When one ventures into the world of film and television, you never know what to expect. This especially applied to billionaire Lance Peterson. He was the owner of his production company, Peterson Productions. He proudly owned it going on fifteen years, and it was very successful, although it wasn't without it's faults every now and then.
Originally working for much larger company called Bill Johnson Studios, Lance decided to start his own studio out of spite because he was fired from BJS. You guessed it, he was that kind of person. However, if you really look into his backstory and everything, it's hard to blame him.
Lance pulled up the studio and parked his car. He then got out of the car and walked through the entrance, greeting the security guard along the way. He entered the building and saw his workers and actors doing their thing. He was quite proud of them.
"I love my company." Lance said with a big smile on his face.
Lance shot a wave at everybody before entering his office. He sat down and began to reminisce about the past.
[Flashback to fifteen years ago]
Bill Johnson was the owner of Bill Johnson Studios. He was strong, hard-working, and didn't take crap from anybody. Here, he was watching over everything making sure everything was going right.
"I'm looking for perfection, people! I don't want any down time!" Bill announced through a megaphone.
After that, Lance, who was working a casting agent, brought an actor that could possibly be used for an upcoming project.
"Mr. Johnson, I brought in another actor. I feel we could hire him to be in one of our upcoming TV shows. What do you think?" Lance asked.
"What do I think? I think you've gone down the gutter, Lance!" Bill said, unimpressed.
Upon hearing those words, Lance became sad. "What do you mean, sir?"
"I mean that we can't hire him. He looks like an axe murderer. Nobody would want to see him perform on anything, I'm sorry." Bill said.
Highly offended, the actor immediately stormed out of the studio in a huff. He was angry.
"Great, he's the fourth actor who's left this week." Lance mused.
"Lance, come with me please. I need to talk to you in my office." Bill said.
"Okay." Lance said, confused.
Bill and Lance walked to the former's office and he shut the door before sitting down at his desk.
"Look, don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way or anything. You're very good at your job, don't get me wrong, it's just that, lately, you've been, well...slacking." Bill said.
Lance titled his head. "Slacking? What do you mean I've been slacking?"
"I don't know, I guess you've just been not as productive as you used to be." Bill said.
"Sir, with all due respect, I can assure you that you're wrong. I can improve. Anyone can as long as they put in the time and effort to actually do so." Lance said.
"Yeah, see, that's the problem. Sure, anyone can improve, but at my studio, that's not good enough. You have to give much more than that. And frankly, you don't fit that description at all." Bill said.
Lance was starting to become crushed at what his boss was telling him. "So, that means...?"
"I hate to do this to you, Lance, but you're fired." Bill said very straightforward.
All of the sudden, Lance felt like he had been hit with a ton of bricks. Never in a million years he thought he would be let go like this. Ever.
"F-fired?"
"Goodbye, Lance. Have a nice life." Bill said.
Defeated, Lance left the studio and stopped in the middle of the road. He couldn't help but break down and cry. He was feeling betrayed. How could his boss to this to him? It was the longest job he ever worked at and now he was fired. The world was making him the price now, and there was no going back.
[Present]
Lance scowled at the memory. But now that he was his own boss, he made sure to treat his workers and the actors right. No funny business.
"I hate that Bill Johnson. With a passion. I hope he's dead and rotting in hell, that bastard." Lance said out loud.
Outside the studio, Will, Sam, and Johnny, pulled up to the entrance via their bicycles.
"What can I do for you boys?" The security guard asked.
"We're here to see our dad, Phil." Will said.
Phil pressed a button on his post to open the gates. "Go right ahead!"
"Thanks." Will said.
The triplets rode through the entrance and parked their bikes at the bike rack. They then entered the studio and went up to Lance's office. Will knocked on the door.
"Come on in!" Lance called from the inside.
The triplets entered the office, where they're father was happy to see them.
"Ah, my sons! I'm so happy to see you!" Lance said, ecstatic. He hugged his sons tightly before letting go.
"It's nice to see you, too, Dad." Will said.
"What are those white slips of paper in your backpacks?" Lance asked, curious.
"We got detention." Sam responded.
Lance was shocked. "WHAT?! DETENTION?!"
"See for yourself." Johnny said, handing over the slips.
Lance took a good look at the slips. "You kids assaulted another student?"
"Yeah." Will said, sighing.
"I told you before not to mess with other kids! It'll get you in trouble, and you got detention for it. Go figure." Lance said.
"Are you gonna ground us?" Sam asked.
"Or knock our heads together?" Johnny asked.
"No, sons, I'm gonna do any of those things. What good will it do you?" Lance mused.
"We know you're disappointed in us. We messed up. Big time." Will said.
"Look, we'll talk about this later. In the meantime, are you guys hungry?" Lance asked.
"Yeah, I could eat." Sam said.
"Same." Johnny said.
"Same." Will said.
"Alright. I happen to get off work right now, so we'll go get something to eat." Lance said.
During this time, Lance clocked out of his eight-hour shift. After that, he and his sons left the studio.
"Grab your bikes and put them in the trunk of my car." Lance said.
Will, Sam, and Johnny grabbed their bicycles and loaded them into the trunk of Lance's car. Then, the Petersons got in the car and drove off.
"What do you want to eat?" Lance asked.
"For some reason, I'm craving wings." Will said.
"Mmmm, wings sound good." Sam said.
"I agree." Johnny said.
"Wings it is then! Oh, by the way, I forgot to ask, how was school?" Lance asked.
"Other than us getting detention, it was pretty good." Will said.
"That's good. Did you apologize to that student you beat up?" Lance asked.
"No, Dad, we didn't." Sam said.
"Why not?" Lance asked, perplexed.
"Because we didn't wanna start anything else. Besides, he wouldn't have forgiven us anyway." Johnny said.
"That's no excuse. You should always apologize to someone when you do them wrong, no matter what." Lance said.
"Like when Bill Johnson fired you from his studio." Will said.
"Exactly!" Lance said.
The Petersons arrived at their favorite chicken wing restaurant. They got out of the car and entered the building. They ordered a total of twenty-four wings total, six for each. After waiting ten minutes, they grabbed their order and sat down at a table to eat.
"So tell me, this kid you beat up, what's his name?" Lance asked.
"Jordan Monroe." Will said.
"I see. Is he popular?" Lance asked.
"Not at all. In fact, he's kind of a loser." Sam said.
"Sam, that's not nice. You know better than that." Lance said in a warning tone.
"But it's true, Dad. He doesn't have any friends whatsoever." Johnny said.
"It's like he won't even make an effort to try, if you know what I mean." Will said.
"Whatever he does is none of our business. Let's just leave it at that." Lance said.
"Okay, Dad." Sam said.
"I do want you boys to apologize to Jordan next time you see him, though." Lance said.
"But why? It won't do us any good." Johnny complained.
"I don't care. Either apologize to him or you're grounded. Do you understand?" Lance asked sternly.
The triplets reluctantly gave in.
"Okay, Dad, we'll do what you say." Will said with a sigh.
"Good! I'm very proud!" Lance said, grinning.
After the Petersons finished their wings, they left the restaurant, got in the car, and drove away.