Page 36 of Never To Be Mine

“That’s insane,” Toby breathed. “How did you even recover from that?”

Micah shrugged, taking a sip of his beer. “You improvise. That’s half of filmmaking, dealing with shit going sideways and making it work anyway.”

I’d heard this story at least three times. It was fun the first time. Australia. Crocodiles. A director who threatened to quit.

Toby was eating it up. He wanted to get into the movie business like Micah, so I couldn’t blame the kid for being excited.

“You work with Hollis,” Micah said, gesturing at me with his bottle. “You must know all about improvising, getting footage on the fly.”

“Yeah, but it’s different,” Toby said. “I mean, no offense, Hollis, but social media content isn’t the same as actual filmmaking.”

I shrugged. “You have to follow your dreams. But for the record, what you do takes skill, too, and you’re already getting paid better than most people in the movie business. So you’re doing alright.”

“I know,” Toby said, leaning toward Micah like I wasn’t even there.

Hmm, maybe I should be offended.

“I want to do what you do,” Toby continued. “Narrative work. Features. Maybe TV. Something with substance.”

Micah nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a tough industry to break into. Lots of people want in, not many spots available.”

“I know, I know. But I’m willing to do whatever it takes. Start at the bottom, work my way up.”

“You have a reel?”

“Yeah.” Toby pulled out his phone immediately, already queuing up his work. “It’s mostly shorter stuff, but I think it shows my range.”

I took another bite of the salmon, trying not to feel like the third wheel at my own dinner. I’d invited Micah to join us because I thought it would be fun. A chance to catch up with my brother before I headed to New York. Instead, I sat there watching Toby audition for a job with my younger brother.

Micah watched the reel on Toby’s phone. When it finished, he nodded slowly.

“You’ve got an eye,” he said. “The framing is good. Good transitions.”

Toby looked like he might pass out from happiness. “Really?”

“Really. You need more experience, obviously. And you’d be starting at the bottom. PA work, probably. Long hours, shit pay, lots of grunt work.”

“I don’t care. I’ll do it.”

Micah glanced at me, and I could see the question in his eyes. I gave him a small nod.

“Tell you what,” Micah said. “If you’re serious about this, I can help you get your foot in the door. I know some people. Can’t promise anything beyond an introduction, but it’s a start.”

Toby’s face lit up bright enough to land a 747 on his fucking forehead. “Are you kidding? That would be amazing. Thank you so much.”

I cleared my throat. “Stick with me at least through this Young at Heart business,” I said, keeping my tone casual even though I felt weirdly territorial about the whole thing. “See this partnership through, get me to that million-order mark. After that, I’ll happily help you with whatever connections you need. Our whole family will.”

Toby looked a little stunned. I saw genuine gratitude in his expression. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. You’ve been good to me, Toby. I’m not going to leave you hanging.” I speared a piece of broccoli. “But I need you focused on B Well right now. This PriceCo meeting could change everything. If we nail it, we’re talking about distribution in every one of their stores nationwide. That’s huge.”

“I know, I know. I’m focused. I promise.” Toby nodded enthusiastically. “I won’t let you down.”

“Good.” I took a bite, chewing slowly. I barely tasted the balsamic glaze on the broccoli. My mind was already in New York, running through the presentation for the hundredth time.

Micah leaned back in his chair, studying me. “So this partnership with Young at Heart. How’s that going?”

“So far, so good,” I said, nodding. “The video we put out got a great response. Both companies came out looking better. It’s getting a lot of engagement.”