The Silver Screen Wars

11 - Absence

 It was the most satisfying lunch Kodi could ever remember having. Bishop had looked like he was about to jump over the table at her in their last exchange, but Jason had slapped his hand on the table to get their attention.

"Let's just eat for now," he had said. "We'll have a little quiet time so that we can respect Liz for the hard work she put into this duck and everything else. Business can come later when we're done, agreed?"

Kodi had given him a thumbs up before walking off to get a plate for Boyd, not even giving Bishop a chance to insert his own opinion into the conversation. What use did she have for it anyway? Anything he said was bound to piss her off even more, and at this point, she was only riding his nerves because she could.

She couldn't wait to get out of here and find a job that was actually worth the pain. No doubt the papers that Boyd would be giving her to sign later would stipulate all sorts of inhumane working conditions, and unfortunately for Bishop (if he even really cared), she wasn't dumb enough to fall for a scam. He was probably going to offer her next to no pay, citing that the "opportunity" alone should be compensation enough.

Yeah, right. Maybe in an ideal world where she didn't have to worry about bills, but she didn't have the margin to sink weeks and months into a project pro bono merely for the exposure. She had bills to pay, mouths to help feed. Invest? Sure, when she she had the funds to eat the next day. Otherwise, no thank you.

"You see something in there you want to kill? It's already dead, you know."

Kodi looked up when she heard Jason's voice. She'd zoned out over her own plate, grasping her fork in her clenched fist on the table and glaring down at her plate. Oops. At least he sounded amused rather than offended.

"I'm good, my bad," she said automatically and proceeded to shovel down the rest of her food. Best thing to do after losing an appetite was to finish quickly, and she wasn't going to leave anything on her plate to toss in the bin. The food was good; she just couldn't stomach eating at the same table as Bishop for long.

She was sick of waiting anyhow. She wanted the talking over with, and it hadn't even started yet.

"I'm ready whenever you guys are," she announced as she stood up, pushing her chair back swiftly with the motion. "Take your time" - well, not really - "and I'll be in the living room."

She stalked off with her empty plate toward the kitchen without another word.

---------

"Ms. Clyde?"

She twisted around on the sofa where she had been lounging. Boyd was there, approaching with quick strides. "Hey."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, but the smile that curved his mouth looked more mechanical than anything else. Maybe it was the permanent furrow between his eyebrows that gave her that impression, but she knew she wasn't imagining the visible stress that lined his pale face. He barely looked to be in his thirties and yet he carried a battered, weathered aura about him that spoke volumes more than mere appearances.

"Yep, pleasure," she replied. "So, what, you're a lawyer? You're the one doing up my contracts?"

He nodded as he moved around the sofa toward the couch on the opposite side of the coffee table. "Yes, that would be me." He placed his briefcase on the glass table, and scarcely before he had even sat down, he was already undoing the clasps.

"You look kinda young," said Kodi.

She didn't know why she pointed that out, exactly; she wasn't one to discount someone based on age or lack of it. Just...she couldn't imagine that someone other than a grizzled, ornery, veteran lawyer could possibly withstand working under Bishop in this kind of capacity. Dealing with not only the messy legalities of a working contract but also a man-baby with all the temper tantrums and hissy fits that came with it? Admirable.

"I got my degree and passed the bar examination earlier than most," he said wryly. "I've been practicing formally for ten years now. I assure you I will bring you every bit of that experience to the table so that we can settle on the fairest terms for you."

Fair. That was a favorite "hot" word when it came to negotiating contracts, she'd been warned. She had only done this two times before, with this being the third - but every single time, the word had come up within seconds. This was no exception.

It was too bad that she trusted the word "fair" so little where a man like Bishop Cassius was concerned. She'd heard far too many things about him that made her doubt he even knew what it meant. And meeting him in person had done him no favors as far as impressions went, either. Far from it.

"Mr. Cassius would like me to wait until he is present before we can discuss anything in detail, but I'm happy to answer what questions I can while we wait," he said as he opened his briefcase and revealed papers and folders all stacked in a neat array inside. "My name is Leonard Boyd, by the way. And you are Kodiak Clyde, correct?"

Mr. Cassius. Sounded so strange to hear someone call him that. Everyone Kodi knew called him the Bishop with such undue reverence. Leonard's addressing of the man made him sound almost - normal. Like a teacher or some other hard working member of society. Mr. Cassius. Gross.

"Yeah, that's me," she said neutrally. "So he told you about me? How much do you know?"

Leonard Boyd chuckled under his breath. "Very little. I'll need more information before we can finalize the agreement, but you'll find that most of the terms are the same ones that you would expect."

She wasn't experienced enough to know what she should "expect," to be honest, but she wouldn't share that with this man. No need to put herself at even further a disadvantage than before.

...Not that she was expecting to sign anyway. But she would be fair about it. She'd hear out the terms before walking out, even though she was certain that they would be ridiculously skewed in her disfavor.

"Sure, that's fine," she said, even though she was far from meaning it. "You mind if I ask how come you're working for him though?"

He stared at her with a start. "I'm sorry?"

"Just wondering. You don't have to answer that if it makes you uncomfortable. Just wondering how you two met and..."

Why you let him treat you that way, she wanted to say, because even if she had no proof that Bishop had been the one responsible for Lenoard's "spill" in the morning, that display of of a smug, dehumanizing attitude just minutes before when the lawyer had arrived was enough to convince her that the man mistreated everyone under him anyway.

Well. Kodi was going to make certain of one thing. If the contract didn't explicitly leave her a provision that said she could walk out on Bishop anytime he decided to act like she was nothing more than an animal, she wasn't interested.

"I..." Leonard gave her what he probably thought looked like a sheepish smile, but to Kodi it looked more like a nervous one. "It's a very good opportunity to work with Mr. Cassius. I'm told I'm enjoying the very pinnacle of my career, actually."

"Told by who?" she asked. "Mr. Cassius?"

His smile faded away. "He's very good at what he does, Ms. Clyde. A great deal many people respect that."

She frowned when she detected a hint of testiness in his voice. What? Was he really defending the man who treated him like trash? There was a name for that, wasn't there - like Stockholm Syndrome or something. Or maybe he was just upset that she was questioning his professional choices. That hadn't been her intention, but she supposed it could have come off that way.

Oh, well. If he wanted to take offense, then that was on him. Anyone who chose to stay with Bishop despite all the things he did to them was also at fault. She didn't need to waste her time convincing people to start valuing themselves more than he valued them. Loyalty, her ass. They could sell their dignities to him for that secondhand, residual fame if they wanted to. Not her, though. Like hell she would do the same.

"Okay," she replied. "So just to be clear, I get to set some of my own terms, right?"

His face relaxed slightly. "Yes, that's correct. To a reasonable degree."

"That's nice. We can wait then. I'm all ears whenever you two are ready to go over the stuff."

With that, she leaned back on the sofa and crossed her arms, staring out at the bay window to her left that looked out over a man-made creek running through the green yard. The conversation was over; it was clear that this man was on the side of Bishop. But of course. He paid him, after all. She just hadn't expected to see or hear such personal devotion even in the director's absence. He had his people well-trained.

"Sorry, waiting long?"

Kodi glanced at the clock hanging on the wall before looking around to see Jason entering the living room, all lazy smile and happy eyes. No doubt Bishop was right on his heels - yep, there he was.

"Nah," she said lightly, because she knew the delay wasn't Jason's fault. Clearly, it was Bishop who had taken the extra twenty minutes to eat even though he'd probably just been pushing food around his plate for most of it. Right in character for him.

"Well, Kodi, if you'd rather discuss your contract alone, I'm happy to leave the room and give you some space. But Bishop and I figured you might want an old hand around to give you perspective on some things."

She beckoned him over with a wave of her hand. "So long as it's okay with you. I appreciate the help."

More like he was probably standing guard for the inevitable outbursts that would erupt in his absence. She couldn't imagine that Bishop would have suggested or supported any suggestion that would benefit her.

Bishop ended up kicking over a rolling leather ottoman toward the glass table next to Leonard despite the latter having risen and stood next to the couch, offering it up to the director instead. Not a word of thanks or acknowledgement - Bishop simply sat down on the ottoman and ignored the lawyer, who then proceeded to quietly retake his seat.

Kodi felt her teeth grinding.

"Alright, then," Leonard said perhaps a little too cheerfully - he must have seen the look on her face. "Shall we begin?"