I looked up from the stack of papers I was flipping through when my phone buzzed. Swiping the green icon on the screen to the right, I answered the call.
"Hey Carol. What's up?"
"Good morning Linda," my manager replied cheerfully. "How are you?"
"I'm good. And you?"
"Also well."
"That's great. Have any news for me?"
"Actually," she said, and I could tell she was trying to keep in some type of excitement by the way her voice pitch rose at the end of the word. There was only one thing at this time that could cause her to be excited, and my heart jumped at the thought.
"No," I said, pausing all other activity as my eyes widened and my free hand flew to my mouth. "You did not!"
"Oh, but we did!" Carol exclaimed, all attempts at hiding her excitement failing. "He's in the conference room right now waiting for you with the script-writers. He says he can't wait to talk to you about the book."
"Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" I squealed, something that wasn't considered appropriate for a 26-year-old, but frankly I didn't care. My manager laughed.
"Well, stop being a little teenage girl and get in there! I'll be down here waiting for you."
"Thanks Carol. Oh my god I can't believe this is happening!" I was practically jumping up and down with joy. "Thank you so much Carol. Thank you a million times over!"
"You can thank me later. Just get your butt down here!"
"Did you call my brother?"
"Yes, and he said he would come as soon as possible."
"Alright. See you in a bit."
I hung up and quickly checked myself in the full-length mirror that stood in the far corner of my office. I was grinning from ear to ear.
"You're acting silly," I told myself. But I couldn't have cared less.

I exited the room and my eyes scanned the area for my head accountant. Finding who I was looking for, I briskly strolled over to the young man, who was wearing a white button-down dress shirt and black dress pants. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and he held a folder in his hands while talking to my secretary, Marsha. Hearing me approach, he turned to look at me and smiled.
"Hey," he greeted me, then tilted his head slightly in confusion. "Why are you so smiley? You're practically glowing."
Controlling myself not to shout out my excitement, I grabbed his wrists tightly in what others might have considered a death-grip. "He's here," I squeaked out. "Alex, he's in the freaking building."
Alex, who was one of my best friends and like a younger brother to me, stared at me in disbelief. "You're kidding."
"No I'm not. Carol just called me. He's in the conference room right now waiting for me."
His eyes widened; then he gave me a little shove. "Well then go! You don't want to keep a legend waiting, do you?!"
I held on to one of his wrists. "Of course you're coming with me!" I started walking down the hall, and Alex made no objection. I let go of his wrist and the two of us stepped into the elevator that would take us down to the third floor.
As we made our descent, Alex grinned at me. I could tell he was trying his best not to freak out with excitement. "Thanks for dragging me along."
"My pleasure," I replied. "Of course I wasn't going to go down there without letting you know who I was meeting. You're the one that got me into his movies in the first place." I nudged his arm. "We're his biggest fans, and it's only fair to him that he gets to meet us both."
Alex laughed. "Yeah that is true. I just can't believe he's here!"

A soft ding announce that we had arrived, and the doors slid back smoothly to let us out. We walked a little ways down one hall and turned a corner. Immediately I saw Carol standing by the conference room door, waiting for us. She met us halfway, gave Alex a quick kiss, and handed me a black binder. I smiled. Those two were so cute together.
"I took the liberty of cancelling your lunch meeting," she explained, pointing to a spot in the itinerary when I opened the binder. "I figured you'd like as much time with him as possible."
"Well you thought correctly," I said, smiling. Would I ever be able to stop grinning? "Thanks Carol. When is my brother getting here?"
"Right now," I heard a voice behind us reply, and I turned to look at the familiar face. My 29-year-old brother Johny walked up to us and gave me a hug.
"Well what are we waiting for?" He stated as we parted. "Let's meet this guy!"
I turned towards the door, letting Alex and Johny stand in front of me so that I would be entering last with Carol.
"Everyone act cool. It's just a normal day."
Alex turned to glance at me. "No it's not," he said matter-of-factly.
I rolled my eyes at him and took a deep breath as he opened the door. As the men walked in, I controlled myself not to peer over their shoulders to see into the room. But in no time I too was strolling in, and my eyes immediately rested on the man sitting at the far end of the long conference table. Just like I had always thought, he had the kind of vibe that would make him hard to miss, even in a crowd of people. His presence filled the room, and he made eye contact with me. He sat slightly slouched in his chair, but straightened and stood when I walked towards him. He brushed a few stray strands of brown hair away from his face. He wore a simple grey T-shirt under a brown faux-leather jacket with dark-washed jeans and his signature glasses. Various wristbands and bracelets, necklaces, and rings completed his look in a way that only he would be able to pull off.
My mind was still trying to function properly.
This was actually him; none other than the famous Johnny Depp.

Surprisingly, my professional attitude remained in tact as I shook his hand and introduced myself and the rest of my companions. The script-writers in the room had already introduced themselves. Jerry, Depp's ever-present bodyguard, stood a few steps behind his boss.
"It is such an honour to have you here with us," I said to the actor as I sat in the chair closest to his. "All of us here are such big fans of your work." I looked over at Alex and grinned. "Especially me and my younger brother."
Depp nodded. "I appreciate it. Thanks for having me." His voice rolled out deep but smooth. "Can I be honest with you?"
"Of course," I replied.
"Well," he continued, "When my manager sent over the script, I was very skeptical. There are so many cliche pirate stories and books these days, and everyone wants me to play the parts in the movie versions because of my role as Jack Sparrow. But then I read the material, and I was amazed at your style and how you changed up the norm, giving the view of pirates a whole fresh look."
I smiled. I was probably beaming, but I wouldn't expect to react any other way when a legend complimented me on my work. "I really appreciate that," I said.
"You probably know," Depp said as he leaned back in his chair, "that I like being a part of movies that portray a message. And I may not know where the entire story leads... You said there were three books?"
I nodded. "Correct."
"Well, I may not know where the entire story leads, but if the other two parts are as good as the first, you're going to do great."
I looked over at my older brother and smiled. He nodded and gave me a wide grin, obviously proud of me. With my parents gone, his approval (next to my husband's, of course) was very important to me.
"How old are you?" Depp asked, and I turned back to look at him. "You seem very young to be a successful author."
"I am 26 years old. I guess I've had a drive my whole life that this is what I wanted to do. I am just so incredibly blessed and grateful to be able to have the opportunity to see my works on the big screen as well."
The actor smiled. "That's what I like to hear from young people. Kids and young adults these days don't seem to have that drive anymore."
"Thank you." I smiled again (I don't think I had stopped once since entering the room) and Carol handed me a copy of the script. I looked at it for a moment. It always gave me chills to see it in person. Long hours had been spent with the scriptwriters, deciding what from the book we would use and what was okay to cut out. I had seen so many books being ruined by their movies, and I had wanted to make sure everything was perfect.
I broke from my thoughts to look back up at the actor sitting near me.
"How much time do you have for us today?" I asked.
Depp shrugged. "As long as it takes. I just have a dinner date with my wife that I need to make it to."
"And I have one with my husband." I laughed. "I'll be chatting his ear off about today but I'm lucky he's very supportive in what I do."
"How long have you been married?"
"Six years."
"Good for you."
"Thank you."

We continued conversing about the script, and the character that Depp would be portraying. Johnny turned out to be a lot more easygoing and easy to talk to than I expected, and time flew by. Someone came in to take orders for lunch, and when it arrived we talked while we ate. Alex ended up leaving after lunch, as he had his job to complete. But before he left, he made sure to get a photo with the famous actor.
As Alex left the room, Johnny sat back down in his chair and motioned towards the door with his head. "Good kid," he commented. "What does he do here?"
"He's my head accountant," I replied, dabbing at my mouth with a napkin as Carol collected the remains of lunch, clearing the long table. "It's always been his goal to work for a big company. Being head accountant, he's only here for a week every month to look over my other two accountants' work. The rest of the time he runs his grandpa's large factory in Mexico."
Depp raised his eyebrows, obviously impressed. "Wow! You've got quite the team here."
I glanced at the others in attendance and smiled before turning back to the actor. "I really do," I replied. "Everyone here, besides the script-writers, are people I've known for a large majority of my life."
"I think that's great. It's important to have people who you know and know you, as they can point out things other people would be too scared to mention."
I nodded. "I definitely agree."

Our conversation once again continued with the movie, and before I knew it the clock in the conference room showed 4pm. I sent a quick text to Alex, telling him that the legend was leaving and that he should quickly come down before he left. I felt a twinge of sadness; all this time talking with Depp, and he hadn't given us a definite yes or no as to if he would be accepting the role or not. But as much as I would've loved to talk to my favourite actor for another few hours, I had already gotten much more time than even an interviewer would ever receive. I was forever grateful for that.
Johnny Depp stood and prepared to leave, and just then Alex came back into the room.
I dared to inquire, "If it's not too much to ask, Mr. Depp, could we get a group photo with you? Having you here is a pretty big moment for all of us here at Wiebe-Fast Publishing."
The legend was happy to oblige, much to my delight. "I am totally framing a huge print of this photo," I thought as I positioned myself next the Depp, feeling his left arm settle on my shoulders as my right arm touched his waist. Alex was on his other side, and his left arm touched mine on Depp's back. My brother Johny was beside me, his arm on my waist, and Carol was beside Alex, her arm on his waist. I had handed my phone to one of the script-writers, and we all smiled as she took a few photos. Once she was done, I reluctantly removed myself from Depp's side and retrieved my phone. I extended my hand towards the actor.
"Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Depp; I truly appreciate it. I know how busy your schedule must be."
"It was my pleasure," he replied, shaking my hand firmly. He grinned casually. "I had a good time."
He and Jerry made their way to the door. But before they left, Johnny turned back to face me.
"You have my manager's number, right?"
I nodded. "Yes, we do."
"Call him next week Monday, and we can work something out with my schedule."
My brows furrowed slightly, the realization of what he was suggesting making my heart lurch. "Sir, are you saying...?"
He grinned. "Yes. I'd love to be a part of your movie."