Chapter 4
MICAH
Iparked my car in the circular driveway of my childhood home. That thought almost made me laugh. Our childhood home was a mansion. A mega-mansion to be specific. I noted the other cars, indicating my brothers were all here.
Our family lived like royalty but we also had a pretty tight family unit.
Mom rarely acted these days. She’d had her heyday as one of the top actresses in the business.
Her films earned her a permanent spot on the A-list, but she didn’t care.
Mom was all about her family. She wanted all of us at the dinner table at least once a month. More often if we could swing it.
The door swung open before I could knock. Maria, who’d been with the family since I was in diapers, greeted me with a warm smile.
“Micah!”
I let her hug me, giving her the cursory peck on her cheek.
“They’re in the dining room. Go on, dinner will be served in five minutes.”
I made my way through the familiar halls, past the family photos that tracked our evolution from awkward kids to moderately less awkward adults. I stepped into the dining room and found my father at the head of the table, my mother to his right, both of them looking up as I entered.
“There he is,” Dad said.
“Hi, Dad. Mom.” I moved to kiss my mother’s cheek before taking my seat next to Beau.
Everyone was there, including the significant others that had been added to the family over the last year.
Callum and Victoria. Drew and Kensey. Hollis and Juno.
And the single brothers and sister, Beau, Jeremy, and Cleo.
“You look tired, sweetheart,” Mom said, her beautiful face softening with concern. “Are you sleeping?”
“I’m fine. Just busy with preproduction.” I shrugged. “You know how it goes when a production is ramping up.”
“For the film you’re making with Limitless Pictures,” Dad said, cutting into his chicken with more force than necessary. “Instead of Blackwell Studios.”
I’d known this was coming. It was a sore spot for Dad. “You know why I took this movie to a different studio. We’ve been over this.”
He set down his knife and fork, giving me his full attention.
My father exuded power. And he usually got his way.
People wanted to make him happy. “Well, I guess I’m just still confused.
I’ve been all but begging all you kids to come work for the family business, and all of you keep turning me down. ”
“Max,” Mom said gently. “You should be proud that our babies are choosing their own paths in the world. It means we did something right.”
“It’s not personal, Dad,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “If I make my first movie with you, no matter if it’s good or not, people will say I didn’t earn it. That the only reason I got a job directing is because you made it happen.”
Dad leaned back in his chair, studying me with those sharp eyes that missed nothing. “You think making a film with another studio proves something?”
“I think making my first film at another studio does. It proves I’m not just Max Blackwell’s son riding his coattails. You know how people in this business are. They think I’m a nepo baby.”
He scoffed and waved my comment away. “No one thinks that.”
“Everyone thinks that,” I shot back. “And if you’re the only one willing to make my movie, I would be proving them right about me.”
Dad shook his head. “You don’t prove yourself by running away from your family, Micah. You prove yourself by being better than the people who doubt you.”
“I’m not running away. I’m trying to build my reputation in the business on my own.”
“By making Blackwell Studios look bad in the process.” He picked up his fork again, stabbing at his vegetables. “Taking your project elsewhere sends a message that our studio wasn’t good enough.”
“That’s not what it says.”
“But that’s how it looks.” He met my eyes. “Perception matters in this business. You know that.”
I did know that. I’d grown up watching him navigate the politics of Hollywood with the skill of a chess master. But I also knew that I needed to show the world I could make a good movie on my own, with my father watching over me.
“You’ve had a year to come to terms with this,” I said quietly. “Shooting starts in less than two weeks.”
Mom’s eyebrows rose. “Two weeks? Already?”
“I know.” I shook my head and smiled. “I can barely believe it, either. But I think we finally found our leading lady.”
“You’re cutting it pretty close, son?” Dad said, slipping into business mode.
“We had a setback with casting.” I reached for the water glass Maria had set in front of me. “Our original female lead dropped out last week. Scheduling conflict with another project.”
“Who was it?” Dad asked.
“Deandra Daniels.”
He grimaced. “She’s unreliable. I could have told you that.”
“Well, now I know.” I took a drink, then set the glass down. “But honestly? It might be for the best. We found someone better.”
“Better than Daniels?” Dad looked skeptical. “She’s got three hits under her belt.”
“The actress we got doesn’t have a big name but she’s got charisma.
” I could feel the excitement building in my chest, the same feeling I’d had when Grace walked out of the audition room.
“She’s got this quality that you can’t manufacture.
That it factor everyone talks about but nobody can define.
You either have it or you don’t, and she has it. ”
Mom was watching me with interest now. “What’s her name?”
“Grace Stone. New to the scene. No films yet but she’s done a little TV. I’m telling you, though, she’s going to be huge. The camera loves her. She walked into the audition and just owned the room.”
“Unknown,” Dad repeated, his tone flat. “You’re pairing Jack Montana with an unknown actress?”
“I’m pairing him with the right actress,” I said. “Besides, every actress is unknown until they get their big break. Everyone has to start somewhere.”
“Unless she fades into the background and is completely overshadowed by Jack,” Dad countered.
“She won’t fade. Trust me.” I met his eyes. “I know talent when I see it. I learned from the best.”
That softened him slightly.
“When does she start?” Mom asked.
“We’re signing contracts tomorrow. She’ll have the full script by tonight, and then we start rehearsals next week.” I ran my hand through my hair again, knowing it mussed my hair more than the style I aimed for. “It’s tight, but we’ll make it work.”
“Tight is an understatement,” Dad muttered. “You’re taking a massive risk, Micah. Unknown actress, compressed timeline, and no time for screentests.”
“I don’t need screentests. Grace Stone is what I need. She’s perfect for this role.”
Mom smiled at me. “We believe in you, sweetheart. Don’t we, Max?”
Dad was quiet for a long moment, his jaw working as he processed everything I’d said. Finally, he sighed.
“I believe in you,” he said. “I just wish you believed in yourself enough to let your family help you.”
“This is me believing in myself,” I said softly. “This is me proving I can do it.”
“Fine.” He picked up his wine glass. “But when this film tops the box office and everyone’s talking about the unknown actress you discovered, don’t forget who taught you how to spot talent in the first place.”
I smiled despite myself. “I won’t forget.”
“And, Micah?” He raised his glass slightly. “Don’t screw this up. You get one shot at a first impression in this business. Make it count.”
“I intend to.”
The table had been quiet while my parents did their little interrogation. My brothers hadn’t jumped in to save me, but now that the tension between Dad and me had settled a bit, they found their voices again.
Jeremy shot me a grin. “So are you nervous? Directing your first movie?”
I shrugged. “Excited. But also freaking out a little, yeah.”
“A little?” Beau snorted. “You look like you haven’t slept in a week.”
“It’s been more like two weeks.” I chuckled. “It’s different when you’re the director running the whole show, you know? This movie has a lot of moving parts.”
“What’s the schedule?” Beau asked. “Three months? Four?”
I cringed because I knew my dad was going to shit a brick when he heard about the tight schedule. But my budget was limited and shooting days were expensive.
I cleared my throat. “Four weeks.”
Drew’s head popped up. “Four weeks. Total?”
“Yep. Including a week of shooting in Hawaii. But that’s why we did lots of preproduction. So everything would be ready.”
To my surprise, Dad nodded. “It’s tight but totally doable. Plenty of great films have been shot in a month.”
Mom put her hand over his and gave it a squeeze, like she was proud of him for being supportive instead of negative.
“Hawaii?” Hollis perked up. “That sounds amazing.”
“It would be if I wasn’t going to be working eighteen-hour days trying to nail down every shot.
” I rubbed my temples, feeling the familiar tension headache building.
“We’ve got action sequences, underwater scenes, location shoots across three islands.
And Jack Montana, who requires his own dedicated team just to manage his ego. ”
Callum laughed. “Nice guy, but yeah, he’s high maintenance.”
Victoria snorted. “Nice. Not a word I would use to describe him.”
Once upon a time, Victoria had gone to an awful dinner meeting with Jack Montana, but it had ultimately led to her and my oldest brother, Callum, getting together. So the night hadn’t been a total bust.
“He’s also box office gold, so I’ll deal with it,” I said.
Dad sighed. “You know I want to be supportive, Micah. I do. But you’re working for the competition, so I’m torn.”
We all laughed, but I could see the genuine frustration behind his eyes. It bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
“None of my kids want to work for me,” he continued, gesturing around the table. “I built this whole empire and you’ve all gone off and done your own things.”
“Dad you raised us to be independent,” Jeremy said.
I took a breath and decided to extend Dad an olive branch. “Tell you what. If Breathless does well, I’ll do my next movie with you.”
Dad’s head snapped up. “You mean that?”
“Yeah, I mean it. One condition though. I still get final cut. But I’ll bring my next project to Blackwell Studios first. If this one succeeds, you’ll know I can deliver a hit. And then we can work together on the next one without everyone doubting me.”
The tension drained from his shoulders. A slow smile spread across his face, like I’d just made him genuinely happy.
“I’ll hold you to that,” he said, pointing his fork at me. “And when Breathless tops the box office, I’m going to remind you of this conversation.”
“When, not if?” I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were skeptical.”
“Oh, I am.” He chuckled. “I think I made five films before I finally got a good one.”
I groaned. “Great.”
Dad raised his wine glass. “To Micah’s first big studio picture. May it be everything you hope for.”
Everyone raised their glasses. This was what I needed, my family behind me, even if the path I was taking wasn’t the one they would have chosen.
“To Breathless,” I said, clinking my glass against Dad’s.
Mom beamed at both of us, clearly pleased that we’d found some middle ground. “Now, can we please eat before everything gets cold?”
The conversation shifted to lighter topics.
Everyone checked in with one another. Callum and Cleo’s wedding business was doing amazing.
Drew had been working on the family investments, making all of us richer without having to lift a finger.
And Hollis was making a killing with his healthy shakes and meatless burgers.
Beau was working as an entertainment attorney now that he had passed the bar exam. And Jeremy was doing some modeling for the New York cousins at Blackwell Couture.
As everyone chatted, I couldn’t stop thinking about the next two weeks. The rehearsals were going to be key to making the shoot go smoothly.
And Grace Stone didn’t know it yet, but her life was about to change completely.
Mine too, hopefully.