She clutched the keys. “It’s too much,” she said, but he heard the wistfulness in her tone.
Taking charge of the situation, he said, “Hey. I’m Wynn Gallagher. I’m made of money. I have half a dozen more cars waiting for me at home that need restoring. I’m happy to give Philippa a good home with you. That way, I can still see her from time to time.” His eyes met hers. “Take the damned car, Scarlett, and say thank you.”
She let out a long breath. “Okay.” A radiant smile lit her face. “Thank you, Wynn.”
He started to open his door.
“Wait a minute. Before we go in, remember that I’ll do the majority of the talking. I want you to be calm, cool, and collected. If you can pull off being a bit arrogant, that would be great. I want them to know you think highly of your acting skills and that you’re going to take them for every dime you can if they don’t let you go. Via me, of course, as your new negotiator.”
“Got it.”
Wynn got out of the car, holding her purse and briefcase. He handed them to her. “These look better on you than me.”
As they approached the building, he ignored the cells that appeared, all lifted in his direction, snapping photos. All his thoughts were on the smile she’d given him.
Wynn would give her a hundred cars just to see Scarlett’s look of joy again.
Entering the building, an assistant met them and provided lanyards to wear, proclaiming them VIP visitors. She escorted them to the fifth floor and led them to a large conference room. Ushering them in, Wynn saw the enemy came well prepared.
Ed Mussfield, Rylon’s president and CEO, sat at the head of a long, rectangular table. To his right was Rick Princeton, Rylon’s chief attorney. At least fifteen other employees were present, half of them wearing that smug lawyer look. He recognized a few from his and Del’s original negotiations but new faces had come to do battle.
Mussfield stood and made his way across the length of the room. The stern look on his face reminded Wynn of his one trip to the principal’s office after he’d punched a bully who taunted a skinny kid who’d just moved to town. Still, Mussfield shook his hand, so some civility might occur during the next hour.
“You must be Ms. Corrigan,” the CEO said. “Ed Mussfield.”
“Thank you for putting together this meeting so quickly,” Scarlett said smoothly. “With the Carbon Man 4 production starting soon, I appreciate you making this happen.”
“We’ll see if I appreciate what you have to say, Ms. Corrigan.” Mussfield returned to his seat.
Wynn pulled out one of two remaining chairs for Scarlett. She sat and he eased into the one next to her. Every eye glared at them. Wynn hadn’t asked Scarlett what she’d told Mussfield in calling this kind of group together. He’d taken a leap of faith and signed with her. Now, he was ready to see her in action.
“Rick Princeton,” the lawyer said from across the table. “Head of Rylon’s legal department.”
“Your reputation is spotless, Rick,” Scarlett said. “Good thing you leave all the blood in the water.”
A palpable silence blanketed the room. Scarlett had gone for first blood and definitely drawn it by the sour look on Princeton’s face. Wynn wondered if that was the right way to begin but he did what Scarlett had told him to do and kept his mouth shut.
“I have an interesting proposal to make to Rylon,” she began as she removed a flash drive and inserted it into the waiting computer. She clicked on the file she wanted and brought up the first slide, which was projected on a large screen.
In the next quarter-hour, Scarlett seamlessly outlined why it would be in Rylon’s best interest to release Wynn from next year’s Alpha Tharra Universe movie with the combined cast and how limiting his role in his upcoming solo movie would benefit the studio. Although she hadn’t talked numbers with him, Wynn had given her permission to do whatever it took to end his stay at Rylon. Accordingly, she offered to slash Wynn’s salary on the picture by two-thirds since he wouldn’t appear in more than the first third of the new film she proposed.
Mussfield balked at first but Wynn could see the studio boss was intrigued by the prospect.
“So, Wynn would give up most of his salary on the solo and all of the joint superhero movie—if we could find a way to pull him.” He paused. “What about his points on the back end?”
“Those would remain. It’s still a Wynn Gallagher movie. His name would be the one selling tickets. Especially when it leaks after the first showing that it’s his last film.” Scarlett withdrew a sheet from her briefcase and slid it toward Mussfield.
“What’s this?” he growled, picking it up.
“A list of names that might be suited to take on the Carbon Man role. The first three are actors recommended to you by Sydney Revere. She’s worked with the first one and thinks he has the most potential. She auditioned the next two and while they weren’t suited to the role she needed to cast, Sydney believes they have the acting chops to take on something of this magnitude. The remaining names are several up and comers in Hollywood. The list gives you a place to start.”
Mussfield scanned it with suspicion. “What’s in this for Sydney? Why is she offering these actors up?”
“Sydney is a personal friend of mine. And my brother’s. She’s a co-founder of RCDS Productions, which I represent. She wanted to help me in any way she could.”
Mussfield pushed the list to a balding man on his left. Wynn realized he was head of casting for all the Alpha Tharra movies. He hadn’t seen the man in about four years since once
