Michael Eisner was breathing heavily, filled with impatience as he looked over Lux Animation’s numbers, seething with envy. The deal with Warner had already been revealed, and it made Michael realize that dealing with the kid, Carson, was no easy task. The public opinion, especially in the North Ameri market, sided with him. The big pyers at the top weren’t going to destabilize the position of a young man who embodied the Ameri image, the Ameri success story. It was a great image—seeing a man triumph because of his quality and the way he lived his life.

  -It’s pletely disappointing that I have a board of directors who only know how to rest on their urels. Is it that difficult to pete with a kid and his toy pany? We’ve been making children's films for 70 years, and this pany has been around for less than four, yet they’re able to put out two films a year. Does everything have to be this way?- He shouted, starting low and building to a roar, the raw frustration of a mairely overtaken by despair. Every point Lux Animation gained felt like a crushi to him... eveock wasn’t rebounding, and a series of problems tinued piling up.

  First, the iment hadn’t geed enough profit. Sed, they were stantly criticized for their ck of sistent hits. Meanwhile, the films from Lux Animation were magnifit and fatally attractive to children and the public alike. Their figures were good, green, and full of success. For now, staying afloat seemed more and more like an insurmountable task.

  -You o breathe and stay calm. It’s better to make good deals with new panies, and emerging studios, and create solid stories,- said the man in gsses, pany president Michael Ovitz, who saromising future. They had secured a few good deals with panies establishing their ventures.

  -That’s not the point. Mediocrity is breathing down our necks. I fear that if we don’t discipline people forcefully, they’ll just keep resting on their urels, which is something we ’t afford.- Michael responded.

  -There’s no use in putting pressure on ourselves… or on our employees. We’ve got a successful pany. The ABC franchise is just starting to adapt, but o’s up and running, we’ll regain ground, and the pany will stabilize.- Michael Ovitz remarked, seeing a future ahead, though the mergers and acquisitions were still a stant headache.

  -We have the animated series Les Misérables, along with The Adventures of Prometheus, and of course, Tarzan, not to mention the Christmas special for The Little Mermaid.- Ovitz added.

  -That’s the thing. In four years of making films, they’ve mao release ten. At that pace, maybe they’ll fail, maybe they’ll mess up. But the people w at that pany are so brilliant that I fear they could keep the whole enterprise running on the success of just o, like Ice Age.- Michael Eisner said.

  -And poag their employees is difficult. They’ve built a sense of pany loyalty that’s hard to find these days. They stick together as one,- Ovitz noted, recalling his failed attempt to lure someone over. Something still puzzled him; the hours in that office were supposed to be strict, always focused on ing up projects quickly, but how they mao work as they did remained a mystery.

  They carried on with their work, pletely disanized, before eventually heading to the board meeting with the shareholders. This time, Michael Ovitz couldn’t resign. The state of the merger wasn’t good, and stepping down would cause a domino effect. Appearances were the first thing to be sidered.

  ***

  Anne was pletely ecstatic, utterly overjoyed. The profits from the Ice Age had e in, leaving their figures glowing in the green. After subtrag costs and distribution expehe success totaled 460 million—a simply satisfyi.

  -I think we finally say we’re in good financial health,- Anne said, following the advice of her atants. She po stash the money in the bank and take out loans if necessary. Now that the pany was starting to turn a profit, it was better to fihrough debt rather than their resources, something they could now afford to do.

  -That’s right. We’ll pay off the debt early with the earnings from The Musi and Toy Story,- Billy remarked, fident that the debt could be paid off with those successes. The rest would be ied in shares, panies, and perhaps savings—enough to sustain the pany for as long as needed.

  Billy gnced up as Anhe financial statements in her hands. They’d moved from a good standing to plete stability. The pany was following a path to stardom. Now they were in a frenzy, reizing The Musi’s success as a victory far beyond the ordinary.

  -My Christmas bonus was amazing... and thank you for the jewelry. It was such a sweet gesture,- Anne said, blushing slightly.

  -You deserve it. Your birthday is ing up, and I’ve got something specially prepared for you. I sidered many things that might make you happy, but in the end, I settled ohing. I have decided that you take five days of vacation with me in Italy. Monica will take us to the most beautiful pces, and maybe we’ll visit Paris too,- Billy said, ying the tickets oable. Everything erfect, and even the mention of Monica didn’t stop his heart from beating like a drum, like a mae that had to keep going. It was a fantasy of sorts, ohat his grandmother had filled him with—those dreams that guaranteed a direct path to disappoi.

  It was all set. Monica walked through the door, and she felt like the odd o. She didn’t have that sweet appeara 30, they were so different. One was charming, powerful, and had a charisma that made everything perfect. What a tradi. They were so different. her her slender legs nor her stunning body, which drew looks of desire everywhere she went, nor her long, shiny bck hair... even starting to exercise didn’t make her feel entirely tent with herself.

  -Anne, darling, my dear Anne,- said Monica, greeting her warmly.

  -I brought a lot of beautiful clothes. I have a few that would fit you perfectly,- Monica said, shooting Billy a gnce, signaling him to leave and give the two women some privacy.

  ...

  After leaving the meeting, Billy approved two series. One called telism was set in the Roman Empire—raw, visceral, full of suspense, and magnifit in a way that couldn’t be doh their series for children. The other was a heartwarming story about a family moving from sunny Miami Beach to cold North Dakota, following an animator’s jourhrough the world of hockey. The script was outstanding, and the drawings were spectacur.

  The Fradem Family was simply a space where these people could create magnifit stories. The artwork needed a lot of work, and it didn’t yet vey its message through imagery. Billy sat down with Lucas Auster, and they produced their best work iertai. Billy dedicated himself to the entire graphic aspeow creating was easier. He took note of animated series that had a good blend of animation styles—a mix of ic book art and cartoonish touches, simir to the drawings of Marvel or Justice League.

  -What do you think?- Billy asked, showing Lucas a reworked sketch that seemed just right. In Lucas’s eyes, it was simply brilliant to see his series beginning to take shape, different, bright, and fasating, filling the gaps and being something tangible, close, and visible.

  -Wow... you've taken this to a whole new level,- Lucas Auster said, watg how the essence of his series had been strengthened, how the i i had been pletely reinforced. Seeing it take form was a revetion. Now, with a good script, everything fell into pce, with different shots, ses, and more life breathed into it. But the script was incredibly long, and Lucas had written a masterpiece throughout 37 episodes.

  -For now, I'll work on a few sketches, but you o hahe steps—the storylihat give it logid coherence,- Billy said, crafting the first ses, making sense of the others, and framing the characteristics for a truly pelling plot.

  ...