The sunlight filtered through the half-open blinds of Lisa's office. Inside, however, the air was heavy with the scent of sunscreen and stress.
Harry stood at the door, arms crossed, his jaw tight.
Lisa, meanwhile, was halfway through trying on a selection of beachwear behind a folding divider, her voice carrying through with nonchalance. "Did they throw you out yet, or did they offer you a crown and matching shackles?"
Harry said, "I'm guessing the string bikini means you're not interested in corporate mutiny today."
Lisa peeked her head out, her cheeks flushed. "You know I'm on vacation mode. My husband booked Bali. I'm not in the mood to babysit a boardroom rebel."
Harry sighed. "I just needed to talk."
Lisa disappeared behind the divider again. "You always need to talk when something explodes."
He didn't reply. Instead, he turned around and left the office.
_____
Later that day, Harry walked into a small but bustling pre-production office tucked inside the Warner Bros. backlot at 4000 Warner Blvd, Burbank. Gregory, the man currently acting as executive producer for Memento, looked up from a casting binder.
Gregory said, "You look like a man who walked out of a funeral and into a wedding."
"I might've just buried a legacy," Harry muttered, but his lips twitched with a ghost of a smile as he glanced over at the casting wall.
Headshots. Names. Notes scribbled in Sharpie.
The Nolan brothers were going full steam ahead. Casting was progressing. Production design meetings were happening. Locations were being scouted. Harry stood silently as Gregory talked about their latest meeting with Guy Pearce's agent.
For a moment, Harry let himself feel something unfamiliar—peace.
But peace never lasted long.
Driving back to his office, Harry's thoughts returned to a bitter truth. He was practically out of his own father's company. His shares still stood, but they were now just a glorified inheritance—paperweight power without any real authority.
Sooner or later, they'd force him to resign from JTV.
But Harry Jackson didn't sulk. He pivoted.
"If I can't stay in JTV," Harry said aloud to himself in the car, "then I'll build my own. Or better yet, buy one."
Creating a television network from scratch would take years. Licenses, infrastructure, staff, advertisers—he didn't have the time.
Buying an existing network was cleaner. Faster. Bloodier.
But first… he had to answer the call from Uncle Mason.
The call came in just as he stepped back into his office.
"Congratulations!" Mason's voice thundered through the speaker. "You're basically out of the company you were supposed to inherit! Got anything to say for yourself?"
Harry remained silent for a beat, then said calmly, "Hear me out—"
"No!" Mason snapped. "You hear me out. I've been protecting you from these wolves for years. Years, Harry! Do you think I enjoy sitting in those meetings, shielding you from decisions you didn't even know were being made? And what do you do? You light a fire under the boardroom and walk away like a brat."
"I didn't walk away," Harry said. "I moved forward."
Mason's breathing sharpened. "Harry, look—I'm your uncle. I love you. But I've worked in this company since before you were born. I can't just watch you tear it apart."
"I'm not tearing it apart. I built JTV back from the grave. When I came in, it was barely crawling. I turned it into a sprint. That was me, not you. Not the Board. Me."
The heat in Harry's voice broke through his usual composure.
Mason paused, clearly taken aback. "You want to see your own creation fall apart in your hands?"
Harry stood by the window now, overlooking the city skyline. "JTV was never mine. It was my father's… and a springboard for me. That's it. I've made my name. I've made my money. And now? I'm moving on."
Mason's voice grew quieter but colder. "JTV was your father's dream, Harry."
Harry turned sharply. "Yeah. And I was the bastard son he tried to kill in a plane crash. Only he died instead."
Silence. Heavy, painful silence.
"Harry Jackson," Mason said in a low voice. "Don't you dare speak that way about your father."
"What are you going to do about it?" Harry said, the fury cracking through now. "You think I'm here because of your help? Because you protected me? No. I built this myself. You didn't lift a damn finger."
Mason was silent for a few seconds before saying grimly, "Then let me make this easy for both of us. After your resignation from JTV, you'll be on your own. No favors. No connections. You want independence? You've got it."
Harry didn't hesitate. "I'm perfectly fine with that."
He cut the call.