Margot Robbie stepped into the room, trying to hide the nervous energy in her shoulders. She looked younger than the others who had walked in earlier, her posture polite but slightly tense as she greeted them.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Wilson. Ms. Rachel."
"Good afternoon," Alex nodded with a faint smile while Rachel returned the greeting calmly. Margot stood at the center, her hands clasped lightly in front of her as she took a slow breath.
"I just wanted to say... thank you for giving me this chance," she said honestly. "I know I'm still new, and this is... well... this is big."
Alex leaned back slightly, studying her expression. He could see the nerves clearly. Her fingers fidgeted slightly, and her shoulders looked stiff.
"Relax," he said calmly. "Take a moment to gather yourself. You look really jumpy."
Margot blinked, then smiled sheepishly. "Yeah... first big audition. So, I'm super nervous."
She took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders, and let the tension slowly fade. Her expression settled, confidence returning little by little.
"Alright," she said, nodding once. "I'm ready."
Alex tilted his head slightly as an idea formed. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
"You think you can do a little improv on the spot without the script?"
'No script. I have to create dialogues? Oh, god. Don't be nervous. You've prepared for this. You can do it.' Margot blinked, surprised, but she didn't hesitate long. "I'll try my best."
Alex smiled faintly. "Good. I'll be Joker. You'll obviously be Harley. We'll talk back and forth. Here's the setting: The Joker is sitting at a desk covered in "FINAL NOTICE" letters from the IRS, hyperventilating into a purple paper bag. Harley skips in, wearing a captain's hat and blowing a silver whistle, and we'll take it from there..."
Rachel glanced at Alex briefly. She knew this was how he liked to test instinct, not just preparation.
'Improv with Alex Wilson. This is a dream come true. Am I dreaming? Nope. My feet are sweating. Stop thinking things and focus,' Margot nodded again. "Alright. Okay, I'm ready."
Alex leaned back in his chair, then his expression shifted slowly. His posture loosened, his eyes gaining a quiet intensity that felt unsettling even without makeup or costume. He reached for an imaginary purple paper bag, bringing it to his mouth while his shoulders rose and fell in exaggerated hyperventilation.
"Harley…" he said through the imaginary bag, voice muffled and strained, "tell me the audit was a dream. Tell me the man in the beige suit with the briefcase was just a hallucination brought on by tainted laughing gas."
Margot blinked once, then her entire demeanor flipped. The nerves vanished like someone had flipped a switch. She bounced forward with sudden energy, slipping into Harley instantly, her body language loose and playful as she mimed skipping into the room. She tipped an imaginary captain's hat, then blew a silent whistle before grinning brightly.
"Ooh, bad news, Puddin'," she chirped, hands on her hips while rocking on her heels. "He was real. And boy, was he a buzzkill. He kept askin' for receipts. I told him I don't keep receipts, I keep souvenirs. Like this tie I took from the last guy who asked for receipts."
Alex slowly lowered the imaginary bag, his eyes widening in theatrical horror as he leaned forward in his chair.
"Harley," he whispered, voice trembling with panic, "we owe the government seven million dollars in back taxes from the museum heist. I had that money hidden in the floorboards. Where is it?"
Margot beamed proudly, clasping her hands behind her back as she leaned forward slightly.
"I invested it, sugar. In a long-term liquid asset."
Alex blinked rapidly, his confusion turning into dread. "A what? Stocks? Bonds? Rare poisonous orchids?"
Margot clapped once excitedly, bouncing slightly in place.
"Better. A custom-made, candy-pink, nuclear-powered submarine. It's got a shark tank, a disco ball, and a periscope that only looks at candy shops. I call it the H.M.S. Hilarity."
Alex went completely still. His face slowly drained of color as he stared at her, lips parting slightly. The silence stretched long enough to feel uncomfortable before he finally spoke in a thin voice.
"You… you spent the IRS's money… on a boat?"
Margot shook her head quickly, waving her hands as if correcting a misunderstanding.
"It's a submarine, Mr. J. It goes underwater. The IRS can't find us if we're at the bottom of the Gotham River. They don't have snorkels, they have clipboards."
Alex suddenly grabbed his hair, leaning forward dramatically.
"Harley, they're the Internal Revenue Service. They don't need snorkels. They have the power to freeze my accounts, seize my laughing gas factory, and put me in a cell with accountants. I can handle a Batarang to the face, but I cannot handle a Form 1040-ES."
Margot pouted, then waved dismissively as if brushing off his concerns.
"Aw, don't be such a gloom-bucket. If they come for us, we'll just torpedo their office. It's a write-off, right? Professional disagreements."
Alex stared at her in disbelief, rubbing his temples with exaggerated despair.
"That's not how deductions work. You can't write off a torpedo. We're going to be the only villains in Arkham who are there for under-reporting capital gains. My reputation is ruined."
Margot stepped closer, patting his shoulder gently with mock sympathy.
"Look on the bright side, Puddin'. If we go to federal prison, the uniforms are orange. They'll totally clash with your hair, but they'll make my eyes pop."
Alex slowly collapsed forward onto the desk, defeated, voice muffled against the table.
"I'm going to be audited by a man named Milton while Batman watches and laughs… this is the one joke I didn't write, Harley. And I hate it."
The room fell silent.
Rachel had stopped writing entirely halfway through the exchange. Her eyes shifted between Alex and Margot, her expression calm but clearly impressed.
Alex slowly leaned back in his chair, the Joker persona fading as he studied Margot carefully. His fingers tapped lightly against the table, a faint smile forming.
Margot stood still for a second, then the adrenaline wore off, and her nervousness returned slightly. "Was… was that okay? I thought of going super dark, but... I mean, now that I replay it in my head, it's... comedy."
"That," Alex complimented, "was very good. And thanks to you, I think I got an idea for an adult-animated superhero black comedy based on Harley's character. And you are hired for the movie part. But what are your thoughts on doing the voiceover for the animated series?"
Margot froze.
For a second, she just stared at him, her mind struggling to catch up with what she had just heard. The words repeated in her head, but they still felt unreal. Hired, Movie part, Voice acting... All at once.
Her fingers tightened slightly at her sides as disbelief slowly crept across her face. She came here expecting rejection. At best, she hoped for maybe a callback, maybe a smaller role, maybe just a chance to be remembered. Instead, Alex Wilson had just handed her one of the biggest opportunities of her life like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Her throat felt tight.
"Wait… I'm… I'm hired?" she asked carefully, as if saying it too loudly might break the moment.
Alex leaned back slightly, watching her reaction with a faint smile. "You handled improv under pressure, matched tone instantly, and brought something fresh to Harley. That's exactly what I wanted."
Margot swallowed slowly. Her heart was still racing. Images flashed through her mind. Early mornings working at Subway, smiling at customers while repeating sandwich orders. Long afternoons cleaning houses, scrubbing floors, while wondering if acting would ever work out. Evenings at the surf store, folding shirts and pretending she wasn't checking her phone every ten minutes for audition calls that rarely came.
Then she thought about her mother.
Her mom had taken loans against the house just to support her dream. Every rejection had felt heavier because of that. Every failed audition felt like she was letting her family down.
And now this.
Her eyes glistened slightly, though she blinked it away quickly.
"So… both projects?" she asked softly, still sounding slightly stunned. "The film and the animated series?"
Alex nodded once. "If you're comfortable doing both."
Margot let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding. A small, nervous laugh escaped her as she shook her head slightly, still processing everything.
"Yeah… absolutely," she said quickly, her voice warming with excitement. "I'd love to. I mean… yes. Definitely yes."
Rachel watched quietly from beside Alex, making a note in her file while studying Margot's reaction. She had seen this moment before. The exact second someone's life quietly shifted direction.
Alex nodded once, satisfied. "Good."
Margot straightened slightly. "So… what happens next?" she asked.
Alex closed the folder on the table. "Come back tomorrow at ten in the morning. Bring your agent if you have one. If not, that's okay too. We'll go over the contracts and finalize everything."
Margot nodded quickly, almost too quickly, like she was afraid the opportunity might disappear if she hesitated. "I'll be here. 10 AM. I won't be late."
Alex chuckled softly. "Relax. You're already hired. Just show up."
Margot laughed nervously again, then took a slow breath as she tried to calm herself. She thanked both of them once more before turning toward the door. Her steps felt lighter than when she walked in, like she was floating slightly above the floor.
As she stepped outside, the door closed behind her softly.
Inside the room, Rachel glanced at Alex. "You made that decision fast."
Alex leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping lightly against the table while a faint smile formed. "Sometimes you just know."
Rachel leaned back in her chair for a moment before speaking up, her tone light but curious as she watched Alex. "You're thinking of playing the Joker yourself, right?"
Alex shook his head. "Nope. I'm thinking more of Bruce Wayne."
Rachel stood up smoothly and perched herself on the edge of the desk right in front of him, letting her legs drape casually over his shoulders as she looked down at him with a playful smirk. "I can see the similarities between you two."
Alex let his gaze drift naturally between her open legs, catching a clear glimpse of the red underwear peeking out from under her pencil skirt, and he raised an eyebrow while keeping his voice steady. "I can also see something... You do realize the door is open?"
Rachel tilted her head slightly, her smirk deepening as she made no move to adjust her position or close her legs. "And?"
Alex felt a rush of heat move through him at her bold response, but he kept his expression calm while his hands rested lightly on her thighs just below where her skirt had ridden up. "And anyone could walk right in and see us like this."
She laughed softly under her breath and shifted her weight forward a little, pressing her legs more firmly against his shoulders in a teasing way. "That is exactly what makes it fun, love. You always act so put together in these meetings, but I know you like the risk just as much as I do."
His eyes flicked back up to meet hers while his fingers traced small circles on her skin. "You are going to get us both in trouble one of these days with these little games of yours."
"And what are you gonna do with this troublemaker?" Rachel smirked before licking her lips.
Alex sighed. "Fuck it." He stood up and pushed her down on the table. He grabbed her throat and leaned closer. Their lips were almost touching. "Go to your BDSM room and prep your ass for me."
"Gonna punish me?" She licked his lips with a large grin.
"You've no idea..."
..
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