That sudden, cold "Hmph!" cut right through the friendly chat.
Zane and Jordan both turned. Zane saw who it was—an old acquaintance—and he put on a warm, polite smile.
"Hi, Mr. Bill McNichol!" Zane said, walking over. "It's been a long time. How have you been?"
Zane was the boss of Wald Pictures. The other man was the CEO of 20th Century Fox... or, he used to be. They had worked together on the Titanic movie.
But just because Zane was being friendly, it didn't mean Bill was.
"Mr. Zane Blackwood!" Bill said, his voice dripping with anger. "Thanks to you, I've been just great lately...." He was gritting his teeth. He sounded very sarcastic and strange.
Zane, even though he was young, knew when someone was being fake. He could feel the anger rolling off the man. But he decided to be the bigger person and just keep smiling.
Bill wasn't finished. "I heard you're a 'director' now," he sneered. "Made a little short film, did you? Tsk tsk. Young man, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but you have no talent for directing. You should just stick to being a rich boss. Haha!"
He hated Zane.
A few months ago, Bill had lost his big, powerful job at 20th Century Fox. It was all because of the Titanic deal. He blamed Zane for making him look foolish and costing him his job. He had promised himself he would get back at Zane one day.
Now, seeing him here, he just wanted to say mean, sharp words to teach this "kid" a lesson.
Zane just listened patiently. When the man was finished, Zane just nodded with a calm, kind smile.
"Well, you're right about one thing, sir. I am still learning," Zane said, his voice full of respect. "Thank you for the kind advice."
At that moment, the famous filmmakers, Theo Angelopoulos and Bruno Ganz, who were standing nearby, couldn't help but nod. They were very impressed with how much class and patience Zane was showing.
But Jordan, who was standing next to Zane, knew his friend. Uh oh, Jordan thought. Zane is way too calm. This isn't like him.
Zane just smiled at Jordan. "It's okay."
He knew that old men sometimes get grumpy, like children. He understood that Bill was just having a bad day and taking his anger out on him.
Darn, Zane thought. He really thinks he can just bully me? Just because he's upset?
"Mr. McNichol," Zane said, his voice suddenly full of extra kindness, "it's so wonderful to see you here at Cannes! This film festival is so amazing. They even got a big-shot executive like you from a giant Hollywood studio to come in person! Mr. Murdoch, your boss, must be so proud to have you!"
Zane's voice was loud and friendly.
"You know," Zane continued, "Mr. Murdoch and I are both big shareholders in ICQ. Next time I see him, I will definitely praise you. I'll tell him what a great job you're..."
Zane stopped. "Huh? Mr. McNichol, why is your face so pale? Are you feeling okay?"
The old man's face was bright red with anger and embarrassment.
"Wow, you really don't look well," Zane said, his voice full of fake worry. "Here, let me help you. Let's get you a chair."
Zane grabbed the man's arm and started pulling him to the side.
"Hey, hey, Jordan! Why are you pulling on me?" Zane said loudly. "Can't you see Mr. McNichol is sick?!"
"Man, I said let go!" Zane said, pushing Jordan's hand away. "Mr. McNichol is one of the most respected, senior men in all of Hollywood! If something happened to him here, would your conscience be clear?"
Zane angrily shook off Jordan and once again grabbed the very unwilling Bill McNichol, "helping" him.
Darn it! Bill thought. I was just talking, and now he's getting physical! My old arms!
The scene was very... "warm." And Zane's loud voice had made everyone at the party turn and look.
They all saw a very angry, red-faced old man. And they saw a kind, helpful, worried young man trying to help him.
"What a remarkable young man!" the President of the Cannes Film Festival said.
"Yes," Martin Scorsese, the head judge, agreed. "So enthusiastic and respectful. A young man like that? Of course he's going to be successful."
All the filmmakers at the party started giving Zane a thumbs-up. Some even clapped and praised him for being such a good person.
Bill McNichol just stood there, his mouth open. Jordan was speechless.
The two other old directors, Theo and Bruno, who knew exactly what was happening, had very strange looks on their faces.
Bill wanted to curse. He wanted to scream at Zane for being a shameless, tricky... kid! But what could he do? If he yelled now, he would be the one who looked like a shameless, mean old man.
He had to just stand there and swallow his anger.
"Hiss!" Bill whispered through his teeth, "Zane, you... you bastard."
Zane leaned in close, his friendly smile gone, replaced by a cold, hard look.
"Hey, I'm just trying to help you," Zane mocked him quietly. "You got fired from Fox. Why are you taking it out on me? Was it really because of Titanic? Or was it because Tom Rothman was already trying to steal your job? And what about the Murdoch family's sons? They didn't like you, either. What does any of that have to do with me?"
In Zane's old life, Bill had been fired anyway. Zane had just made it happen a few months sooner.
Bill McNichol fell silent. He was a smart man. He had just been blinded by anger. Now that he was calm, he knew... Zane was right.
He couldn't have been the CEO of Fox for six years if he was an idiot.
"This..." Bill started to say, but he felt so embarrassed. He had just been reminded of the truth... by a 21-year-old.
The two men just stood there in a strange, quiet moment.
Finally, Zane broke the silence.
"Old guy," he said, "do you want to come work at Wald Pictures?"
"Eh?" Bill said, angrily. "Don't joke with me, kid. I'm bothered enough right now."
Zane's face turned completely serious. "I'm not joking. I, Zane Blackwood, as the Chairman of the Golden Dawn Entertainment Group, am formally inviting you to be the President of Wald Pictures."
At that moment, Bill McNichol looked at Zane, really looked at him.
"I... I need to consider it," Bill said. "I need time to think."
Zan nodded. "I'm willing to give you that time."
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