10. Miles

10

MILES

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, Zoeeeeee, happy birthday to youuuuuu!" Austin sang loudly to a teenage Zoe, who was trying to hide her face from the camera. Her hair fell across her forehead and cheek as she pushed the lens away playfully while Austin pulled her close to him.

"It's not my birthday." Zoe laughed as her head tilted to the side out of the frame of the camera.

"Yes, it is. You were born five thousand and eighty-five days ago. Every day is your birthday! You should be celebrated every day." Austin pulled Zoe back into view and then kissed her.

"You guys make me sick," Harlan teased, making a puking sound before the video ended.

I clicked on the next video. The screen filled with a shot of a scary clown next to a werewolf in front of a dilapidated barn. The camera panned, and it showed Austin walking with Zoe beside him and then four other teens. Harlan was one of them, who was with a young Nadia, and then Dawson and a girl I didn't recognize.

The camera was shaky as the group climbed onto a trailer filled with hay in the back of the truck. They were all going on a hayride and then through a haunted house. The friends were all trying to scare one another, but I noticed how protective Austin was of Zoe. He made sure she was behind him at all times. Her face was buried in his back, and he had both of his arms wrapped around her. He was still having fun with his friends, but his main concern was her well-being.

It was a through-line in every single one of the clips Harlan had sent me. Even though I'd heard everyone talk about what Zoe meant to Austin, seeing the two of them together was giving me so much more insight. I was so thankful that Harlan offered to share these videos with me. I did feel a little guilty watching them without Zoe's permission.

One thing was absolutely clear after watching these and speaking to everyone who knew the two of them; what Austin and Zoe had was real love. Actually, that word didn't do justice to what the two of them shared.

A knock sounded at the door. My eyes were blurry as I looked up from my phone. I checked the time on my Apple Watch and realized I'd been watching the videos for hours. "Come in."

"You're late," Braxton stated briskly as she walked in. "You were supposed to be on the call five minutes ago."

Oh shit. I'd completely lost track of time.

I rubbed my eyes as she set up my computer on the small table in the corner. As I walked over, I knew that the team was not going to like what I was going to say. I hadn't exactly been forthcoming with the power I'd given Zoe.

When I sat down and looked at the screen, I saw it was dissected into four boxes. In the right-hand corner was my agent, Tyler Katz; his jet-black hair was slicked back and so shiny you could see your reflection in it.

My manager, Wilma Tucker, who had discovered me in a shopping mall when I was five, wore her tortoiseshell cat-eye glasses, bright red lipstick, and bleached blonde bob. Her style had not changed in the twenty-plus years she'd represented me. She told my mom the day she met us that she could make me a star, and she'd kept her word.

The bottom two corners were the writers Andy Carpenter and Shania Thomas. I'd known Andy since my Happy Trails days, and Shania and I'd worked on an independent film, Long Way Home , that was coming out next year, which she wrote and directed. It had made the rounds at Sundance. People were comparing her to Sofia Coppola and Greta Gerwig. If this did move forward, she would be co-directing the project with me.

Technically, Braxton should be on the call as well. Although she didn't know it yet, which ever way this played out would affect her in her new position.

"Miles, how are things there?" Tyler immediately took control of the call. He considered himself a power player in Hollywood. I considered him a loudmouth who liked to hear himself talk.

"Good, there have been a few developm?—"

"Great, we are ahead of schedule. Things are going full speed ahead. Casting nets have been cast." He chuckled at his own bad joke. "We don't have a script locked, but we're using the last revision for sides, and breakdowns have been sent out."

Breakdowns were descriptions of the characters, and sides were a portion of the script that the actor used to audition for the role. Pre-COVID, most auditions were held in person, but now they are ninety-five percent online.

"Auditions should start coming into Eco Cast by the end of next week. Andy and Shania can speak more to this, but they are committed to having a fourth draft in by the end of the month. We are going to be hiring locally for roles that are under eighteen to save money, and Graham is going to be in New Mexico next week, locking locations."

"Let's hold off on that." Graham Morris was our location scout. We were going to be shooting the bulk of the movie that takes place in Afghanistan in New Mexico because the landscapes are similar.

"Why?" Tyler questioned.

"Well, what I started to say before you interrupted me was that there has been a development. I am not sure the project is going to go forward."

"What? Why?"

"I spoke to Austin's widow last night and told her that I won't move forward unless she feels comfortable and gives her blessing to the project."

Four faces stared at me blankly. Scratch that. Make it five. Braxton was seated on the edge of my bed, her face expressionless.

"Why would you do that? You have the rights. We don't need her permission," Tyler pointed out.

"No. Not legally. But morally and ethically, I feel we do. From everything I've learned about Austin, Zoe and AJ were everything to him. I would never feel comfortable portraying his life story if they both weren't on board with the project. It would be exploitative."

"If that's going to bother you, I think you're in the wrong industry," Tyler snipped.

I knew out of the group, Tyler would have the biggest issue with my decision to give Zoe the final say over the movie being green-lit. All Tyler cared about was money. And his reputation. Nothing else. He had no moral compass to speak of, which had always bothered me. My mother signed with him when I was sixteen.

Ever since becoming an adult, I had considered leaving him. I just hadn't found anyone I felt more comfortable with. There weren't a ton of "good" people at his level. It was getting to the point where having no agent would be better than having him.

"This could be Oscar-worthy. I understand that she might be uncomfortable, but that doesn't change the fact that what Austin did was heroic, and his story needs to be told. He's not here to tell it. That leaves the responsibility on us," Tyler said with as much sincerity as he could muster.

Tyler was the epitome of a salesperson. If one angle wasn't working, he'd try another. Over the ten years I'd been signed with him, he got his way ninety-nine percent of the time, mainly because I'd never really cared before. I'd never felt like I had any skin in the game. Taking one role or the other wasn't as big of a commitment as producing, co-directing, and starring in a project.

Fallen Hero was supposed to be the vehicle I used to take control of my image in this industry. The first step in that was taking control of the dynamic between me and my agent.

"Let's move ahead as planned for now. Andy and Shania will continue working for the next few days. Zoe is going to let me know by the end of the week; at that time, I'll get back in touch, and we'll go from there. Talk to you soon." I disconnected the call and looked up to see a stunned Braxton.

"What?"

"I can't believe you didn't cave. Tyler always gets his way."

"Not this time."

"Good." She stood and walked out the door.

I picked up my phone and wondered what Zoe was doing right at this moment. Was she working? Was she making dinner? Was she in bed?

No. I couldn't go there. Every time I thought about her, my mind went places it shouldn't go, and I had thoughts about her I shouldn't be having.

It didn't help that I'd spent the entire day watching videos of her. I'd been seeing her through the lens of a man who was madly in love with her. But if I was being honest with myself, I didn't think there was another lens I could see that woman through. And that could be a very big problem.