บท 90: Ch-84

Tobias O'Brien was not sure what he was thinking when he sent that email to Troy Armitage. A boy, who may only be fourteen years old at the moment, but everyone knew him. And why wouldn't they? Troy was one of the highest-paid actors in the world with the second Harry Potter film and for good reasons. He had done only five movies in his life, and all of them were massive successes, raking in a total of $3.64 billion, which gives an average movie collection of $728 million. This is the highest of any actor in the world. More than Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, or Tom Hanks.

Why would such a big star hire a nobody like Tobias based on a casual promise he'd made more than two years ago? He must have a big team of managers and agents running all around him, managing all his affairs and future projects for him. Even if by some miracle, Troy were to hire Tobias, there hardly would be any good work for him there. But still, he wanted to get away from New York at all costs, and London seemed like a good enough place to start over. Troy wasn't the only big star he had written to. Because of his last two years with David Letterman, he had come to know a lot of celebs, so he had written quite a few, but all of the other celebs' representatives had made a fake promise that they'd see. Tobias knew nothing would come out of it.

So it came as a big surprise when a week later, he got a call from an unknown number.

"Hello?" He asked into the receiver.

"Hi, is this Tobias?" A woman asked on the other end of the phone.

"It is."

"This is Kathy Kloves, Troy's mother. You wrote to him a week ago for a job, right?"

And just like that, Tobias' situation changed overnight. Kathy Kloves grilled him relentlessly for a full hour, asking him everything from his family background to his education to his work experience. At the end of the call, Kathy had said just one thing of note.

"Alright Tobias, things look good for now. So here's what we'll do—I'll send over a ticket to London for you, and we'll hire you provisionally for a month. If we like your work, you can continue doing so. Otherwise, I'll book you a ticket back to New York. For the first month, your pay will be five thousand pounds. We'll discuss your fixed pay and other benefits afterward. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," Tobias agreed immediately. More like he didn't have a better job offer. He would have preferred working in the US if possible but sometimes you just don't have the luck to do as you want. It helped that the pay was not bad.

Another two weeks, and he was in London. The first thing that happened was the usual stuff like signing an NDA and other legal formalities before he was told to go directly to the set of [Harry Potter].

"You'll have to match your schedule with Troy's," Kathy said passionately before sending him off. "He reaches the set at five every morning, so that's the latest you shall reach there as well. For now, you are essentially his go-to person for anything he needs. Then you have to maintain his schedule, which is the most important job at the moment. Most importantly, you need to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid which creates negative rumors for him."

Tobias was a little surprised by that request but he needed to know more so he asked, "What do you mean exactly? Is there something I should know?"

"Troy is... very smart," Kathy began hesitantly. "The problem is that he knows it and then he gets overconfident and a little cocky. As long as someone is there to reign him in and tell him where he was wrong, everything will be fine. Till now only I have managed him. We didn't hire anyone else beside his security guy, not even an agent."

"Gotcha," Tobias nodded confidently, although he was massively surprised that Troy didn't have any agent. This doesn't seem that difficult of a job for the level of pay. Let's just hope Troy isn't as much of a brat as most teen celebs are.

Since it was mid-morning when he joined, Tobias drove directly to Leavesden Studios where the shoot of [The Goblet of Fire] was taking place. Tobias had watched the first Harry Potter film and he didn't like it that much because it was a little juvenile for his tastes. So he didn't bother watching the second one. Unfortunately, now he'd have to change that because it is likely that Troy would not like it that his own assistant has not watched his film.

Navigating around Leavesden was a chore in itself, like any big studio. He parked his car in the parking lot before he had to take a golf cart that drove him all the way over to the area where the shooting took place.

The entire setup was quite different from the TV setup Tobias was used to in New York. Elaborate fantastical sets were created out of nothing to film a few scenes. From an outsider's perspective, it may seem extravagant, but given how many people received their livelihoods from these elaborate sets, and how much money these films earned back from the audiences, it was justified.

When Tobias walked in on the set proper, the shooting was going on, so he kept quiet and decided to approach Troy only when the scene was done. It was a set of a bridge, or at least a portion of the bridge where the main cast was standing, while they had put elaborate green screens in the background, which they would probably fill out with CGI in post-production.

"Harry, you told me you'd figured out the egg weeks ago. The task is two days from now," the girl who played Hermione said. Tobias forgot her name, but he was sure he'd get to know later from Troy.

"Really?" Troy said with heavy sarcasm in his voice. "I had no idea." He looked away in the distance, his eyes showing a turmoil within them. A restlessness for not being able to get whatever Hermione was hinting at. Then he softened his voice as he said, "I suppose Viktor's already figured it out."

"Wouldn't know, we don't talk about the tournament. Actually, we don't really talk at all. Viktor's more of a physical being."

What the fuck did she just say? Tobias barely suppressed his laughter, but Troy didn't.

Realizing her blunder, Hermione closed her eyes in mortification before elaborating with a grin, "I mean, he's not particularly loquacious. Mostly he watches me study. It's a bit annoying actually." Within moments her face went from smiling to worried. "You are trying to figure this egg out, aren't you?"

Troy turned equally serious as he asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means these tests are designed to test you in the most brutal way. They are almost cruel. And I'm scared for you."

As Hermione continued speaking her lines, Troy didn't speak a single word for a few seconds, but his face went through so many expressions that the viewer could easily discern what he was feeling. A sense of hopelessness permeated the set, all because of Troy's first-class acting.

"Oi! Potter!" A tall young man called out from behind the two youngsters.

"I'll see you later," Troy said to the girl before walking in the opposite direction to where the taller boy was coming from.

"Potter," he called again while jogging up to him, and this time Troy stopped and turned around. "How are you?"

"As good as I can be," Troy said with a confused expression, silently asking why the older boy was there to begin with.

"Look, I realize I never really thanked you properly for tipping me off about those dragons."

"Forget about it. I know you would have done the same." Troy almost turned around in a hurry, but the older boy spoke up.

"Exactly! Do you know the prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor? Take your golden egg with you there and... mull things over in the hot water." He started stepping a few steps away, then remembering something, he stopped and said, "The password's 'pine fresh'." Then he turned around and walked the way he had come.

Troy looked around confused as Hermione had also left the place, leaving him alone to think about the problem.

"Cut!" A male voice with a Mexican accent rang out on the set. "Perfect shot, people. We did it!"

Only then did it occur to Tobias that the entire scene was a two-minute long single shot, with a single camera panning around, recording everything. It felt amazing to know that everything was timed so perfectly and that Troy and the other two actors, or the extras in the background didn't break character for even a moment. Not only that, they acted perfectly. Especially Troy. No wonder he won so many awards over the years.

At that moment, a switch had been flipped as Troy relaxed and left his character of Harry Potter behind.

"Thank God!" He said before turning to the Mexican man, who must be the director. "Are we done here, Alfonso?"

"Yes," came the reply. "The next scene will be in an hour at least."

Tobias started walking over to Troy but before he could reach him, the girl who played Hermione did.

"How did I do?" she asked.

"You should ask Alfonso," Troy replied. "I was busy with my acting. Your face might be pretty, but if I kept looking at it, I would hardly be able to act."

The girl blushed. From what Tobias could sense, the two were barely keeping their hands off of each other, so he decided to interrupt the moment by clearing his throat loudly. Immediately, the two separated in unison and jumped apart as if a jolt of electricity had passed through them. Cute. But dangerous all the same for Tobias' work.

"Troy," Tobias called out. "I'm Tobias. Your new assistant. You remember me?"

Troy's face lit up in recognition. "Of course. Didn't you go by Toby?"

"Not anymore, just call me Tobias," he said. "I've been told it sounds more professional like this."

"Okay," Troy agreed before motioning toward the girl. "This is my good friend Emma."

After exchanging polite greetings with the girl, Tobias asked Troy, "I wanted to discuss my duties with you. When would you like to do it?"

Troy looked at Emma, who shrugged before making a shooing motion. Troy grinned and said, "Now is fine." Then he turned to an AD on set. "Hey! Doris! I'm going over to my trailer for a bit. Give me a call if the scene begins, yeah?"

"Sure," the woman replied.

"Come on," Troy said to him, and together they walked over to the golf cart which took them to Troy's trailer.

"You liking London so far?" Troy asked conversationally.

"As much as I can in one day," Tobias joked. "It looks better than New York from what I can see."

"Fair," Troy inclined his head. "I wish I could offer you a tour, but I'm pretty sure it would cause a commotion."

"That's putting it mildly." Tobias chuckled at that thought. "You don't have to, though. It's my job to make your life easier. Not the other way around."

Troy didn't speak for the next few moments, deep in thought, as they reached the trailer in silence. As soon as they did, Troy unlocked the door with a key and kept it open to let Tobias enter first. The insides were as grand as you'd expect from a superstar like Troy. Most trailers are shared by two or three people while filming, but Troy had one all to himself. It had a very comfy-looking couch, a dressing area, an en-suite, and even a bed. There was also a big TV with a game console attached to it.

"Make yourself comfortable," Troy motioned towards the couch while sitting in his dressing chair.

As Tobias sat down, it was confirmed to him that the couch was very comfortable. In fact, this was the most comfortable couch he had ever sat on.

"First things first," Troy began. "I want to know why you left Letterman."

"I already told your mom," Tobias said hesitantly.

"No, you said that you didn't like the work culture there. I need some details so that inadvertently I don't repeat those things here as well," Troy said.

Tobias chuckled bitterly, "That can never be a problem here."

"Never say never," Troy said.

"Unless you turn out to be a blonde bombshell in secret, I'm pretty sure it won't be a problem," Tobias said. Seeing the confused look on Troy's face, he explained further, "At Letterman's, my immediate boss was Samantha." He paused, remembering that Troy was still a kid, and censored his story a little. "We had an affair of sorts which ended in a terrible breakup. Then, she started behaving erratically and made my work life hell. She is a producer on the show and everyone in the entertainment circles in New York knows her. Even if I were to apply for another job in NYC, one negative recommendation from her and my career would be killed. That's why I looked for a chance elsewhere."

Tobias wasn't sure why he told that story to Troy. He knew that in most cases people wouldn't believe him, but he didn't want to get a job based on a lie.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Troy said in an apologetic tone before perking up. "Anyway, now that you're here, you have to take care of me whenever I'm working."

"Don't worry about that, I will," Tobias assured him. Then he hesitated before saying the next part. "Actually, I didn't have to ask you particularly about the job description, your mother already gave it to me. There was one particular task she made me swear I'll do, which was making sure that there were no rumors about you. So I called you aside to make sure there weren't."

Troy was in shock for a few moments before standing up from his chair and pacing around.

"She didn't have to tell you!" he muttered frustratedly. "I haven't even told Jamie, and she told you that I'm dating Emma?"

Tobias was mightily surprised by that news. He had heard his fair share of celebrity gossip working with Letterman, but this was the first time he was seeing it in person. This information alone could easily be sold to a gossip column for more than what Tobias would earn in a year. Alas, his NDA prevented him from doing that.

"She didn't tell me," Tobias interrupted Troy. "You were being very obvious. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who picked it up. So I stopped it before the rumors started spreading."

Troy didn't look happy with that as he said, "Don't tell me you're gonna be my babysitter now?"

"Of course not," Tobias said immediately. "As long as you're in private, you can do whatever you want. But when you're out in public, I'll make sure you remember your surroundings."

Troy closed his eyes in defeat as he retook the chair and said, "Fine."

"Glad we are on the same page," Tobias smiled. "Anything beyond your schedule and basic needs that you may require from me at the moment?"

Troy made a thinking face while rubbing his metaphorical beard before brightening up. "Oh yes. I'm producing a film called [The Perks of Being a Wallflower]. Here's your first task, read the book and then make a list of all possible locations we would need for it. Also, if you don't know it yet, ask around some AD on set, and create a checklist of sorts for pre-production steps. And when you're done with it—"

"Woah," Tobias cut him off. "You never told me that I'll have to be an assistant to a producer."

Troy smirked, "Now I am. Let's see how well you adapt. If you swim, I'll promote you. If you sink, oh well." He shrugged carelessly before continuing, "As I was saying…"

Tobias had a feeling that he was not working for a child at all, but a ruthless manager. Or maybe Troy was just taking revenge for interrupting his talk with his girlfriend? He'd never know. With a resigned sigh, Tobias took out a notepad and pen from his pocket and said, "Can you repeat what all you'll need so I can note it down?"

"Certainly."

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