"Keep going! Just like that! Now turn around and end it with your best moonwalk!"
I followed MJ's instructions precisely, letting the rhythm carry me across the smooth studio floor. The mirrors on the walls reflected every move, the glide, the spin, the snap of my foot as I landed the pose. I ended with my arms stretched wide, legs crossed dramatically, just as Michael would have done.
"Bravo!" MJ clapped enthusiastically, his laughter echoing through the rehearsal hall. He stepped forward and patted me on the back. "That was perfect."
I inclined my head with a small smile. "Yeah, but it wasn't me. It was all you. Don't get me wrong, I love your style, and I wouldn't mind if the whole theme were yours, but we can't forget that you and I both have loyal fans. We need to give them something that feels like me too."
MJ furrowed his brow thoughtfully, his hand resting on his chin before he nodded slowly. "You're right. This is a tour we're doing together as equals. We should blend our performances. What kind of theme do you usually adopt at your concerts?"
I paused, thinking. The truth was, I didn't have a set theme. My shows were as unpredictable as I was. Sure, there were recurring elements, but each concert was different from others.
"I try to keep every show fresh," I explained. "I don't have one unique theme that runs through them. Sometimes I'm doing backflips in the middle of a song, and sometimes I go completely acoustic, just me, my guitar, and the mic. At the end of the day, I just want my fans to have fun. Something for everyone, you know?"
MJ smiled softly. "You really care about your fans, don't you?"
"Of course I do," I said, chuckling. "Some of them are wild, though. I remember this one girl who flashed me her breasts and asked me to sign right over her heart so she could get my autograph tattooed there."
Michael laughed freely at that mental image. "I've had worse," he said with a grin.
"Probably," I admitted, laughing with him. "But I love them all, especially the crazy ones. Deep down, I know they do it just to get my attention."
His laughter faded into a faint, nostalgic smile. "I used to have that kind of following too. Now…" He trailed off, eyes dimming slightly. "Half the world hates me."
I hesitated. Even after a year of knowing him and now working together, I still wasn't sure how to navigate the topic that I desperately wanted to avoid at all costs. We may have gotten close, but not close enough to test his limits.
"The people who adore you far outnumber the few who can't accept the truth," I said quietly. "I certainly rank among your top fans."
Michael's expression softened. "Is that why you bought the rights to my music for such an absurd sum?"
I shrugged lightly. "Not really. Every catalogue you own deserves that price. If anything, I'd say you're one of the smartest businessmen in music. You knew what your work was worth, and you made sure the world did too."
He inclined his head, his expression thoughtful. "Yeah, but my poor financial decisions forced me to sell them. You were right about that. If I hadn't sold, I'd probably be drowning in debt right now. And if something ever happened to me, my family would be left with nothing but liabilities. I need to manage my finances better so that the fortune I've earned, thanks to you, doesn't get squandered."
The deal between Michael and me had gone smoothly, almost surprisingly so. He had sold me the rights to ATV and Mijac Music, valued at a staggering $1.25 billion. The catalogue included the works of artists like the Beatles, Eminem, Shakira, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, and, of course, MJ himself. It was a musical treasure chest spanning generations.
I hadn't exaggerated when I said that Michael had a brilliant sense for identifying value. He'd acquired these assets long before they were worth billions, seeing potential where others saw risk. Thanks to this deal, he had managed to pay off nearly half a billion in debt while still keeping enough to live a life of luxury most could only dream of.
Before either of us could continue, the studio door creaked open, and Benji walked in, followed closely by Evan. The mirrored walls reflected their hesitant figures as they paused near the doorway.
"I hope we're not disturbing you guys?" Benji asked. "We can come back later if you're busy."
I looked toward Michael, who shook his head with a small smile. "We're done here. That's enough practice for today. You can talk while I change into my regular clothes."
With that, he walked off toward the adjoining dressing room.
I turned to Benji. "What's this about?"
"A report came in from LA about the performance of [New Moon]," he said.
"Ah, right," I said, nodding as I grabbed a water bottle. "I couldn't attend the premiere because of the award season. I hope it still made hundreds of millions?"
Benji grinned. "More than that. It's already grossed over $650 million on a $45 million budget. Analysts predict it'll cross $750 million by the end of its global run."
I let out a low whistle. "That's incredible."
Turning to Evan, I added, "Looks like [Eclipse] will have some huge expectations to meet."
The best part about [Eclipse] is that my contract with Paramount expired with [New Moon] and I had no intention to renew it. From [Eclipse] onwards, we were free to distribute the movie under our banner, i.e., Columbia Pictures. While the film production arm was still Phoenix, the distribution arm had been renamed into it's original iconic name. I had also bought back the rights to distribute the rest of the Marvel movies from Paramount. The sum was steep at $120 million, but totally worth it in my opinion.
"I know," Evan said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And that's what's got me thinking. I already committed to shooting [Breaking Dawn], but now I'm not so sure. Should I focus on that, or the war movie you wanted to do with me? I'm torn."
I thought about it for a moment, weighing the possibilities. "Finish [Breaking Dawn] first," I said finally. "You know my plan to split it into two parts, right? Stick with that. Get it into pre-production and start hiring people. I currently have my concert tour to go to. As for the war movie…"
"War movie?"
We all turned. Michael was standing near the doorway, now dressed casually in dark jeans, a crisp white shirt, and aviator sunglasses perched on his head. His tone carried curiosity more than surprise.
"Yeah," Evan replied for me. "Troy and I have been planning a war film together. Nothing's set in stone yet, not even a script. Honestly, I don't even know what it's about exactly."
"It's about the life of Desmond Doss," I explained, ending the suspense for my brother. "I watched a documentary called [The Conscientious Objector] a few years back, and it stuck with me. The story's unbelievable. This man went to war as a medic and refused to even touch a weapon, even for his self-defense. He was bullied, threatened, even imprisoned, yet he never gave up on his beliefs. In a way, it's not really a war movie, but an anti-war story about conviction and humanity."
Michael hummed thoughtfully.
"I think it would make for an excellent film," I added. "Tobias has already secured the rights and received permission from Doss' family to make it. They had a few conditions, but nothing unreasonable, so I agreed."
MJ suddenly stepped closer, curiosity glinting in his eyes. He placed a hand gently on my shoulder. "I've seen that documentary," he said softly. "It was incredible. Do you think…"
He trailed off, hesitating. I turned fully toward him. "Yes, Michael?"
"Do you think I could play a part in it?" he asked hopefully. "Even if it's just a cameo. I've always wanted to act in a movie like that, something with a message. But most people think I'm not… manly enough for that kind of role."
I glanced at Evan, who looked deep in thought, weighing the idea. I could already picture it: MJ on the film set surrounded by his fans who couldn't believe that the icon was there. A brief cameo wouldn't hurt. It could even be a quiet, meaningful moment that added depth to the story, like a beloved character who died a horrific death.
"Okay," I said before Evan could object. "We'll find a role for you. It won't be a long one, since most of the major parts are for soldiers. That would require extensive military training."
"That's fine," he said quickly, relief flooding his face. "I know I wouldn't make a great soldier. That's just not me. But I'll do anything else."
"It'll be a while before this film even starts production," I reminded him. "Evan's directing the last two [Twilight] movies back-to-back, and you and I are heading out on tour soon. Let's focus on that first."
Michael's eyes sparkled at the mention of it. "I have a feeling this will be the most successful tour of my life," he said with a smile.
He left shortly after, humming under his breath as he walked out, leaving the three of us alone in the rehearsal studio.
The moment the coast was clear, Evan turned to me with a look of disbelief. "You couldn't have let him down gently? As much as I love him and his performances, I just don't think he's right for a war film. Not because I dislike him, it's just that he'd be too much of a distraction."
I raised an eyebrow. "And I wouldn't be?"
"It's different with you," he said firmly. "You're a serious actor. He's not."
I sighed, running a hand through my sweaty hair. He wasn't wrong. I probably shouldn't have promised MJ anything.
"Just shoot the scene," I said after a moment. "If it doesn't fit, or he does terribly, we can cut it during post-production. I'll talk to him myself if it comes to that. But that's a long way off. For now, focus on [Breaking Dawn]. I'll ask Tobias to find a good writer to start work on the Doss script."
Evan nodded in agreement.
"Now, if that's all," I said, stretching my arms above my head, "I'd like to take a shower. That dance session was brutal. Who knew MJ was such a hard taskmaster?"
Benji, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. "There's something else, I'm afraid. Your top executives at Phoenix want a meeting with you. Would tomorrow work?"
"What's it about?" I asked, lowering my arms.
He shrugged. "No idea. But your dad probably does since he'll be here tomorrow as well."
"Fine," I said with a resigned nod. "Schedule it so it doesn't overlap with my next practice with MJ. We've got a big week ahead."
(Break)
I sat at the head of the large conference table, with Dad sitting right beside me. Just as Benji had suggested, he knew about the reason behind this meeting and had filled me on it. I had delegated all business decisions to the team, so I was a little surprised that they still needed my input on something. But after knowing their reasons, it made so much sense.
"Mr. CEO," I said, grinning at the spectacled man sitting opposite me. "Why don't you begin the meeting?"
Sundar Pichai smiled at my form of address, seeing as I had appointed him as the CEO of the collective group of Phoenix. It had taken a lot of internal restructuring to make it so that Chad Hurley, the founder and CEO of YouTube, was not pissed by the changes.
According to the current structure, at the top of the pyramid was Phoenix Holdings, headed by Sundar. Under him were a bunch of subsidiaries, like Phoenix Movies, Phoenix TV, Phoenix Music, YouTube, Netflix, and a few more smaller subsidiaries like Double Negative VFX, and Xylobands.
Among these, YouTube was definitely the biggest one now, with multiple subsidiaries of its own, like TikTok, Spotify, and so on.
Besides leading the organization, Sundar also headed a new subsidiary called Phoenix Tech, which controlled the organization's cloud servers and worked on technological innovations like Android, Chrome, and so on. The tech division also made sure that there was harmony between different subsidiaries and that there was no overlap of work processes.
"We are all here today because I had a plan for which I need Troy's approval," Sundar began.
I motioned for him to explain further.
"Chrome has been a major success," He began, this time addressing me directly. "People everywhere are loving its simplicity and ease of use. Ever since we rolled it out, it has become the fastest-growing browser out of all browsers."
"I can sense a 'but' coming," I noted dryly.
He nodded.
"Despite rolling out the browser, the biggest success is for Google. It was very tedious to change the default search engine in Internet Explorer, but it is very easy on Chrome. Most people are using Google as the default search engine on Chrome. Thanks to us, Google's profit margin has increased a lot. We had created a rudimentary search engine of our own, but it doesn't have the capabilities of an established name like Google, Bing, or Yahoo."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"What I propose is simple: we need to take over a respectable name which people won't mind using over Google. I think we should offer to acquire Yahoo!"
Everyone else had been quietly waiting for my reaction, but all I could do was chuckle at this full-circle moment. I started my investment journey with Yahoo, and if I acquired the company, it would be a little ironic. If anyone found my amusement weird, no one pointed it out.
"Why would they sell us?" I asked after controlling the giggles. "They rejected Microsoft's deal last year."
"And that is exactly why they will accept the deal. They are desperate," Sundar said confidently. "Their last CEO had to step down for refusing Microsoft's deal. The new CEO will think about our deal multiple times, may even haggle for a higher price, but they won't turn us down immediately. I expect the acquisition to be completed within $20 and $25 billion."
It wasn't a bad idea. Ever since I became a billionaire investor, I have started to keep an eye out for major companies and their assets. And Yahoo! had some great assets, like a 40% stake in Alibaba, which alone is a good enough motivator to buy Yahoo!
"Okay," I agreed. "Get me a fair value of their assets that they agree on as well, and if I find it reasonable, I'll allow it. What else?"
Sundar seemed surprised by my quick decision-making but, thankfully, didn't linger on Yahoo! any longer.
He cleared his throat before shifting to the next topic. "We need to keep up with the times. And today, the time is of social media. Facebook has shaken the world of social networking, and if we want to develop our tech side and retain users, we'll need something similar in our portfolio. Facebook is too pricey right now if we also buy Yahoo, so we need something cheaper. Out of all the up-and-coming platforms, Twitter is the best option, and its acquisition costs should be less than a billion."
I mulled it over. In the future, I used Twitter a lot, but mostly for my adult activities. So, to me, it was practically a borderline porn site. Still, I knew that a billion was cheap for what it could become, especially considering how much Elon Musk would pay for its acquisition.
"I think we should develop something in-house," Dad said, speaking for the first time since the meeting began. "We have such an extensive tech team that I'm sure we could come up with something great."
He wasn't wrong. The biggest challenge in creating a social media company wasn't building the platform, it was acquiring users. Even Google had failed with Orkut and Google Plus because they didn't know how to position their product properly. But I had a few insights that could give us an edge.
"Alright," I said finally. "Let's do both. Buy Twitter, and start our own social media platform. I already have an idea to make it stand out from Facebook and Twitter. Instead of text posts, it'll focus on photos and short videos. We'll call it Instagram. To promote it, I'll open an account myself and post personal photos regularly."
The meeting stretched on for a few more hours before everyone else left, leaving me alone with Dad in the quiet boardroom.
"You seem awfully tense there, Dad," I noted. "Everything alright?"
"If you acquire Yahoo, you'll take on a massive debt," he said bluntly. "I know it looks good on paper, but think about it carefully."
I studied him for a moment before replying, "I sold my short positions this month—the ones I've been holding for a while—so I've got a lot of cash sitting in my account."
Dad frowned. "How much are we talking about?"
I shrugged. "I'm not considered the richest person in the world because my holdings are private, but if I went public, I'd definitely top the list."
That was precisely why I didn't want my company to go public. The moment they did, I'd become the richest person alive, something I didn't need. After briefly being ranked fourth-richest, my standing had quietly slipped over the past few months, but surged again after Andrew closed out my final short positions. This past month alone, I'd earned upwards of $13 billion post-tax, more than enough to buy a controlling share in Yahoo.
And that didn't even include my multi-billion-dollar funds parked safely in stocks like Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, and Oracle. I could always pledge them if I needed more liquidity.
And if everything else failed, there was always my secret venture, one that nobody knew about. Not Andrew, my parents, Evan, not even Scarlett. Because if the knowledge got out, it could be a little risky for me.
____________________
AN: Check out my second story, 'Swimmer to Superstar (A Hollywood SI)', which is now publicly available.
Link: www(dot)fablefic(dot)com