Insatiable Appetites

24

Stone was at his desk the following morning when Peter came in and accepted a chair. Stone had not seen him since the funeral. “Good morning,” he said.

“Morning, Dad. The Centurion jet is coming from London this afternoon, and we’re going to meet them at Teterboro tomorrow morning for the ride to L.A.”

“I’ll be sorry to see you all go,” Stone said. “Fred will drive you to Teterboro.”

“Good.”

“How about a farewell dinner tonight?”

“That would be great.” Peter examined a fingernail. “Dad, I need your advice about something.”

“I’ll give you the family rate,” Stone replied. “Shoot.”

“Leo Goldman has been very attentive to us since we’ve been at Centurion,” he said. Goldman, and his father before him, were CEOs at the studio.

“That’s very good.”

“It has been, in lots of ways, but I’m afraid he has designs on Ben.”

“Hand-on-knee designs?”

“No, employment designs. He’s offered Ben the head of production job at Centurion. The current guy is retiring soon.”

“Wow, that’s quite a promotion for a young, independent producer with three movies under his belt.”

“Ben has been spending a lot of time with Leo and the production chief, learning the operation.”

“Is Ben inclined to accept?”

“He’s having trouble making a decision.”

“How do you feel about the situation?”

“I’d hate to lose Ben as a partner,” Peter said.

“Can’t he produce your films and still hold the production chief job?”

“He says he can.”

“Then maybe he can. Maybe he could try the job for a year or two, and if he doesn’t find it satisfying, come back to the partnership.”

“Maybe, but I’ve got a replacement for Ben all lined up.”

“Anybody I’ve ever heard of?”

“Teddy Fay.”

Stone’s eyes widened. “You’re not supposed to know that name. He’s Billy Burnett now.”

“He sat Ben and me down a few weeks ago and told us the whole story. Said he was uncomfortable with us not knowing who we were employing. It’s one hell of a story, isn’t it?”

“He told you about the sealed pardon, then?”

“He did, and he’s very grateful to you.”

“And you think Teddy — sorry, Billy — could replace Ben?”

“Billy has been a very fast learner, and he’s incredibly smart. Ben reckons he’s saved us more production money than we’re paying him.”

“Sounds like he should have a raise.”

“That will happen. So the advice I want is, what should I do? I’m emotionally attached to Ben, but I wouldn’t want to stand in his way. Leo has told him that when he retires, Ben might well become the next CEO.”

Stone nodded. “It sounds to me as though you don’t have a decision to make.”

“Oh?”

“It’s Ben’s decision.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

“His mother and I distributed Eduardo’s estate yesterday, so Ben is now a rich man, and he can do whatever he likes.”

“He told me.”

“My advice is to let Ben make his decision, then, whatever it is, you find a way to live with it. Sounds like his moving up wouldn’t disrupt things, what with Billy waiting in the wings. Does Billy know about all this?”

“No, I haven’t mentioned it to him. But you’re right, it’s Ben’s decision, and I’ll tell him whatever he wants to do is all right with me.”

“I think that’s the way to go.”

“One other thing bothers me, though. What if Billy’s true identity becomes public? What would that do to my company?”

“To the best of my knowledge, there are only six people who know about it: you and Ben, the president, the president-elect, Billy’s wife, and me. It’s not in the interest of any of them for it to become known, so he’s safe, and so are you. Certainly, Billy isn’t going to tell anybody else.”

“That’s a good point,” Peter said, “and I feel better about all this now. I’ll talk to Ben on the way to L.A., and we’ll see how it goes.”

“Peter, do you think Ben has told Dino about Billy?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

Peter stood up and gave Stone a hug. “Thanks, Dad. You have a way of cutting through the forest to expose the trees.”

Stone watched his son leave, then buzzed Joan and asked her to book a table for seven in the library at the Writing Room.

Then he contemplated the conversation he had just had with Peter. It made him feel good to have been able to give his son advice.