The Tied Destiny

Chapter 2

Film-making is like raising a baby. You might read hundreds of books and watch thousands of movies but it never comes with manuals. You never know what is going to hit you until the very moment it hits you. Even after checking and cross-checking millions of times, things can go south. There is always the uncertainty and possibility of things not going according to the plan. So, before starting to make cinema, one should be fully prepared for any complications that might arise in the process. Even the one like this. After almost two years of hard work and dedication, we finally complete the movie, the promotion. We finally had a break but now we got caught up in another scandal. Arrrh...film making is hard.

‘Eleanor, Can you get that phone for me? I am about to lose my mind! I cannot deal with these parasites anymore! Don’t they have better things to do?’ My boss called me.

‘Hello, this is Half Moon Entertainment. How can I help you?’ I said answering the phone.

‘Hello. When can we have the press conference? How long is it going to take? Are the rumors true? When did it happen? How did it start? Were they together during the shooting? How long has it been? When- ‘

I was bombarded with his endless question and before he could ask more questions I cut him off ‘I am sorry, but we cannot answer those questions right now. We are still looking for the best time to hold the conference. As soon as we come up with a date we will inform you. We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your time and have a good day.’ with that I immediately hung up the phone. 

My boss was looking at me with tired eyes. I gave him a weak smile. I knew he was exhausted and it is out of anyone’s control. Who could so dumb as to take the s*x tape in today’s world, and that too without taking any preventive measures. What on earth were they thinking. I facepalmed myself. We were busy throughout the day taking calls and answering the same questions over and over again. We were beyond exhausted. It was lunchtime, me and my colleague, Snow, headed to the cafeteria. She has become a good friend over the period of time. I was comfortable enough to share my personal matter as well and so was she.

‘Ele, do you think she can ever come out of this? I mean, it’s on the internet and it is going to be there forever. Do you think she can ever recover from this?’ Snow asked while paying for the lunch.

‘Well, it is his s*x tape as much as it is hers. And this type of scandal happens now and then. I do think it was the dumbest thing to do. But I don’t think it is the end of her career yet. I mean, her career has just started. It would be a tragedy if it comes to an end before even beginning. I hope she is strong enough to handle all this and hopefully rise above.’ I said.

She went on ‘ But it is so wrong, the media is focusing on only her when it his fault as much as it’s hers.’

I swallowed my noodles and answered, ‘ I agree with you. This society is sick and messed up the way it treats women. By the way, I heard a singer is joining our company. Do you know who he is?’

‘Well, just between you and me, I heard from my supervisor, it is Ethan Beckett.’

‘The Ethan Beckett!’ I exclaimed

‘Shh… Keep your voice down. Yes, the Ethan Beckett. But promise me you won’t say a word about this to anyone. Okay?’ She said.

‘I promise. Oh No! Snow we are late! Hurry!’ This is it, this is how I am gonna die. My boss is going to eat me alive. We both rushed towards the office.

Around 8 my shift ended. Although my shift ends around 6 on the usual days, because of the scandals everyone is ordered to work extra hours. On the way back home I picked up pizza for the dinner.

‘Mom, I am home.’ I called as I entered the living room.

My mom was watching the tv. She loves the F.R.I. E. N. D. S, she never gets tired of watching it. I love it as well but she just rewatches it all the time.

‘Hey, honey. How was your work?’

‘ It was exhausting Mom. Our office is totally messed up because of the incident. Everyone is losing their mind. And we have phone calls non-stop all day long. Everyone is tired of answering press questions and it seems impossible to slide this one. With promotion and movie release, this is the worst thing that could have to happen.’ I ranted.

Hugging me she patted my back, ‘I am sure you guys will figure this out. Don’t stress too much. Sometimes work can be a handful. Did you have dinner?’ she asked.

‘No, not yet. I brought pizza so we could eat together.’ I replied pointing at the counter.

‘Okay let me plate it. While I do that, could please play the show for me?’ my mom replied 

‘Sure, which episode?’ I asked 

‘Whichever you like.’ And she was back in the living room with two plates.

‘ Who orders pizza with pineapple toppings?’ she sighed

‘Well, Dad. And now it’s me’ I grinned at my mom.

‘You both are the weirdest people I met.’ She chuckled.

After watching 4 episodes my eyes started to get tired. It was a long day and I had to be at the office early tomorrow. 

‘Mom, I am calling it a night. I have an early shift. Don’t stay too late.’ with that I headed to my room. I collapsed on my bed and dozed off in few minutes.

 The next day I woke up around 6. After doing my morning routine, I headed downstairs. Mom was already there making us breakfast. 

‘Yumm.. it smells delicious.’ I walked over to the kitchen.

‘Good morning, honey. You are up early.’ she commented looking over to me.

‘Yes, I have to be at work in about an hour.’ I answered.

We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, my favorite. I rushed to work. I was there by 8. The situation had calmed down, there were fewer reporters. In the middle of this mess, we had another project. Project of the Ethan Beckett.

Ethan Beckett is one of the most popular singers in the USA. He is also an actor and an artist. He has the most selling albums and he won an Oscar for his recent movie. Not to mention, he is an amazing dancer. He has the biggest fandom around the world and is one of the most successful artists. It makes me wonder, why he chose our company when other big companies would kill for this contract. Nevertheless, this could be our big break. 

I saw Ethan entering through the main door, his security guards surrounding him, cameras flashing, there was a huge crowd of fans chanting his names. It must be really nice being a celebrity. This could be a good thing for our company. Maybe this will shift the attention of the scandal.

‘Eleanor, this is Mr.Ethan Beckett. He is our client since today and we will be handling all the business related to Mr.Beckett. Also, we need to prepare for his next movie. Since you have been working here for long enough, you will be the in-charge of the management. Make sure Mr.Beckett has everything he needs. Do you understand?’ my boss asked.

‘Yes sir.’ I replied sharply.

‘Hello, Mr. Beckett. I am Eleanor. If you could kindly follow me.’ I said politely.

‘Oh please, you don’t have to be so formal with me. You can call me Ethan. Can I call you Ele?’ he asked with a smile.

Is he an angel fallen from heaven? How can he be so nice? He is handsome, rich, popular and to top it all he is decent as well. God really created him with all the time he had.

‘Of, course Ethan. Follow me.’