Sky.
"It didn't even crack the top ten."
Those are the dreaded words Ari mutters the Monday after Vince's latest indie flick opens to dismal reviews and a disastrous box office. Filming Look Before You Jump had been a labor of love, one that Vince had devoted much of the past two years to after he had fallen in love with the script at Sundance. Some mouthy kid from Brooklyn had snuck into the Cartier gifting suite just to pass along the screenplay, and Vince being Vince, he had handed off to Eric along with the guy's contact information. Eric hadn't been completely convinced that it was going to be the hit that Vince thought it was, but his best friend hadn't been that excited about his career since Medellin flopped.
Eric looks down at his hands before peering up at the super agent. Even with his cushy digs, he could see the hustler in Ari from when he had first signed Vince. Although his career had been rising then, landing Vince and a handful of superstars had put him on the map. Now that he was the head of the largest agency in the nation, Ari was more boardroom than on-set these days. However, he always made an exception for Vince, and that was why he was having this meeting himself personally.
"Alright, Ari, what do we do?"
Panic flashes across Vince's face when he hears Eric ask for advice. He was always so confident and sure of their next move, or at least that's what he let Vince believe. To hear him actually voice his concern worried Vince. Sure, he could tell when E was worrying, they all could. However, Eric was good at brushing it off.
Sitting behind his modern desk, Ari tries to remain composed. Both he and Eric had tried to convince that this film was a mistake but it was ultimately his call. Once a major studio gave him backing, there wasn't much they could do to stop it. Ari hadn't even had to make a deal. One call to a studio head who'd loved his work on Gatsby and the film got the green light. "I don't know."
Vince gasps audibly, a rarity for him. He never worries unless it's about Eric but now that both of them have no idea what to do, he knows he has a problem. He's just about to hang his head and accept that maybe he really fucked up this time when Eric slams his hands down on the coffee table. "Uh uh, no fucking way, Ari!" Eric shouted angrily. "That's not what I want to hear. You are his agent and you better come up with a plan or we will go elsewhere. And don't say that no one else wants Vince because I am sure that Adam Davies would be more than happy to take him on as a client, not to manage that chick from CAA that was sniffing around a few weeks ago."
The prospect of losing Vince still scares Ari just enough that he nods seriously at Eric. "Fine, Pizza Boy, you wanna play hardball?" he shoots at E. "If you can find a studio that is willing to back Vince after this, I will make sure to get your boy whatever he wants."
Vince is pacing now, making a worn path behind the couch. Eric has to take the lead on this because he doesn't know what to do. Every time he thinks he does, he ends up being wrong. He feels stupid and as codependent as Kristen said he was all those years ago. Or was it Sloan? He can never remember.
"I can get Vince a project at Dreamworks." Eric says it as a statement of fact, not as a goal. Vince stops dead in his tracks. His eyes are so blue when he looks down at Eric hopefully, imploring him to just promise that everything is going to be okay as long as they still have each other. Eric nods slightly, a silent vow that he will make it happen. "I read something a few weeks ago. One of their VPs is on our client roster. He likes Vince. I can get the deal."
Ari rubs his hands hungrily. "Now we're talking."
"No," Vince declares. Both Eric and Ari look at their client. "No, Ari, I don't want you in on this deal. E found the project and he is going to make the deal. You didn't think I had any prospects, did you? When did you quit believing in me, Ari? I thought you learned your lesson when I fired you. I thought you understood."
"I did, Vinny," Ari replies. He's tired and his age shows just a little when he rubs his brow wearily. "I told you that I didn't know what to do. I didn't. It's bad this time, like even worse than Medellin bad. I can't just put you in a shit movie, but I'm not fully confident that I can land you a huge deal. I don't want to promise you when I can't deliver. You matter more than that."
Vince starts to tell him he doesn't care when Eric reaches up and covers his hand. "Thank you, Ari," Eric answers for them both. "We appreciate the honesty. I want to work with you on this deal because I think we can get what's best for Vince. Even if we are on the opposite side about everything else, we both want that." Ari nods in agreement as E looks up at Vince. "You okay with that?"
"Whatever you think, E," he shrugs. "I trust you."
They spend the next hour hatching a plan and walk out of the agency feeling a lot better than when they went in. Vince has accepted that his pet project is a disaster but that there is a silver lining around the corner. Ari has agreed to let Eric be the point person on the deal and to follow his lead for once rather than undermining him at every turn. And Eric has let Vince slip his hand in his in public for the first time because it's just time. Vince trusts him and that's all he needs to believe that everything is going to be just fine.
