just no squabbles, working with friends is a tough situation and can get ugly at times." John fielded phone calls from the Turners leading him to happily direct them to his new CEO giving the couple a laugh while Vince simply congratulated him on doing Hollywood a service. He listened as she worked with them on details and who she thought might be best for the roles and who was outright terrible in both experience and acting abilities, giving John the sense that it was a good choice. He left, happily driving off in silence, knowing that he had changed two lives in a matter of minutes. He returned to the hotel and watched as the media was all over Weinberg's story as the CEO and a slew of top executives were arrested on tax fraud while dozens of women came forward accusing them of sexual harassment and sexual assault. John shook his head at the LAPD, LA County Sheriff's Office, and California Highway Patrol taking no chances and going for the widest range of charges while they dealt with the incoming accusations against the company. It was all true, but they had to treat it like it was any other investigation even if the eyes of the world were on them. The family stayed in that evening, with Hannah venturing out to give the twins a chance to unwind and do something else before crashing and giving her a chance to sleep. She looked around and shook her head at all of the people looking at her for daring to be a mother while their own kids were wrangled by nannies or assistants. She disliked LA and would never live there, she hoped that she didn't have to do the same kind of dog and pony show like John when it came time to adapt one of her other stories. Pete sensed her frustration and proudly told her, "There's few genuine people here. You'll probably meet them at some point, but most are frauds. Like those people putting on faces for the press while making snide comments as they turn away. You aren't like them, you are different. You couldn't be like them if you tried- you are simply too honest and open." The couple walked on, with the twins giggling at the flashing cameras and people rushing to see who was in the arriving limos. When they were stopped from entering the hotel by "security" of one of the arriving people Pete had to not so politely tell him to move out of their way. The Paparazzi turned to the couple while Hannah angrily told the large man, "Move or be removed. Your choice." The man grabbed her which caused Pete to swing around and punch him square in the nose, breaking it and causing a torrent of blood to gush out. He then turned to the other "security" trying to help, ducked a sucker punch, then gave a strong uppercut to the man's jaw sending him backwards onto his butt. He then angrily told both men, "We are staying at this hotel. Your employer doesn't own it and you have no right to prevent any guests from entering." The celebrity rushed over and screamed for the police, then tried to slap Pete. Hannah smirked as she grabbed the woman's hand and twisted it back, telling her angrily, "Just who in the hell do you think you are trying to smack someone because they stood up to your hired thugs? You might be 'famous' but that doesn't give you the right to assault people or prevent people from going inside their hotel. I doubt that you are even staying here and are only here for a free meal at the restaurant!" Hannah looked over to the hotel's manager and told him, "You know where we are, we know it's all on video and will press charges." He nodded, booted the celebrity and her entourage, then told the arriving officers, "Self-defense of his wife, not assault. They are guests, prevented from entering by non-guests and assaulted. The trio are at fault, the one who is being tended to by police was the aggressor." The three were led away after a review of the video, with officers asking for the names of the victims then seeking them out for their story. After a quick talk that matched the video the couple were left to be interrogated by John while Valerie ensured that the trio saw charges stick. She had a hard time not making them stick as video of the whole incident was shown around the world with Pete and Hannah not even batting an eye while the twins laughed at the whole turn of events. John shook his head proudly told her, "You must have a hernia from holding down all of your rage. But that woman needed a smack and her thugs are out of control. It's not the first time that they have tried to hurt someone who stood up to them, they were out of line and had no right to do anything to you but given that a lot of them are washed-out football players it's a power thing with them." John sighed, called the Kaplans to do damage control, then laughed as he was told, "Sondra Woods is in a world of hurt due to violating her DWI probation. She's going to jail for a month and will be fined, it's a fitting end to your stay as it's already causing interest in the movie. Hannah didn't get noticed but her publisher sent out a press release applauding her for defending her family, causing a bump in sales." The next day the family left LA early, with the media being kept away from them as they flew out of a private airport with strict security. John sent an offer to to the Inferno Pictures staff to head east at a later date as the movie got going forward, it was easier on them to do the pre-production in the Boston area where they could see for themselves what they were working with and see just how much of the city they could use while keeping true to the movie. John could already see that it was going to be shot entirely on location with every major location from his life used, right down to the actual apartment buildings that his family lived in over the decades. Weeks passed and saw Weinberg Pictures go bankrupt and forced to sell- off most of their assets such as their Oscar-winning movie library and rights to dozens of movies in development. Inferno snapped up a few of the movies for their own once, "Closet Secrets," finished production, with the movies guaranteed hits and likely Oscar-worthy movies but not big name blockbusters. The key was getting the various movies made, which Nora Biggs was hard at work doing. The Weinbergs tried to make it out to be a simple misunderstanding and pretend that their company had a solid financial standing but couldn't deny that they had sold off everything of value to keep the name afloat. John toyed with the idea of buying the film library outright, but chose to invest into one of the companies that bid on it by creating a digital media channel to broadcast them. It was a solid idea as it was simply paying him back over time while making strong connections to other companies. Nora and her newly hired staff worked hard at getting the movie off the ground. Woody Deville, their choice for director, was a surprise, but the man wanted to do the movie and give himself an Oscar to go alongside his numerous blockbuster movies. He worked with their initial screenwriter, Wes Coen, on the story, making it into what he felt that the movie should be without bothering to read the source material and working entirely from a basic outline of the book. Wes Coen worked hard to hammer the script but kept hitting roadblocks as Woody Demille wanted to make it into an epic movie instead of focusing on what was needed and just letting the actors drive the movie. With the book being a first-person narrative, it was hard to not have a lot of narration driving the scenes as the subtle actions were hard to notice. Much of the action was subtle, snowballing into the big reveals later on that couldn't be forced and didn't need a lot of fluff. Hannah helped Wes a lot, going so far as to have him fly out to Winnisimmet to talk with her for hours on end and rewrite scenes to fit how she recalled then and how her mother, aunt, and uncle had seen themselves. That was something lost on Woody: the main characters were still alive and were funding the movie so wouldn't accept his changes without reason and not if they harmed the movie. He had to see for himself that the family took the movie serious and weren't subject to his whims. The meetings were long and intense as Hannah worked with Wes on every part of the book trimming excess that had nothing to do with plot development and emphasized how much her uncle Roland was a scumbag despite his being sympathetic. She showed pictures of John with bruises and how Roland smirked in his mugshots, how Roland happily threatened the family to get what he had wanted while ensuring that they'd pay if they didn't do it immediately. She kept going and going until it was tough to not see the truth, especially as she brought in people who knew him as well as the family. Louis Reagan was a secondary character who butted heads with Roland throughout the movie, with the man showing just how Roland really was by showing videos of Roland from events over the years with John as his clear target and always getting himself put into embarrassing situations by Roland's antics. It was tough to not see the real man as it was clear as day from the videos, what was in the book had to be the true story and not something romanticized to win pity. Woody would take issue with it, but it was Wes' job to lose as Wes chose to portray the right side of things instead of what someone else thought was the way the movie should play out. Pre-production came to a head as Woody, the producer and line-producers, and John met for location scouting. John had the locations picked out, with the producers each agreeing with him as they were all simple locations that would film well, have less impact if given advance warning from neighbors, and had a chance to give people of the neighborhood something to positively participate in. Woody had his own ideas and lobbied for South Boston as he felt it was a better choice, especially with his demand that the actors have "Boston" accents instead of the subtle, yet authentic, accents John had wanted them to have. It was further complicated as he stated that John had no idea what the hell he was doing and Woody did, with John trying hard to not tell him off but simply overruling his demands. Things were going well after that meeting, Woody reluctnatly accepted John's demands but insisted on a small number of choices for the lead roles. John had the list ready and shot down each of his choices, angrily telling Woody, "No drug offenses or past usage. I don't care how friendly you are with them, that is nonnegotiable. This movie is about a drug addict, but having an addict play him isn't needed." Woody scowled to which John shot back, "They got off without so much as a slap on the wrist for their crimes. DWI, overdosing in a shopping mall, threatening police! Those are unforgivable and not what I want in an actor. It doesn't help them in the role, they are exactly what Roland was!" John looked through the list and pointed to one person in particular, explaining to the director, "I've seen his work on TV and in other movies. He's good at playing low-key tough guys and weaselly friends. He has the right build and look, he's athletic yet trim and with the right makeup can look like an addict. My brother didn't have track marks like your choices, he smoked opioids- not inject them." John then added, "Your guys couldn't pull off the other major part of the book: the cross-dressing. You were going to minimize it or entirely remove it. That's not happening. He'll need some training in both how to dance and how to do makeup, but given that this is a huge role he'll learn both." Brice Walsh was the man who John had wanted to hire. He was a character actor, known for his many roles in dramas and comedies on both TV and movies. He didn't get a lot of screen time and the largest amount of times he got he was playing a very similar role to Roland Finn: drug addicted tough guy. He was a solid choice, he had a degree in drama and filmmaking as well as being an athlete in track and soccer. He was also called "straight edge" by a lot of colleagues as he avoided drugs and alcohol and refused to even have a drink at premier parties. He had been struggling to find bigger roles for years, he was poised to give up on acting and go back to college but John's role was the right role at the right time to keep him from giving up his passion in favor of something mundane. Brice was flown to Boston to meet with John, with John explaining to him, "This is more than just your usual role, it involves a lot of humiliation and betrayals. My brother was a cross-dresser and used drugs to suppress his urges. He used his brutality to get money to feed his addiction creating an endless cycle of drugs, violence, and urges. If you don't want to cross-dress then we will find you a smaller role, but I believe you are more man than others. The feelers to some of the top guys in Hollywood showed that a lot of them talk a big game but are 'too good' to dress as a woman for more than laughs." Brice shook his head then shot back, "It's a role. It's my shot at breaking out of my typecast. It's either take the short-term humiliation or give up any long-term advancement. I'm man enough to wear a dress, I'll need help in walking in heels, but I'll do it." John grinned and shot back a happy, "Trust me, I know from doing this for years with my kids: you'll get used to them if you have the right balance. I'm not one of those people. I twisted my ankle doing it and got lucky in that my parents thought I slipped off of the curb. I'm happy to say that I'm not man enough to wear heels all day!" Brice laughed and shot back, "Been there, done that, almost broke mine. My sisters loved to use me as a doll when it was too hot to go outside. It's probably the only benefit of living in our Arizona suburb. It was easy to do when mom had to work late after dad abandoned us." That was what John wanted: empathy and understanding. He shook his head and told Brice, "I'm sorry to say that you don't have the look to play my part but you fit my brother's look perfectly. And you are one of the few whose look isn't due to addiction and recovery. As much as one of them should be the star, I don't believe that they are reliable. They are either known divas or tempted by drugs too easily." The two hammered out details of how much Brice would be paid, when filming would commence, and what control he had over his character. John wisely explained to him, "My niece is strict when it comes to her script. The book was her baby, the script writing was tough on her and she had to tear apart the initial plans by Woody Demille. Please don't go off-script and try to change things as she will bring about a wrath that you might not survive. She won't harm you physically, just destroy your psyche." Brice shot back, "I've been around the bush enough times with scumbag agents, casting directors, lousy producers, and network execs to not be intimidated by her. I have nothing to lose, if she's as bad as you say then I'm done no matter what I do. She can't hurt me any more than they have- it's why I'm stuck in the same damn roles no matter how perfect I am for starring and recurring roles." John smirked, he had no idea what she could do to him yet was acting as he wanted him to act. He was perfect, in every sense of the word. Hannah didn't need to fix anything with him, he had Roland down to the letter without knowing that he was acting just as Roland defiantly acted around authority. Brice flew back home and told his girlfriend Jennifer, "I got my first starring role. It's the same role but with a twist- I'm playing a cross- dressing addict/drug dealer. It's what I've played before but with more of a chance to show my range and ability and could be my breakout role. He sounds like he wants it to be close to how things really were, but he understands me for some reason." He blushed then explained, "He joked about high heels, I told him about my sisters dressing me up when we were younger. It's funny, he gets me yet he won't let me play him in the movie. He's different than anyone I've met before, he's odd yet knows more than he lets on." He realized that he had said too much, with Jennifer grinning and asking, "Just what do you mean 'my sisters dressing me up'? Did you try to get in touch with your 'softer side'? Did you wear makeup with them and try to be their big sister?" He cringed and mumbled, "They'd make me wear their dresses and dance around the house with them. I would have to put on makeup and shoes. It was just to kill boredom, I didn't like it but we didn't have a decent TV or video game system so I had nothing else to do. Mom let them do it, telling me that I was more man than my friends for helping my sisters. They tormented theirs, I loved mine." Jennifer smiled, looking up at a picture of his twin sisters and knowing how much they meant to him as they worked their way through medical school to become two of the best plastic surgeons and doctors around. They had married a banker and lawyer and given him several amazing nieces and nephews, with Brice proud to have walked them down the aisle on their wedding days. Their mother had never remarried after their father abandoned them, so Brice did the honor for his sisters at their dual wedding. The couple kissed and enjoyed a night of incredible sex, before Jennifer asked, "Have you looked into the book that the movie is being based off of?" He shot back an upset, "I didn't have the chance to, all I know is that my character is my usual character and I'm able to play the part well. I did get warned that I had to follow the script as the producer's niece is strict regarding her work and dangerous to my job." She smirked and handed him a new copy of "Closet Secrets," then told him, "Read it. He's telling you to do it to help you understand your character. It's deeper into your character than what the script and it's a lot better of a read than some other stuff you've done. I liked it, it sounds like the movie will be fun and also give you a chance to shine instead of going through the motions for a payday." He did as she suggested, falling asleep after some more sex and cuddling. In the morning, he went right to work and found that he couldn't put the book down as it was too intense and covered a lot of what he hadn't considered for the role. Roland Finn was a complex and sympathetic man who just couldn't be the man he believed himself to be and who fought every chance he had at trying to better himself while delving deeper and deeper into his vicious cycle of drugs, violence, and urges to dress as a woman. He spent the next week reading the book then rereading certain parts so that he got a good idea for how a man like Roland could have gotten away with a lot of what he did before Brice searched online for a big part of the backstory beyond just the Finn family. What he found surprised him: it was the tail end of the decades-long reign of terror of a single family and led by none other than what appeared to be a sweet elderly woman but who harbored a dangerous side. Roland was just a cog in her machine, John was the debris that jammed the machine and caused the engine to burn out. Brice spent hours reading articles about the city of Winnisimmet, MA and what happened in it over the decades, with John Finn being touted as the true father of the city as he was the one who led the charge to change the city into a modern city and move beyond the past while also exposing the last remnants of the city's corruption, greed, and criminal masterminds. It was just like any other large city, but it was not mired in the past and wasn't afraid to admit that change was good. Jennifer was proud of him, he took the role seriously and was learning more from it than any role in the past. She surprised him with an offer that he couldn't refuse: lessons from drag performers so he could do his own makeup and dance like his character without needing someone to do it for him. He looked at her with wide eyes, she happily told him, "It's my treat. Your sisters thought it'd be fun to see you do it and I know that your in-laws are itching to see your new role in person." That afternoon, they went to a small drag show in West Hollywood where both of his brothers-in-law and his sisters were present. Jennifer explained what was going on and why and saw both guys give a look of horror while their wives smirked at them for not being man enough to do what Brice was doing. He walked out in a miniskirt, heels, and tank top and did a horrible dance, with the three ladies going wild while his in- laws cringed and begged their wives not to make them do that too. The ladies had a big laugh and hugged Brice tightly. His sister Wendy boldly told him, "You have got to take lessons if you are going to do that on film! I didn't think you were that bad but you are just as bad as when we did this for fun!" His sister Nell added, "You are unsteady. You need to get used to heels! You know how bad they can be when you are walking, lord knows you barely got away without falling before." Both ladies smiled and brought out their surprise: his new dance tutor who would also be his makeup tutor. The ladies introduced Lola Eaton, a young woman who couldn't be older than 20 and who looked like she was scared of him. Jennifer explained, "She's 16 and out on her own. I've asked her to move in with us so you can get used to dancing and walking in heels. Your sisters have agreed to not tell their kids so don't expect to see them until after filming ends. Lola is a great personality once you get over the fact that she shares more in common with you than she does with me." Lola looked away in shame causing Brice to gasp in shock. Wendy explained, "She's seeing Ana Gomez. She was recommended to Jennifer out of desperation. Your producers hired her to work with you and if all goes well she'll have an apprenticeship job with one of makeup artists during production." He sighed and asked for her story, knowing that there was more to it than meets the eye. Lola meekly told him, "I fled my parents back in April. I'm old enough to be on my own and couldn't live as a boy anymore. Dr. Gomez asked your sister to help me which got your girlfriend to take me in." Brice asked what she knew so he could have a baseline to work toward. Lola danced and showed how good she was with makeup, causing him to blush. She was better than the ladies, she was a natural at it. The trio left for Brice's apartment, with Jennifer helping Lola move into the spare bedroom. She acted a lot differently with Lola than she had with Wendy and Nell, almost maternal and protective of her and a bit like she wanted Lola to be comfortable and not think of herself as hired help. Brice was happy that Jennifer was doing her best to help in this tight situation, he wanted to help Lola but didn't know how to do so without causing her pain in case her father left psychological scars as some did. Jennifer was so busy talking about being a woman and helping Lola get used to being around them that Brice felt that it was best to cook for them so they didn't end their session in Lola's room. He had a big smile on his face as Lola listened intently while Jennifer talked with her about how things were going to get better for her from now on. He loved his girlfriend deeply, he just wished that she could bare him children but she was infertile despite many years of trying on her part. Brice cooked and waited for a lull in their conversation before telling them that dinner was ready. The two walked out and sat, thanking him to doing that for them. Jennifer had a look of happiness, it was the right thing to do for her at that moment and showed that he understood why she did what she did. After dinner, Lola had Brice stretch and stand on his tip-toes for then try to walk around on them. She was doing something important there, assessing his balance and giving his legs a chance to stretch and adjust to the heels: something most don't do. He understood the feeling, recalling it from the past and thinking that she had to have learned the hard way that you don't just start out in high heels. From that, she moved onto abdominal and arm stretching before calling it a night. Brice felt twinges of pain, but it wasn't too bad and he'd experience it before from playing soccer in high school. He started to recall how hard it was to stay in shape, and seeing Lola's toned abs in her skimpy top he understood why she was in shape and why she was so limber in her dance moves. In bed, he confessed to Jennifer, "You are treating her like our nieces. I hate to think about what she told you, but if it's any trouble I'll be there to help. I don't want her hurt." Jennifer shed a tear and admitted, "She has nowhere else to go and thought about ending her life if she couldn't transition. She's good at her job, she's a great dancer and learned how to do makeup from being observant and practicing on discarded mannequins. She's the same age as our first attempts at trying for a baby, she's what I hoped my daughter would be. I can't help but feel for her, she needs parents and we are the closest she has ever had to real parents." He didn't say anything, her instincts were on overdrive and making her want to help Lola. He wasn't in a mood to play Devil's Advocate, he didn't want to upset either Lola or Jennifer. Lola was doing him a big favor in helping learn how to be a drag queen, but she was also helping Jennifer see that she could be a mother even if she wasn't one biologically. In the morning, Lola awoke later than the couple and took a couple of pills. Brice was going to ask her about them but Jennifer explained, "They are hormones and anti-androgens. She needs them to help her body change shape. She's barely on the male side of puberty, it's why her parents kicked her out." He was silent and looked at Lola with a look of pity and sadness. She had no breasts and a skinny legs, it was going to take a long time before she filled-out in her chest and legs and started to look more like a woman and less like a young teen. After breakfast, the duo stretched and worked on simple moves then saw Brice introduced to new shoes that he'd have to wear while dancing. Lola insisted that he wear them around the apartment and try a few short dances with them to get his balance right. He fell every few feet but got farther and farther as he kept at it, he was making steady progress but saw the day going by faster than expected. The days wore on as Brice got farther and farther in the heels before he could walk without falling on his butt. That led Lola to proudly tell him, "You are ready for part 2: dancing. We'll do this at the club I work at. Before you say anything, I work as the assistant makeup artist. I had to do it to earn money to pay rent to one of the girls before Dr. Gomez recommended me to your sister. I'm grateful that Jennifer took me in, I don't know how long I'd have lasted there before I had to do other things to pay rent." She started crying, causing Brice to hug her and kiss her forehead. Jennifer took a picture and sent it to Nell and Wendy, with both saying, "He cares about her more than just as a teacher/student." She texted back, "I like her a lot. I'm going to ask if he would like to board her until she gets back on her feet." Jennifer watched the two and felt a tingle in her heart. He was more to her than she let on, he was the first man to treat her like a woman. She was feeling like Lola was a blessing to them and maybe she'd be a mother even if unofficially. Lola moved their lessons to the club that evening, with Brice shown his wardrobe and asked to try to move around in them so he got used to them. The skirt was too short and blouse too tight, the stockings were fishnet with lace and went below the hem of the skirt showing the lace top. It was a classic look for a drag queen but he put all of them on without complaint and did as Lola asked of him. The other "ladies" grinned at Brice's look, with catcalls and whistles given as he walked up and down the aisles and across the stage. He blushed at Jennifer telling him to move his hips while Lola told him to stick his shoulders back and chest out. He complained, "You forgot the oranges in my bra," leading to a round of laughs with the ladies smiling at one another as he "got" them without saying so. Across town, the Kaplan twins viewed the progress reports about the movie and noted that it was going to be tough to deal with Woody as he was sending complaints about multiple scenes that he felt had no reason to be in the movies- all of which were the assaults on John followed by Roland buying drugs and getting himself arrested. They were the key scenes in the movie, as John nursed himself back to health and plotted with his sisters and mother to get them to see that Roland was out of control and had to go to rehab or be out of their lives for good. They were needed, with much of the scenes that were added being fluff based around Roland blaming John and in a drug-induced state that added nothing to the movie bout were meant to showcase the director's penchant for psychedelic scenes. Nora noted the complaints and sided with John's vision for the movie. Hannah had written it so well that it was tough to add anything without sacrificing key parts. John's role couldn't be diminished, he was actually the most important character in the whole movie: the one whose actions finally led to the downward spiral into the drug haze and stream of arrests. The Kaplans asked about how Brice was doing with his training, causing her to blush and tell them, "He is doing well for someone who has never worn heels. His mentor is working wonders, but I fear that we are playing with fire with her. She's 16, she needs to head to school in August and might have an issue if her parents believe they can make a buck from her. It's only a matter of time before the paparazzi are involved, I doubt the girls at the club are going to keep their mouths shut about what's really going on with Brice and his mentor. It only takes one rumor to kill a career...and his rumor can be pretty juicy." Things were left alone but Jo sent an email to John to alert him of possible trouble with the media over Lola. He called her direct and told her to tell Brice, "Tell the truth and let them look like fools. If need be have him file paperwork to be her guardian and show that she legitimately works at the club and that we hired her to help prepare him for the film role. Anything else is a lie and well into slander that Brice and Lola will gladly sue them over. I strongly suspect Jennifer will be filing for custody of Lola if that does happen as she sounded to me like it was more to their relationship than boarding Lola." Phyllis texted Jennifer to tell her to officially foster Lola so when the inevitable happens they would be ready with the truth. Jennifer's heart fluttered, she looked over at Lola as she was teaching Brice how to move his hips like her and smiled at the prospect. Legally Lola didn't need to be fostered, but Jennifer had to do what Phyllis asked so Brice was covered and their explanation didn't get turned against them. Back at home, Lola was sat down and told, "Tomorrow morning we have to file paperwork with social services to alert them that you are living with us so Brice is covered when someone leaks to the press that you are living with us. If we don't do that he'll look like a child molester and your parents might try to come after your or us. I don't want either of you hurt, if need be I'll refile if as adoption paperwork so you are our daughter legally!" That came out too fast, with Lola running off to her room to cry. Brice calmly told Jennifer, "Your heart is in the right place, but it's too early. She needs time, it's a major threat to her and she is in real fear of them doing just that. I don't mind her being our daughter if it protects her, we are old enough to be her parents anyway. She needs support and love, you are giving that to her." He went into Lola's room and found her trying to pack her things. He hugged her tight and kissed her forehead, then told her, "It's going to be alright. Jennifer wants you to be close to us, she isn't able to be a mother but she has started to love mothering you. You are a great young woman, nobody will stop you from being yourself and nobody will take you away from us." He put her to bed, kissing her forehead as she fell asleep. He tried to hide his tears as Lola had reverted to a little girl and was so in fear of harming them that she'd flee to protect them. Jennifer tightly hugged him and offered a soothing, "This is what parenthood is about. She's in our life now, even if we aren't her parents. I want to protect her, but I don't want her to be afraid of hurting us." In the morning, Jennifer left early to "attend to some matters," leaving Lola and Brice alone. They were silent but saw Brice hugging her tight as her fears were evident, leading to her laying on his lap as they watched TV. He was pinned all day by her sleeping form, with Jennifer smiling at the sight upon return. She showed him the forms then smiled as she told him, "She's fully legal as your brother-in-law got her paperwork copied. She has a work permit, finished school so there's no school issues, and as she has a clean record there's no issue with the law. We are now officially her guardians." Lola started to stir and flinched, apologized to Jennifer and claiming that she didn't do anything to him. Jennifer happily told her, "You are a bit too young and new to your transition to do anything with him. I know you favor guys, but he's too old for you. Besides, you were asleep." Jennifer showed her the paperwork then boldly told her, "In August you can either go back to school or you can start an internship program after getting your GED. It's up to you, we won't toss you out. So long as you stay away from drugs and don't get in trouble with the law you can stay with us." Lola went off alone to hide her tears, but her smile was evident. Lola waited and saw Brice enter, with him telling her, "It's alright to call us Brice and Jennifer or mom and dad. We are like your parents now, I am happy to have you here even if we aren't your parents. Nobody can replace them in your heart." The two drove to the club and saw people milling about outside. Lola went with the ladies while Brice went with the manager and owner to discuss some things. Brice cringed when he was told, "You are up tonight. You have to get used to crowds. It's our amateur night so issues with dancers are expected, the ladies can be comedic in their joking but mean well and know that you are camping it up for fun." He went to the back and had his first lesson in makeup. He failed miserably, causing the ladies to laugh as he smeared it, overdid it on the lipstick and eye shadow, and made himself look like a clown. It was a noble first attempt, with him feeling bad but seeing the ladies all joke about doing the same thing. He did it again and again for two hours, before finally getting it right and seeing a woman who looked like she was a drag queen but feeling confident that he had learned something worth learning. When he removed it again, he asked that they teach him how to do normal makeup, with the ladies grinning as it was a surprising request but one rooted in helping Jennifer and his nieces. Lola happily told him, "You don't need to learn, your eyes can tell you what is needed and how much. Go with what you learned." Lola sat and had him use her makeup to "fix her face" for her. He went at it and took 20 minutes but he had her eyes popping, lips looking fuller, and covered an unseen blemish for her while making her look at least another 10 to 15 years older and prettier than before. He stepped back and told her, "No more than that. You look fine without the extras." She looked and had to fight tears, he made her look like an adult. He hugged her tight and kissed her forehead, leading the ladies to let out a a joint, "Aw," as the two embraced. It was a fatherhood moment for Brice, one that she needed and he relished giving her. The time had come for him to perform, with Brice putting on his makeup and stetting into a new dress for the first time. Lola helped him with his heels and kissed his cheek for good luck, then went out front to watch the action alongside Jennifer, Nell, and Wendy. He walked out, saw his audience, and ignored all of them as he was focused solely on his dancing. His set was comical as he fell multiple times, nearly flung himself off of the stage, then gyrated badly to the beat. He had a fake smile on his face as he did the whole act, leading the ladies to laugh at his look and joke that it was his, "Sex face," which Jennifer blushed at hearing. She wisely kept quiet, but Wendy and Nell snorted as Lola added, "More like his pooping face." When he was finished, Lola went to the rear and critiqued him. She was brutal, telling him, "You tried to move like you are agile and a professional- you are neither. You need to go at it from another angle, do it from a fun perspective instead of as a professional. It's what it is to us: fun." He apologized and got ready for his second set, this time going out and doing it better and not falling once. He was focused and moved to the music, gyrating his hips and kicking at the right moments to the beat of the music making him look fairly decent but still needing a lot of work. That night was tiring for him as he fell asleep in Jennifer's caring embrace. Lola went right to bed, she had her fun and loved helping him. He did have fun, it was humiliating yet still fun. The next day was more of the same, with less time being needed to prepare for the dancing. Brice was put to work helping the ladies, with them more than happy to have someone else do their makeup while they helped him learn some subtle ways of hiding his masculinity and telling him all about their lives when not on stage. He grinned as one was a lawyer, one a medic, and one a deputy sheriff. Things went well for a week, but the inevitable happened as the club was raided and Brice questioned by officers while Lola was taken to another room to talk with someone from social services about her job at the club. Lola refused to speak without a lawyer, with Jennifer entering with Brice's brother-in-law Joe Love to tell the representative, "She is here with my full knowledge and a working contract with the club's owners. She's an emancipated minor who is employed with Inferno Pictures as a dance and makeup consultant for the movie 'Closet Secrets' and is assisting the star in learning how to dance and apply makeup like the real life dancers in preparation for the role." She showed the contract as well as Lola's work permit, the custody agreement, and the contract Inferno had with the club to teach Brice makeup and dancing. Jennifer then explained, "Despite what sources tell you, Lola is not dating Brice nor is she having sex with him. He is her legal guardian, she lives with us at our apartment and is under the care of a psychiatrist and other doctors. We take our job seriously and are ensuring that she is gainfully employed or attends school after her contract expires." Joe added, "My brother-in-law has done no wrong, but I'm sure that your source knew that as he was chosen over him for the role. We will be filing suit against your source as he gloated that he was about to get the role handed to him. You can claim otherwise, but your face belies the truth: you knew this was a false allegation and you conducted it anyway. Expect a response from us against your agency and expect to be terminated tomorrow with prejudice." Over in the office, Brice was grilled by the officers and didn't say anything to them. Joe entered and handed them multiple statements and documents then angrily stated, "My brother-in-law has been accused of having sex with a 16-year-old but that is an outright lie. Despite claims to the contrary, she is in his care as his ward with the blessing of social services as she is an emancipated minor. She is also gainfully employed as a consultant and her actions with him are within the guidelines set as part of her contract with Inferno Pictures for said consultancy. She is teaching him makeup and dancing as part of his upcoming movie role. She is here with the full knowledge and oversight of the club and has been neither used as a dancer nor is she conducting illicit deeds backstage." Brice sighed and told all of them, "She's transgender and was tossed out by her parents. She's in our care because she had nowhere else to go. My sister facilitated her employment and got my girlfriend to take her in as a boarder. Jennifer got custody transferred to us so she can return to school or is able to find an apprenticeship. She has never done anything wither anyone, she has only taught me how to dance and apply makeup like the ladies at the club. Nothing more." The officers left, but warned him that they'd be in touch. Joe shot back, "If you harass my client or go to the media we will have your badges. Her employers don't play hardball when it comes to those who are harmed by colleagues." The mood was one of dread after the officers left, with the social services employees discretely staying put to watch what was going on and trying to dig for anything that they could use against Brice. Other dances took note and grinned, Brice blocked their reactions out of his mind as he got ready while Lola kept away from the back and only approached when he was dressed and had his makeup on. She did a cursory glance over it and told him to watch his lines as he was heavy in spots and light in others. Brice did three sets, each time Lola critiqued his performance and told him how he could work around the spots and make himself look more feminine yet still keeping his bit of masculinity- he was working as a drag queen, not as a dancer. He took her instructions to heart and made the changes, with Jennifer trying hard not to laugh each time he went back out to get her critiques. It was great fun, and he learned that it was harder than it looked trying to imitate what others were doing. The social services workers slipped out after his last set but didn't go unnoticed by Jennifer. Lola told them, "That's all that I did with him. He isn't some pervert molesting me like you are claiming! He's not my dad! He's not my uncle!" She ran off in tears while Jennifer growled, "I'll be sure to ask her about those claims then ensure that it is looked at by your colleagues as that's too quick to not have been known to you already. I suspect that your colleagues have met her before and you ignored her claims. You had better hope that they weren't ignored or else you'll be the ones to get taken out by those who ignored her before!" Jennifer found Lola crying in the backseat of Brice's car, with Lola telling her between sobs, "Dad knew I was transgender years ago and tried to get me to go 'straight'. When that didn't work he'd use me as a personal sex toy and got my uncle to take me in so he could save up to have me changed to fit his needs and make me into what he thought a transsexual should be. My uncle was just as brutal, only I cut off his balls so he couldn't do it after the first night. He kicked me out and told dad that he was on his own and if I ever went near him again he's cut my balls off. I told him I'd cut his dick off instead!" She had a cruel smile, Jennifer hugged her tightly and let her calm herself then told the social services workers, "Did you hear all of that or are you going to prison for ignoring a sexual assault report?" It was clear that they were thinking to which Brice told them, "I told the boss, she's in contact with the Kaplans to get the files and will work from there. John's going to want us to go see him and work out of Boston from now on, he has plenty of help around him to ensure that Lola isn't harassed by anyone else." The social services workers' phones rang and saw someone on the other end tell them, "The investigation is dead. Brice Walsh checks out on all levels. The new accusations are logged and will be dealt with by the LAPD. His ward, however, is the center of another investigation with her as the victim." There was nothing else to do, their hands were tied. Brice was told that he was all set and they'd look at the accusations against Lola's father. Jennifer angrily told them, "Speak to Dr. Ana Gomez and Dr. Nell Love, her two doctors and the ones who are already aware of the claims and made notification back in April. Funny, nothing happened since the reports! Congratulations on getting played yet again!" The next day was a madhouse as the media were outside of his apartment trying to get at him over the juicy story. They didn't care that it was all a lie, it was what drove page clicks and brought viewers to the various TV gossip shows. Lola and Jennifer snuck out but Brice was held prisoner inside. Jennifer took Lola to social services to be interviewed and saw a supervisor explaining to Lola, "We did a check of your father and uncle and came back with a report dated last year that was made by one of your teachers then found a second report dated in April from your psychiatrist. Both match with reports of a man being treated for castration at a local hospital in up in Watts Canyon, with the deputies stating that a young girl fitting your description was last seen near his house at the time and when pressed he refused to cooperate. They are of the belief that he might have been involved in illicit activities with a child and are seeking to interview you." Lola told him, "I told Dr. Gomez everything, he grabbed me and forced me to endure sex with him and when he went to sleep I cut his balls off. I told him when dad dumped me there if he touched me I'd do it, he didn't believe that I'd do it but I did. Dad told him to go to the hospital and be a man, the deputies told him that they'd keep an eye on him to ensure that he didn't get caught with another kid again." She knew what was next and told him, "My father loved to screw me when mom wasn't home. He loves to get it on with 'ladies with something extra'. Mom caught him with me and he blamed me for it. I was beaten badly and dumped on the street, with a passing deputy taking me to the hospital. I was lucky, he only broke my cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead. Dr. Gomez got them to give me surgery and then got a patient to let me stay with her until I could get a job. I worked at the club until Dr. Love got me the job with Brice and Jennifer. I'm teaching Brice how to be a drag queen for his movie role, his producers are intent on it being as realistic as possible and wanted someone without connections to help him." Her father was asked about, Lola explained, "He tried to come around to get me to get the state to back off of him but was driven off by the manager. Dad hasn't tried since, he's afraid of getting beaten by the man: he's 6'8" and looks like he could break you in half. Dad doesn't want anything to do with me and mom is ashamed of me and told me that she'd kill me if she ever saw me again." There was nothing else to discuss, the reports corroborated what was stated and the doctor's complaints about the lack of progress into the investigation showed that someone inside had been at fault for her father getting away with nearly killing her until then. He looked at Lola then at Jennifer and stated, "We have no reason to investigate Brice Walsh further. He has done nothing wrong and we are now seeing that we have been used by outside forces to go after his reputation while being forced to actively do an investigation into your family life and what happened to you in Watts Canyon and at home. We will gladly explain to the press that Brice is innocent and what he is actually doing is helping a teenager in need of a family. It's the truth and there is no reason for them to dig deeper as all files are confidential and sealed by legal decree." Outside of his office, four people were angrily called inside, with Lola and Jennifer sitting as he let out a loud and authoritative, "By law you are supposed to investigate all allegations of abuse. Two did not do that. You ignored complaints from multiple sources about a child being sexually abused then saw an assault occur on said child. There is no excuse for failing to investigate the claims, the medical proof as well as reports from deputies and doctors supported the claims. As such, you two are terminated and will be facing charges of criminal neglect and failure to report abuse." Turning to the other two, he angrily added, "You two let your colleagues force you to reveal that there is an open case against Brice Walsh. Those two knew that the claims were false, they discussed it with an outside party who is now being arrested for lying to police and filing a false claim. You let your youth get the better of you, you let potential fame blind you to the facts. There was no crime. There was only a man working with a teenager as part of a movie. It was contractual work. The club was legally in the clear as she was employed as a makeup artist for them and as a consultant for him." The two were told flatly, "You will publicly apologize to Brice Walsh then will be suspended until you finish training again. Your training clearly didn't take as you didn't ask the right questions and see that it was just a fishing expedition with little facts. He is within his rights to sue you, but that's not happening as he has to now lay low in another location to get away from the media. And for the record for all of you: Brice Walsh is legally Lola Eaton's guardian. We gave our blessing days ago for her to be fostered by him and his girlfriend. He is not sleeping with her. They have a business relationship that Mr. Walsh and his girlfriend have chosen to take beyond into guardianship. Good luck to you, ladies." The two went back to the apartment, with them easily slipping past the media horde. Brice waited for a chance to say something then blurted out, "We've been asked to go to Boston by John Finn. He wants us to be there for the final meetings and wants Lola to work with the screenwriters to get the dancing done right. I asked if it was wise, he all but laughed at me so whatever's going on isn't affecting him." The three packed for a month, bringing everything that they could think of. Lola had next to nothing, but Jennifer happily told her, "You are the same size as me so you'll borrow my clothes. I don't mind, it's what ladies do for one another." Lola hugged her and fought off saying, "Thank, mom," but the sentiment was clear: she appreciated being treated like any other woman and doing simple things that Jennifer took for granted. Brice grumbled at packing his dresses, shoes, makeup, and inserts but Lola insisted that he keep at it so he didn't fall back on bad habits and forget what she taught him. Jennifer added, "You are probably going to show off your moves anyway, it seems like a perfect time to do so." The trio went outside with their bags packed and saw Brice saying hello to the assembled media, then telling them, "Since you are so interested, meet Lola Eaton. She was hired by Inferno Pictures as the dance and makeup instructor for me as I'm starring in a role that requires me to both put on and take off makeup as well as perform in drag. You might have heard of it, it's a movie called 'Closet Secrets' and is about a drug addict who gets caught in an endless cycle of drag, drugs, crime, and jail." He grinned then added, "She is staying with my fiance and I thanks to her parents tossing her out last April because her father sexually assaulted her and her mother blaming her for it happening. My sister recommended her to Inferno Pictures and asked my fiance to take her in so she could have a place to stay even after the movie ended production. My sister is heavily involved in her case and will be in a long discussion with social services and state investigators about Lola's rights being violated thanks to someone alerting you to a false allegation as well as ignoring the legitimate allegations that they had failed to investigate in two separate locations." He walked on to his car and drove off, with Lola not saying a word while Jennifer gave a subtle nod to Nell and Wendy to get rid of them once the trio were out of sight. Nell happily told the media, "You are in violation of multiple state laws in trying to talk to the minor victim of sexual assault allegations. You are at a crossroads, you can either walk away and leave Brice Walsh and Lola Eaton alone or you can see to it that your employers are sued by both the state and the duo. Either way, don't come back here." The trio drove to Inferno Pictures' office and parked, then saw them transferring their bags to a new car. Brice led them upstairs and introduced Lola to her, "Boss," Nora. It was then followed by Brice telling her, "She's like you, but a lot fiercer: she won't take any guff and has made several asses look for new jobs and pay her through the nose for crossing her. She's got a lot of the right things going for her that you want in a producer: loyalty, respect, intelligence, and a great personality. Those idiots at Weinberg were jealous of her and gave the owners the perfect CEO." Lola greeted the tall, well-built yet lean woman. She looked at her chest and was drawn straight to her breasts, with Lola trying hard to not ask about them. Lola was led to an inner office, with Brice telling the concerned Jennifer, "It's alright, I think I know what's being discussed. It's a good thing for her." Inside the office, Lola looked away in shame but was told, "Yes, they are fake. I got them from my mom as a present, alongside my surgery. I'm 'complete' as I couldn't live any longer after three decades as a man. They were alright with my transition, they would have wanted me to transition when I was in high school but things were a lot different in the 80s. I don't mind that I'm taller and larger than most, I look like any other woman if you think about it. If you didn't know that I was head of the company you wouldn't give the a second look. It worked out well for me at Weinberg as they had me doing a lot of listening and reporting, but when it came to conducting deals I was booted and kept in a constant state of covering their foul-ups and getting people to not quit their productions." She smiled and offered a warm hug to Lola, then told her, "You'll do fine. You are still young, you aren't maturing as a man. You are a late- bloomer, it's for the best as you'll never look like a man. You are also very pretty, which will get a lot of interest from guys. I know you like them, I've seen how you look at the guys at the club when you were working on their makeup. I'm glad that Nell listened to me and had the wherewithal to contact her brother to get him to accept you as a boarder." She smiled at the whole turn of events, with Lola asking, "What about when this is all over?" She tried to hide her shame but was told a somber, "We'll talk about that when it comes up later. You'll either stay with Brice and Jennifer or you could come live with me at my condo. Truthfully, I'd rather you all move in with me as it's secure and the paparazzi won't disturb you." The two walked out and saw the trio told, "Your plane will be here in an hour, he's expecting you when you land tomorrow morning. He's putting you up in his house as the media and paparazzi won't dare come to his neighborhood. And don't worry about Lola, she'll be a nice fit with the others her age." The group went to dinner at an exclusive restaurant that was inaccessible to all but a few, with Lola and the couple not getting a second glance while Nora was seen to immediately. She smiled and told the trio, "I'm friends with the owners and got John Finn to invest in it as it was a way of helping get the word out about Inferno and ensuring that there were no issues with meetings. They are discrete here, no media allowed and you have to have a standing reservation weeks in advance to even get in. Luckily it doesn't apply to John or myself as we are treated to meals anytime and without reservations." The meal was exquisite and saw the trio treating the staff well, something that they appreciated as they were some of the few to treat them as staff and not servants. Nora grinned and told the chef, "They aren't normal, they are humble and appreciate what they have. He's struggled enough as it is, and she's such a great person that I doubt she'd have the heart to torment someone." Nora paid the bill and walked them out, then drove on to the airport and an awaiting private plane. She grinned and told them, "It's a perk that John Finn thought we'd need since he has a normal job that he has to work Monday to Friday. As much as he'd like to fly commercial, he can't always fly it." The three entered and were met by Woody Demille, the movie's director and the man who would make or break Brice's career. He gave a sneer to Brice and Nora then plopped down inside the plane, not even trying to say anything to her. She sighed and told him, "If he's called you there then you better get your act together. It's his money, not yours. He won't let you make the movie into another vanity project." Nora left, but first told Brice, "Keep an eye on him. He's out to get you and wants Heath Downey to get the role. Heath is sleeping with his daughter and begging him for the role, but his drug convictions and a constant stream of rehab stints prevented him from getting any consideration. Don't trust him!" The flight took all night but thankfully they were able to spread out. Woody seized the plane's bedroom leaving the trio to sleep on pull-out beds but didn't see them complaining as he thought they'd do. Lola didn't care for him or his demeanor, something was off about him and the way he kept looking at her and Brice like they were beneath him and not worthy of being in his presence. The plane landed in Bedford, MA and saw the group met by John Finn and several others. Woody gave a sneer to John that was quickly followed by John telling him, "We have a lot to discus. You've delayed the movie for long enough, you are on your last legs with me. I won't let you derail this movie because you can't accept that your boy toy isn't getting the role. He's a poor choice, especially after what he did last week to Francis Howard's movie!" Lola snickered and blurted out, "He got caught with the wife of his fellow actor then tried to claim that she forced herself on him. Then a crackpipe and bags of cocaine dropped from his pockets right in front of a cop! And when that wasn't enough, he went after the cop for trying to arrest him for possession!" John led the procession in, with Woody complaining about his car being average and not a limo like he demanded. John ignored his whines, it was all about style and looks to him but at the expense of others. Brice had the right idea, he didn't want to stick out and would go unnoticed if you didn't know who he was and why he was so important to the people speaking to him. The group went to John's office in Boston, something that Brice was surprised to see but had John tell him, "My in-laws thought it was best to have an official office for the company in Boston so I didn't have to use my home. It doubles as my wife's office as well as our charities' offices so just about all business done in person goes through here. All files are kept elsewhere, it's bare except when in use so nobody can try to steal documents and defraud any of us- believe me, several have already tried!" John made a phone call and a minute later several people entered with one looking at Brice. They didn't say anything, but they clearly had a look that showed they were upset at something. John got down to business and introduced Wes Coen and Hannah Smith, the screenwriters for, "Closet Secrets." Hannah growled at Woody, "Your changes are laughable. How many times do I have to tell you that we have to include the dressing when he was a kid, include dressing at the clubs in his 20s, then finally him trolling the streets when he was in his 30s. They are vital to his character! And I won't even go into the fact that you tried to cut out Uncle John entirely- that's not going to happen." Woody growled, "He is unneeded! The movie is about a journey of a man, not a man trying to help him. He doesn't add anything to the story!" Hannah shot back, "That's because you are trying to change his motivations. Uncle John tries to be the one to help him while Uncle Roland pushes back. Each time. This relationship is what drives things forward, not his downward spiral. Uncle John facing against him sending him back to dressing and the drugs: not Uncle Roland trying them on his own. His constant fight against dressing made him seek the drugs, which caused him to need to get money, which caused his abuse of everyone, which caused him to finally butt heads with Uncle John. It's part of the cycle, and he's what finally broke it." John stayed quiet but his smirk told Brice everything that he needed to know: she was getting her way. Woody snarled that he wouldn't listen to some nobody hack writer which caused John to counter, "She's a part of the story as an eyewitness, she knows what the hell she's talking about as she lived it. She's in the right and you know it: your real issue is that you can't get credit for altering the story and rewriting it so you get an Oscar nomination. That's not happening, you haven't contributed anything to the script and aren't going to cut out scenes that changes the story forcing you to re-shoot to your liking." Things got heated after that as John presented where they'd be filming and when. Woody refused to go to any of the locations, with John countering, "You don't have to, you 2nd Unit Director already did. He gave his blessing as they were easy to shoot during daytime and the ones slated for night were some of the best he'd ever seen for the Boston area. Not so coincidentally, they were also the same places that I grew up in, where my brother dealt his drugs, and where we had our final brawl." Lola had to hide her pride at John taking down Woody so easily. Woody then shot back that the accents were fake and they needed "real" accents for the movie. John shot back an upset, "You mean those fake accents that nobody outside of elderly people in the housing projects of South Boston and Dorchester speak with? That's not getting used: I forbid it. It's pointless and gets mocked. The only accent that will work in the movie is a natural accent, which Brice has been practicing with for weeks." Brice had Woody there as he had used it on the entire trip and Woody had not once noticed it. It was a match for John's accent, a subtle Boston accent but with a bit of urban flair that fit Winnisimmet. John had Woody there and added, "You folks out in Hollywood really know how to make fake, it's a shame a real accent is forced down by someone's idea of 'real'. Afflack, Damon, the Wahlbergs: you have never heard their real accents thanks to folks like you forcing them to put on a false one that fit your views." John finally got down to business and laid out the production schedule, who were going to be part of the cast, where scenes were going to be filmed and when, and how much each would be paid. He gave Woody a stern look and added, "All of the cast will be hired by the casting director with Nora Biggs as the final approval. Your role is director, you have no say over the cast and any attempt to sabotage us by hiring unapproved personnel will result in termination. You are the director. You might have over a dozen movies under your belt, but not one of them has this kind of budget nor chance to win an Oscar." John turned to Lola and asked about Brice's learning. She grinned and shot back a happy, "He's ready for a live audience who had no idea who he is. If you can find a club that'll accept him he can perform." John nodded with Hannah shooting back, "There's one not far from BCU that would be perfect. Lots of college students, lots of guys trying to have fun and bachelorettes looking for a fun night. They'd be in a great position to let him perform if you called them- they can't deny John Finn's requests." Woody snarled that they didn't need all of that, the movie would would without the dressing and he had an issue with it even being considered. Hannah shot back an angry, "It's what drove him. Sorry if guys like him cause you to feel like less of a man since you and your lover boy won't come out of the closet, but it's staying in. The dancing is easy to film, the way we frame it as part of montages it's not going to impact the speaking parts and will be done in a day if your costumers have the outfits ready to go." Woody got up and left, John ignored him and moved on to other business. He looked over the schedule and asked about the younger actors. None of them had any ideas and the casting director had trouble in finding boys aged 8 and 9 to fit the roles of John and Roland Finn at that age. John thought of something and asked Brice about his sisters. Brice grinned, then shot back, "Wendy has two boys the same age. She has four kids total but the boys might be what you are looking for." He showed pictures of the boys and got John to shake his head at the elder boy being chunky like John had been while the younger boy looked like his uncle. Brice shot back, "It's funny how that worked out. I'll ask them if you want to take part, they may not want to if it involves dressing." He made a phone call and came back in minutes, telling John, "They'll do it. They've done it a few times with their sisters, the little sprites love making them dress." That caused Jennifer to snort, it was true. John called the casting director then called Nora to get her to get things formalized so the kids got paid and covered them legally. There wasn't much else to do after that so John led the trio home. Hannah did a lot of complaining about the memos that were sent to her by Wally in the past hour then saw her tell John to start looking for a new director as it was only a matter of time before they went head to head. John ignored her complaints, telling Brice, "She's strong-willed and this is something that hits her hard as it's her family that is being exposed for all of the world to see. Woody Demille still believes that he can push me around to get me to do as he wants. He's up against a force of nature that won't be stopped in Hannah, no matter how much he wants his way he won't get it. He's really just a hack, but he has a lot of potential and came highly recommended by friends of Percy Turner and has a lot of support." At John's house he was nearly run over by a little girl then by a little boy. Both had wide grins as they gave him hugs, with John telling them to drop the act and go inside. He shook his head and led the trio inside, not batting an eye at the neighbors closely checking out the three newcomers. Inside, John led them up to their rooms then told the two kids, "Give them a few minutes before you go after them. They aren't used to so many kids so don't overload them with your cousins and friends. The kids are due soon so if you act up you get diaper duty." John explained to the trio, "That's JD and Cat, my twins. My youngest of eight. My only two biological, my wife's youngest of three biological. The other five are adopted but we love them equally." He was doing it for a reason, so the couple understood that their lack of having children wasn't the end of the world. Cat came back up and grinned, John wisely told her, "She's just starting out so go easy on her. She's miles better than you so no makeovers." Cat pouted and walked off, with JD laughing. John let them get comfortable then saw Lola heading on down to the living room to relax before getting dragged downstairs to the basement to play with Cat. She liked it, smiling as the two played with her dolls and had a tea party before Cat sought out JD. Seeing Lola play brought a smile to Jennifer while Brice was stoic. John offered him a consoling, "She's good at helping girls like Lola. She knew about her rough start, it was hard not to hear us yelling at the LAPD over their investigation into you. By the way, her father was arrested on sexual assault and for the assault on her. His wife told officers about him sodomizing her, it's going to be a brutal divorce but it's for the best that they aren't together anymore. He has no defense, he's going to prison for a decade." Brice didn't say anything, Jennifer asked why he felt the need to protect Lola. John grinned then told her, "We've had it happen before. Her distant relatives asked us to help her. Five live nearby and wanted me to ensure that she went to a proper family. Your sister would have taken her in if you didn't." That caused them to look shocked. John shot back, "Her father and uncle's 2nd-cousin is my cousin-in-law. We've been through this dance with the Eaton family before. Her uncle probably escaped scrutiny for past actions thanks to the former sheriff, but can't escape this time. She's better off with you two, especially now that the three of you have latched onto one another. She loves you, even if she doesn't admit it we can see it in her." The two tried hard not to react but Jennifer offered a somber, "She's an amazing girl." John smiled, then added, "Don't try to fight your feelings for her. Sometimes kids fall into your laps unexpectedly that steal your heart and you can't help but love them. Both of my sisters and I had that happen with us. She's an independent girl who has a drive to survive, but needs a mom and a dad to love her. She sees you as that, even if she won't admit it it's clear that you are her parents now." Brice didn't say anything while Jennifer shed a tear. John left it alone and went up to his office to work on some paperwork while the couple relaxed. The couple relaxed alongside Lola, with Jennifer hugging Lola as they watched TV. She loved the feeling of Lola close to her, with Brice seeing just what John had meant as the two looked like his sisters and their daughters when they were in a lovable mood. Cat giggled as she saw the two, boldly saying, "She's your daughter now," before rushing off. JD gave a groan that showed that it was intentional by Cat, with him ignoring Cat's antics by going to little area to play on his iPad. Cat kept looking over at the trio and smiled, her words had struck a chord with Brice as he stole subtle glances at Jennifer and Lola while trying to not see the love between them. Two more kids came in and saw the twins grinning while the kids ignored the trio. The boy and girl had a clear difference between them and the twins but were related by blood to one another. They didn't say anything but did keep an eye on the trio as they were on edge and ready to protect the twins. John finally came downstairs to fetch the seven, then introduced his wife to Jennifer and Lola. The kids were all smiles, with Valerie telling them, "Best behavior. They won't be doing anything with you- it's all work for them while here. And don't go telling everyone that they are here, I'd like to have a few days to ourselves before the media comes looking for them." Logan and Ella Finn gave quick, "OK," responses while Valerie gave a glare to Cat who let out a fast, "I only told Willow. She told her brother and parents. It's not my fault they told their cousins!" Brice looked concerned while John shook his head and told him, "If you thought Hannah was bad, she's worse. No filter, not afraid to tell you what it is, and can see loopholes in all of your arguments. She did the only thing she could that didn't break the rules but would get the word out about you: she told her best friend about you. They live behind us and are related to several of our neighbors. Word will get to our friends and family so you won't be disturbed. They'll keep anyone out of the neighborhood who is not here to visit family and friends. Willow's grandfather Louis Reagan happens to be my mentor and the only one more powerful than my wife in this city. And he's the reason Morgan Jackson signed on to be in the movie. I didn't think he'd take the role but apparently he liked what he saw. Plus it's likely to garner him another Oscar nomination alongside your nomination and possibly my actor's nomination." He cringed at it but it might end up being a dual-nomination for the movie as Hannah had made it so he would have a significant amount of screen time, a big reason for Woody being so upset about the role as it made the moving being a starring vehicle for his boy toy Heath Downey pointless if full attention wasn't on Heath. It was tough to have the spotlight when multiple people had to be in motion around him while he was in a fight with "John" or getting put in his place by "Louis Reagan" during key scenes. Those same scenes were ones that John felt were incedibly Oscar-worthy, with the actors ensuring the best performances. Brice simply nodded and added, "The entire movie is tailor made to win awards and earn you a profit. It was why you got so badly lowballed by Weinberg- they wanted the credit for it. And the worst part is I would have never gotten beyond a bit part as one of the drug addicts. I wouldn't even get consideration for Felix Arnold. He's important in the last act and is in many scenes with your brother but 'not a good fit' for my 'abilities' as I'm just an addict and hired thug- not an actor in Woody's or Weinberg's eyes." John watched the kids snicker before Cat burst into a full laugh. John shook his head and told him, "He's a key person to the movie for setting up the downfall. He's also minimized as he wasn't the brains of the operation: a little old lady was. It's why Roland had him killed, he owed money to her and Roland got stuck having to recover it. His death was meaningless to Roland, despite them being close. Felix would be the final nail in having him put away for good causing his isolation, depression, and confession." Cat shot back, "He's Miles' father." John shook his head and explained, "He's my son's father, and part of a huge scene that I know hit too close to home with Woody Demille since Heath Downey and the other actors he wanted had far too many run-ins with the law. It's also the strongest scene with 'John' as he is finally able to show his true strength now that he isn't intimidated by Roland anymore. I cut out the part of 'John' visiting Roland in jail before he was sent to rehab the last time in favor of that scene. It wasn't as good as that scene and would have only made the movie longer while weakening 'John' since his act of kindness in forcing Roland to get clean got turned against him and cost a man his life. I still regret it to this day, but I can't argue with the outcome since my son came into our life due to it." John realized his mistake and explained, "Roland made him an orphan. He's not in the movie for a good reason: he refused to have his past brought up as he doesn't like those reminders of the past before us. He moved on, but he won't forget where he came from. It's why he's so intent on doing good in the world and trying to earn a slot in the State Police, it's his way of helping the people of the state in a way that we helped him." The meal was eaten and saw Cat dragging Lola outside to give the adults a chance to talk. She took the girl to a nearby house and let her speak with a teenager at the door then ran off while Lola tried to say what was going on. The girl led her inside and told the others there that Cat was up to something again. Lola listened as the girl announced, "Cat dumped her guests on us. The weasel is up to something and is going to end up changing diapers again!" That got the other teens laughing while Lola tried to figure a way of getting away without upsetting them and causing an issue for Brice. The girl introduced the others with her looking Lola over and asking if she was the one teaching Brice to dance in drag. That set the others off as they joked that their fathers and uncles couldn't pull of what Brice was doing. They enjoyed ribbing the adults, especially as it was the truth. The girls didn't ask her anything personal and acted normally, with them knowing what Lola was up to and why it was best to not broach the subject. She spent two hours there before Cat appeared to get her, with the girls telling her to leave her alone or else. Cat grinned and led her on, then told her, "Al is like you. She was born a boy but got forced to become a girl. She has a kitty down there, I've seen it!" She giggled as she said that, with Lola trying to figure out what she meant then blushed as it was clear. The little girl nodded and left her with the adults, rushing off before her parents said something and got her into even more trouble. JD shook his head, but was grateful for her diverting attention from him. John asked how the girls treated her, then explained, "Al is like you but isn't like you. She had surgery to make her into a female but it was due to not having a choice- she was never transgender before her accident mutilated her genitals. She has reluctantly grown into a woman and is one of the most amazing people you'll ever meet: her mind is quick and her tongue sharp, she's loyal and is not afraid to defend her friends and family. She's mentoring four younger girls, she takes her role as mentor seriously and loves helping them endure boys and girls who dislike transgender people." Lola thought he was joking, he happily shot back, "She took to hormones quickly. Genetics helps a great deal, her mother was busty so she was able to grow at a steady pace. She won't grow as large, but it's a big blessing to her. And unlike her mother, she'll be proportional so won't look like a bimbo." Lola smiled at the joke, knowing exactly what he meant thanks to the ladies she knew having massive and clearly fake breasts. She unintentionally looked down at her small buds and sighed, she'd be flat for a long time before she could flaunt or hide her breasts like Al. Jennifer offered her as subtle hug as she knew exactly what Lola was feeling, with Lola easing her sadness at the affection. Brice couldn't help but feel like it was another sign that Lola belong in their family, Jennifer giving the same support that Wendy and Nell gave each other when they were younger only showed that it was a universal feeling all girls had and one his nieces would experience in a few years. He smiled at the girls acting like their mothers and aunts, especially as they were their mothers' daughters in all ways. The group disbursed for the night, with Lola falling asleep quickly while Brice and Jennifer needed an hour to calm themselves. It wasn't helped that his sisters were texting and Wendy inquiring about her sons being put into the movie without her consent. He blushed as she chewed him out, but he accepted that it was her way of telling him that they weren't going to be actors. In the morning, the kids spent time with Lola while the adults talked shop. Brice asked if John had any new projects lined-up beyond the projects that he had inherited from Weinberg's collapse, leading John to ask if he had an idea. Brice thought about it and smiled as he had a few ideas that were only ideas, but with a talented screenwriter they might work out for them. One was a movie about an aging firefighter who kept up the old traditions in a changing world. One an action movie about a man trying hard to stay alive on a hostile island after his plane is shot down. One a comedy about a couple who try their hardest to breakup despite friends trying to keep them together. John liked the ideas, they were solid and varied enough to not be the same movie but with a different set of circumstances. They were also not meant for Brice, he wasn't an action star and was too young to play the part of an older man. The comedy might work with the right leading lady, Brice might have the chops but hadn't had the chance to flex them yet. The duo called Nora and got her to practically beg them for more information as it was something that she was considering but hadn't broached the subject with John. Brice asked about who they might see as the director, with John grinning and asking, "Are you up for directing the drama? Comedy is tougher, I think you'd do well focusing on acting instead of both. And I think you should write the movies, your ideas are solid and you know what you are doing- put the words on paper." John grinned as Brice realized just what he had said: Brice had three movie deals, a directorial gig, and was getting a second starring role. He hadn't been in front of the camera yet, but John had just moved his career further along than he could have hoped. All because he had the right idea at the right time! Jennifer asked John if he was sure that he wanted an untrained person directing a movie, he countered that Brice had studied film in college and directed a few small student films so had experience. It was tough to argue as the couple met during one of those films, with Brice asking her out after she showed an interest in him that had nothing to do with film. She was an accounting major, she wasn't the kind of girl that a guy like him would go for so it was a blessing that led to love at first sight for both. Brice agreed to do the project but wanted it in writing, then agreed to write the movies for Inferno but if there were issues he wouldn't hold it against John or Nora as they were bound to happen with director egos and actor choices. He'd be happy to act in the comedy, especially as it was something that he had a yearning for since he had played a small role in a comedy the previous year and enjoyed watching the actors try hard to not break character while also enduring hilarious action around them. It was the mark of a great actor to be able to work with your material and become the character, comedic actors were a breed apart from dramatic actors as they had to do that but also keep themselves together amid chaos. He was surprised at the amount offered for the roles, but reading closely he saw that it was for writing, acting, and producing the movies. He gave John an odd look, John countered, "I'd rather you get some additional credits even if it's not your work money. It's no different than what others are doing, only it's for actually doing the pre-production things that they can't be bothered with unless they are actually the ones writing the movies and even then they use script doctors and ghost writers." The pay was 10 times what he got in a year, $300,000 acting, writing, and directing the drama with $100,000 for writing the action movie and $200,000 for writing and acting in the comedy. John then added, "You get gross points for each movie, 15 for the drama, 10 for the comedy and 5 for the action movie. It's not too far off from others and it's incentive to you to write something that'd earn money." John turned things around and asked about Lola and if they had given consideration to adoption. They had a look of shock but Jennifer's face turned to one of love and hope while Brice was stoic. She broke the silence and happily told John, "I'd love to do it for her. I can't help but feel love for her. She's what I always wanted in a daughter and it's impossible to not see her as my little girl." Brice looked over at Lola as she stood before them with her hands covering her mouth in shock and motioned for her to sit, then hugged her deeply and kissed her cheek. She whispered to him, "Please say yes, I need a father too." He kissed her again and softly told her, "When we get back, we'll do it." She broke down in tears and thanked him, with Jennifer hugging Lola to show that it was mutual. The three were in tears as Brice finally broke down and accepted that she needed his show of affection and tears, leading to Lola unintentionally calling him, "Daddy," as she felt his tear on her cheek. The whole scene was touching, with John wisely giving them their space as they cried themselves out.