Control, page 21
Jeffrey looked like a powerful lawyer, and his look alone spoke volumes inside and outside of the courtroom for his clients. He nodded and prepared himself to speak as soon as Charles got comfortable in the dark leather chair across from his desk.
“Charles, you’ve gotten yourself in a real pickle here. I wish Jackie would’ve told me earlier the kind of things that you were getting yourself involved in, because I would have warned you. This era is not the climate to get away with outlandish behavior with women. It’s just not being tolerated anymore,” he stated. “And you don’t have the money to fight the cases like some of these other guys.”
Charles looked across the attorney’s desk at a pile of paperwork that he hoped and prayed was not about him. But those prayers were not answered with any comfort when he nervously asked about it.
“That pile of paperwork there is not about me, is it?” he asked with an awkward chuckle.
Jeffrey eyed him calmly for a minute before he answered. “Charles, I’m afraid it is. They’ve been building a case against you for the past two years. So, they’ve been very diligent, strategic, and patient. That’s the new world that we live in. And the more success you have the stronger they’ll build their case.”
Upon hearing that, Charles’s heart began to race a hundred miles a minute, like it had been doing off and on ever since he first spoke to Jeffrey. It was as if the lawyer had given his heart a hyper-speed button through the information he shared.
Jeffrey sighed and continued. “They added plenty of details here, Charles. With handcuffs, forced showers, knives, loaded handguns, urination, feces, kidnapping and abandonment, you name it. So, I’m thinking we may be able to explain some of this where, in your line of work, people tend to be very creative at telling stories. That’s about the only way I can see getting you out of some of these depositions and lewd reenactments in court.”
He said, “I hate to say it, but the singer R. Kelly comes to mind when I’m reading some of this stuff. And that’s not a name you want to be associated with when it comes to dealing with women right now.”
“But those are things that some of these women fantasized about,” Charles blurted in his defense.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jeffrey told him. “If they can make the courtroom believe they were your fantasies and not theirs, you’re looking at a very expensive, uphill battle. And quite frankly, these are the kind of cases that wealthier men are advised to settle out of court. And they’ll spend whatever dollar they need to get it done.”
“Well, if I don’t have the money to fight them or pay them off, what’s my next option?” Charles pleaded.
Jeffrey paused and took a deep breath. He exhaled and said, “Your film career is going to take a hit, but you now have to assassinate the characters of every accuser. And you have seven of them. Five of them are represented by the same attorney. But with you having to cast and direct actors who come to you with confidence in your judgment and guidance, who’s gonna trust you after this?”
Charles understood his dilemma and slowly shook his head. “So, I lose either way . . . unless I can find the money to fight it.”
Jeffrey said, “The problem with that is, you’ve also pissed off the only woman who could help you. Jacqueline. She’s pretty convinced that you’re gonna ruin her career as well. So, she wants nothing else to do with you.”
“How can she help me then?” Charles asked.
“Well . . . if you could convince her otherwise, Jackie has the people who have the money. But then you would be in serious debt to her. And I’m talking millions. But if we’re able to stop this train before the rumor mill gets out of hand, you can save your film career with better judgment in the future.”
Charles could see the writing on the wall. He would have to do everything Jackie said for at least five years and ten million dollars’ worth of film income, with no room for hiccups.
“That’s gonna be a headache,” he predicted glumly.
“And you gave that headache to yourself,” Jeffrey told him. “So, you either deal with someone who can possibly get you out of this, or your film career is ready to drop off a steep cliff. And I can’t guarantee that you won’t do any time over this.”
When Charles heard that, his heart started to race again.
“How is that?” he asked.
“In civil court, you can pay your way out of it. But in criminal court . . . that’s a whole other ballgame.”
“So, these women just wanna be paid or else? What is that?” Charles complained.
“It’s called America. And you put yourself in harm’s way with your actions,” the attorney told him. “No one did this to you. You did this to yourself. And there’s repercussions that have to be paid now.”
Charles sat there in silence and brooded. He thought of calling Jackie immediately and pouring his heart out to her to save him. And he hated it. He had landed himself right into a position of helpless need. The same helpless need and desire that he held over actors and actresses. How ironic was that?
Suddenly, he could feel the indomitable pressure that actors felt. There was no way around it. Jackie and her legion of unknown financiers would have him by the balls, literally.
“Shit!” Charles cursed himself inside the room.
“That’s how ninety-nine and a half percent of the people in this world think about their lives as well, Charles,” Jeffrey told him. “Not even the one percent in power get to do whatever they want, because they have wives, children, family members, and other authority figures who hold positions of weight in their lives that they must account for.
“That’s the way this world must be, Charles. There’s always checks and balances,” Jeffrey explained. “Otherwise, we’d have absolute power, and absolute power would want to rule absolutely. Which we can’t have. So, these humbling lessons of life continue to be learned for all of us.”
Charles remained silent as Jeffrey continued to lecture him.
“Just think. Tom Brady had it all and could have retired as the greatest quarterback of all time to enjoy his international model wife and his beautiful children. Instead, he forced himself to come back for a third year with the Bucs, and he lost his marriage and had a miserable season where everyone knows it’s the end,” the attorney commented.
At that point, Charles had heard enough. He understood his lesson already. And he had been brought back down to earth with scorched wings.
“I get it,” he commented. “I’ll call her this evening.”
* * *
During the time that Charles had alone to think, his mind worked itself into paranoia. Of course, he hated having to prostitute his professional services in film for the immediate money he needed, but that was the situation he had found himself in. So, he began to think hypothetically about everything.
What if Jackie set this whole thing up just to get control over my directing? Charles asked himself in the silence of his office. He was certain his business partner knew at least three of the women he was now in trouble with. Jackie was there when he first met them. So . . . what if she reached out to a few of them to join in on the bandwagon?
It was a far-fetched idea, but that’s what a skeptical mind can do, particularly with fear and time on our hands. So, by the time Charles called his film partner that evening, he was in full-fledged doubt and was skeptical about everything.
“Jeffrey told me everything that’s going on at his office today,” he began with Jackie. “And he’s basically saying that I should try and settle these cases out of court and pay off the debt by accepting new film projects with you.”
There was no sense in sugarcoating anything with small talk. Charles’s career was in trouble and time was of the essence to stop the rumor mill from spinning with his name attached. He needed to make fast decisions on what to do.
Fortunately, Jeffrey had already discussed the case with Jackie, step by step, and in great detail. She even paid him for the full hour that they conversed about it. So, she already knew what needed to be done and was perfectly calm. She just needed to hear what Charles had to say.
“And how do you feel about that?” she asked him.
“I mean . . . what are we talking about, as far as the numbers are concerned?” he questioned. If he was going to be on the hook for money, he wanted to know how much.
Jackie was all business and no emotions. “We’re looking at five to six films and ten million dollars. Anything over that, and you get to keep.”
Charles did his math. “That’s nearly two million dollars, per film.”
“One-point-six-seven to be exact,” she corrected him.
He paused. “That’s like three times more than what we’ve been doing.”
“And? I told you where I’m trying to take it,” she explained to him. “We’ve been doing small films for far too long anyway.”
“So, if you plan to make that kind of money, then what are the films taking in, fifteen to twenty million?”
“Or more,” Jackie answered calmly. She was just waiting for him to doubt or question the process, because he was already skating on thin ice. He had no wiggle room left to argue.
“And what if these films don’t make that kind of money? I wouldn’t make anything off of them,” he calculated.
“Yeah, but you would still be a free man with a film career,” she reminded him.
“And you would be six to eight million dollars richer off my sweat and toil,” he pouted.
“Not if you do what you’re supposed to do. Just do a good job on every film, stay on your best behavior, promote the hell out of each project, and make sure we hit our mark. Then you will get paid, while establishing yourself on that next level.”
It all sounded good on her side of the table, but it amounted to three to four years of professional slavery on Charles’s end. Or at least that’s how he thought of it.
He said, “And you really think I’m supposed to agree to this?”
That caught Jackie off guard, but she remained calm over the phone.
“Charles, you are about five minutes away from pissing your film career down the drain. Now, I had to think hard and long to even consider trying to do something like this with you. Because in that same time span of three to four years, your ass could end up out here with your greedy dick in somebody’s mouth, ass, ear, nose, or whatever, and the payout would be much higher and more damaging than this one.
“So, look at it from my perspective,” she told him. “I’m the one who would be on the hook for the money, not you. Because I’m the one who’s going out here to get it.”
“Yeah, but I’m the one who has to make it all back,” he argued.
“Well, what do you want to do, Charles? Because I could just walk away from this crazy shit right now and be done with it,” Jackie countered. “You got yourself in this shit, not me. But yet, I’m trying to help you to get out of it, and all you’re thinking about is you. Which is typical.
“Matter of fact, you can find someone else to produce your shit with, because I’m tired of this,” she told him. “I told you before, I’m not one of your little fluzzies or jump-offs, where you can talk that bullshit to me and think you’re gonna get away with it. I’ve told you that one too many times.
“So, fuck you, and the white horse that you rode in on!” she spat. “Have a good time in court with your little groupies, and may God bless your life!”
When she hung up the line, Charles held the phone to his ear in disbelief. It was a moment of truth, where he realized he had screwed himself again, but it hadn’t quite hit him yet.
“Okay . . .” he mumbled, while still holding the phone in suspense. “Just call her back,” he told himself calmly. “I never said I wasn’t going to do it.”
He called Jacqueline back, but that didn’t mean she was going to answer him, even after calling her four times. So, he called her a fifth time and left her a message.
“Jacqueline, this is Charles. I’ll do it,” he told her in his phone message. “The price is just a little bit steep, that’s all. So, it shocked me. But Jeffrey warned me that I should expect that from you. Business is business. And I thank you again for helping me out in this way.
“And I won’t let you down,” he added. “Maybe this is all for the best to discipline myself in my personal life, while reaching for higher goals in my career. You’ve always talked about that anyway. So, maybe it’s now time for that to happen. Whether I like it or not . . .
“And I really don’ have at choice at this point,” he continued. “So, call me back. I agree to your terms.”
He hung up the phone and waited in silence for a return call. At the same time, he doubted it would happen. Jacqueline sounded really firm in her statements. And she was right, she had put up with him. But she had run out of time for his nonsense. Realizing as much, Charles thought of making a few other phone calls to people who could bail him out with a few projects on the side.
Feeling optimistic, he made his first call to another producer.
“Hey, Charles Clay. What’s going on with you, man? I haven’t talked to you in a while,” the chipper producer answered.
“Yeah, we’ve been rather busy pulling new projects together, Bailey. You know the usual grind,” Charles responded to him.
“Yeah, what are you working on?” Bailey asked.
“Actually, we may have a gap in the schedule, so . . . I’m calling to see what you have lined up to shoot that we may be able to help out on,” Charles pitched.
Bailey paused. “Oh, yeah? Well, let me think on something like that. I mean, we already have a packed schedule of our own. But Jackie pretty much told me a while ago that you guys were aiming for bigger projects now.”
Charles paused himself. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing and get himself into more trouble on the business side. He had to be cautious.
“Well, what level are you shooting on?” he asked.
“I mean, we got a bunch of two-hundred-thousand-dollar films we’re shooting now in high definition to fill out content for these smaller streaming networks that keep popping up,” Bailey answered. “I got a couple of small contracts with some of these guys. But with them, it’s all about volume and not these Titanic or Avatar type films, you know.
“If you can’t compete on that Marvel Comics level, then don’t even try it,” he commented. “So, I told Jackie a few months back that our goal is to keep the direction budgets at forty thousand or less. So, we’re basically breaking in new people, and professional friends who are doing us favors,” he added with a chuckle.
Neither of those scenarios fit what Charles needed at the moment. There was no way in hell he was touching a forty-thousand-dollar project when he needed a few million.
Wow! Bailey’s talking about shooting projects for two hundred thousand, while Jackie’s talking about earning two million, Charles thought.
The numbers and expectations were so far apart that Charles chuckled at it.
“Yeah, I can imagine what she said to that,” he commented.
“So, you’re breaking out on your own now? You’re not working with Jackie anymore?” Bailey questioned him.
“Oh, no, I didn’t say that. I just didn’t know she had talked to you already, that’s all.”
Bailey chuckled over the line himself. “Yeah, she probably wouldn’t wanna tell you that. She had designs on you shooting those multimillion-dollar budgets for your pockets and hers,” he joked.
“You already know it,” Charles agreed. “But these contracts that you get for these smaller streaming networks, are they like, two million, for like, five to eight projects?”
He was trying to figure out where he could pitch for his price point.
Bailey cut his ideas down to size. “Oh, no, they don’t cut checks like that. They’ll give you more like, five hundred thousand to shoot, like, three or four films. And they don’t give you all the money up front either.”
Charles nodded. “I see.”
Bailey cut to the chase and said, “What, you need money right now? You sound like you huntin’ for it,” he joked.
Charles had to be careful with his answer again. Black Hollywood was a very small industry, and hunting for last-minute money was not something to have a reputation for.
“No, I’m just seeing how it all works, that’s all. I have a few people coming up under me now, who could use those opportunities,” he lied.
“Oh, okay. Well, in that case, send me their reels and we’ll see what we can come up with together. I like that kind of teamwork,” Bailey suggested.
“Yeah, I’ll pull that together and get back in touch with you,” Charles lied again.
“Yeah, you do that. And nice talking to you, man.”
“Same here.”
The compromised director hung up the line and took a deep breath. “Yeah, that was pretty dangerous,” he warned himself. He had to watch who he decided to call and what he decided to say to them. And it wouldn’t be an easy task, because Jackie made most of their calls and did most of their talking, particularly in regards to money. So, Charles felt like an inexperienced shopper in a grocery store, trying desperately to figure out what he could afford to buy.
He even pulled up his online bank account on his cell phone, where he had just over three hundred thousand dollars in his account. That’s where he liked to keep it, which sounded good for a regular American citizen, but for a popular filmmaker who was now in trouble with seven money-hungry accusers, his healthy savings could disappear in a matter of weeks.
I just have to figure this all out and see where I can pull money from, he mused. So, he started thinking about selling the studio loft that he lived and held his office in.
