Chapter 41 BREAKING POINT PART 3
"CrossLight is three months behind on rent. We've lost most of our equipment to the leasing company. Our biggest client dropped us last month. Half our staff is looking for other jobs because we can't pay them on time." The words came out flat, matter-of-fact.
"This contract is the only thing keeping us afloat. Without it, I lose everything I've built. My business partner is also about to lose his house. And dozen people will lose their jobs."
She finally looked at him again. "I'm here because I'm desperate. Because saying no wasn't an option anymore."
Alexander went quiet as everything started making sense. Her reluctance when she first turned down his offer, the tension she always seemed to carry, why she'd finally agreed despite clearly not wanting to. But from his first visit, he did know her company could use an upgrade.
"I didn't know," he said quietly.
"I didn't want you to." Vivienne wrapped her arms around her knees. "It's humiliating enough without the person holding my lifeline knowing how badly I need them."
"I need to slow down with you," Alexander added.
Vivienne glanced at him.
"I want to make it up to you." He shifted on the step, turning toward her. "Let approach this differently. Instead of just demanding results and expecting you to figure it out on your own, I can actually take the time to teach you the techniques. I can explain the character better, break down the character psychology, show you examples of some good performances. And guide you to make this work."
"You'd do that?" Vivienne asked, cautious. "Take the time to actually teach me?"
"You stood up to me in there." A small smile tugged at his mouth. "In front of the entire crew. Do you know how rare that is?"
"Probably not very."
"Very rare. Aside from you and a few other people, most people are too intimidated or too concerned about their jobs to call me out when I'm being an ass. Especially new recruits." The smile grew slightly. "I respect it. I respect you for doing it."
"I'd like to see the success of this project," she said carefully. "Not just for the money, though I need that. But now that we understand each other, I believe in what you're trying to create. The story, the character. And I can kind of understand why you wanted it to be so perfect."
"Then let's give it another go," Alexander said. "But as partners. Not as dictator and victim."
He held out his hand.
Vivienne looked at it.
This was a new ball game now. But she could stay guarded, keep the walls up, maintain the distance that had protected her for so long.
Or she could take a risk. Trust him, at least a little bit.
She reached out and shook his hand.
His grip was warm and steady.
"Partners," she agreed.
They stood up together, Vivienne wincing slightly as her knees protested. She'd been sitting on concrete for too long.
"You okay?" Alexander asked, noticing.
"Just stiff. And these sensors are starting to itch." She tugged at one on her wrist without thinking, then stopped. "I should probably not mess with the equipment."
"They need adjusting anyway. Priya can fix them when we get back." He started toward the stairs, then paused. "But if you want to call it a day, we can call it a day and start afresh tomorrow."
Vivienne considered it. Part of her wanted to run home, crawl into bed, and pretend this morning never happened. But that was Elara talking, the one who hid when things got hard.
"No," she said, straightening her shoulders. "Let's go back. But we're doing this your new way. Teaching first, demanding later."
"Agreed."
They walked up the stairs side by side. As they reached the third floor landing, Vivienne's phone vibrated. Probably Rebecca, updating her about Noah. Or Marcus, checking if she'd survived her first day.
Little did he know how close she'd come to not surviving.
They reached the double doors. Through the small window, Vivienne could see the crew scattered around the studio.
And when they entered, everyone looked up as the doors opened.
The studio went silent. All eyes on Alexander and Vivienne as they walked in.
Eliza recovered first. "Mr. Hunt. Ms. Cross. We got talking and all agreed that..."
"I need to say something first," Alexander cut her off gently. He walked to the center of the studio, where everyone could see him clearly. Vivienne stayed near the doors, unsure of her role in whatever was about to happen.
"My approach this morning was unacceptable," Alexander started.
You could have heard a pin drop.
"I pushed Ms. Cross beyond reasonable limits. I ignored suggestions for breaks. I dismissed input from my team. I let my perfectionism override basic human decency." He looked around at each person. "That's not how I want to run this project, and it's not the kind of leader I want to be."
"So I'm sorry," Alexander continued. "To all of you, for creating that environment. And especially to Ms. Cross, for making her first day a nightmare."
He turned to look at Vivienne. "I'm sorry."
No one said anything. Alexander Hunt, CEO of Hunt Enterprises, billionaire perfectionist, was publicly apologizing to his crew and to her.
"We're going to try something different," he said, addressing the group again. "This week, we're going to focus on teaching. Not performing, not capturing, not producing. Teaching. I'm going to take my time and teach Ms. Cross each scene. We'll break down the character psychology, watch reference videos, practice techniques. And she's welcome to ask us questions for clarity without fear of judgment."
He looked at Eliza. "Can you pull together a training schedule? Something that builds gradually, with plenty of breaks built in?"
"Yes, sir." Eliza was already pulling out her tablet. "I can have something ready in an hour."
"Good." Alexander nodded. "Victor, can you compile some of the best mocap performances from our reference library? I want Ms. Cross to have a visual representation."
"On it, boss," Victor said, heading to his station.
"Priya, those sensors need adjusting. And probably better padding. If they're uncomfortable, that's going to affect performance."
"Already made notes," Priya said, a hint of respect creeping into her voice. "I'll have modifications ready by tomorrow."
Alexander continued delegating, transforming the studio from a pressure cooker into a learning environment. The crew responded accordingly.
Riley caught Vivienne's eye and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"Ms. Cross," Alexander called out. "Come here, please."
Vivienne walked over, aware of everyone watching again.
"We're going to start over," Alexander said when she reached him. "We can't get those three hours back but we can restart from a better place."
He pulled up something on his phone, then handed it to her. It was a video of professional mocap footage showing an actress performing an emotional scene.
"This is from a game released two years ago. Watch how she builds the emotion. See the small movements, the way she uses her whole body, not just her face? That's what I was trying to get you to do, but I never showed you what it looked like."
Vivienne watched the video and started seeing things she herself didn't think to do. How the actress's shoulders dropped just before the grief really hit, the way her hands moved almost like she wasn't thinking about it, reaching out and then pulling back. Even the breathing pattern sold the emotion better than the tears did.
"Now let me show you three more examples," Alexander said, pulling up another video. "See the differences? Each actress brings something unique. We're not going to focus on perfection, just be your authentic self, but I need that extra effort from you."
This was exactly what she'd needed all along. Not someone tearing her down and expecting her to magically get better, but someone actually taking the time to show her how it's done.
"Can you show me that forest walk scene again?" she asked. "Now that I've seen this, I think I can actually try it with some real understanding of what you want."
Alexander smiled. "Absolutely."