new snippet
Instead of finishing anything I'm just continuing a different fic. part of my post-canon Merrily We Roll Along reconciliation idea:
Jerome calls him early.
“You’re not going to like this,” his voice rings tinnily over the landline.
“Jerome, it’s six in the morning, I wouldn’t like it if you told me Paramount was giving me a blank check.”
“I made that call three weeks ago, you were there.”
“Very funny. What’s going on?”
“You’re not going to like this,” Jerome repeats himself, then takes a breath like he’s gearing up to plunge into an over-chlorinated pool, “Charley Kringas is doing Take a Left.”
Frank’s brain whites out for a good 10 seconds. When he comes back to himself, Jerome is asking if he’s okay on the other end.
“I don’t understand,” he manages to choke out. There had never exactly been a lawsuit the way Charley had joked during that godawful interview, but later, after the dust had settled and he had picked his heart off the floor, he’d had Jerome send over NDAs and contracts and an agreement that Charley couldn’t use anything they had started but not finished making together. Franklin Shepard Inc., in the flesh. Charley had signed every single one without putting up a fight, and Frank’s pretty sure that had hurt worse than anything Charley had ever said to him.
“It’s not a musical, and it’s even got a different name, but it’s the same show. Legally, all the parts being used are his. Look, your name won’t be attached to it, so you don’t have to worry about it reflecting badly if it flops, but I just thought I’d give you a heads up.”
“A heads up,” Frank is pretty sure he’s no longer breathing. He’s no longer residing in his own body. He’s just a voice, a voice and one single thought playing on loop: your name won’t be attached to it.
“I’ll let you go back to sleep.” Dial tone.
Frank does not go back to sleep.
“Fuck,” he says, with feeling. Then he rolls out of bed and almost brains himself on his bedside table.
“Fuck,” he repeats, then gets dressed, shaves, and boards the next flight to New York City.
