Invisible Threads--Chapter 08

Writer's Note: Please read the previous chapters and prologue of Invisible Threads before reading this.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Al didn't usually spend a lot of time thinking about magicians. Magicians were like white bread. Something you always needed on the table but never built a meal around.

Jim Harriman was supposed to change that. With his stage presence and looks, he could clearly capture hearts. She made a note. Harriman needs to be single. No love interest. His backstory was clearly fabricated, but as long as the mother was on board, they could defend it.

He told jokes during his act which could be more of a focus. If they could nudge him from a magician who told jokes into the genre of a comedian/magician that might put him over the top. With 70% of their viewership being women, this guy would sell.

But then along came Gary Richardson. His looks could reach average if he would dress a bit sharper, stand up straighter, and carry himself with more poise. His voice was adequate if he would learn to quit looking at the floor when he spoke. He would already be gone and out of her hair if that damn intern hadn't reinvented him on the fly and made him so interesting.

His backstory appeared rock solid. His father had died when he was young. They needed more details on that. The intern's reports indicated that he freely talks about having been under a psychiatrist's care. The neighborhood where he grew up is lower working class, which would resonate. And the nerd thing is new.

So, the concept for the season had to change. If they didn't control it, the season would boil down to a duel of form versus substance. And that is exactly where she did not want it to go. If the audience understands that dichotomy, then they would root for substance just to make themselves feel less shallow. So, Jim Harriman needed one trick that was as good as Richardson's.

She picked up the phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found Ed-TM. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hi Al. What do you need?" He didn't mention that she was calling him after 9pm. Working hours were twenty-four per day.

"Hi Ed. I need for you to get with Jim Harriman and tell him to find a trick where he never touches the cards or whatever."

"You want him to come up with a Richardson trick."

"Exactly. It doesn't have to be large or a centerpiece of his act but just enough to show that he's in the same league."

"What if he can't?"

"Then that will totally change how we plan out the season and I'll have to redo a bunch of work."

"Got it. I'll give him a call.

Ed had been standing in boxer shorts in front of the refrigerator debating with himself whether it was too late to rustle up a snack. It was definitely too late to be drinking coffee, but the steaming cup was already sitting next to his computer. The call derailed his sandwich plans.

He sat down, took a sip of coffee and pulled up the contestant contact list. If it was 9:30 in California, it was after midnight on the East Coast. But he punched in the number regardless.

Harriman answered immediately. "Hello?"

"Hi Jim, the is Ed from Superstar. Sorry about the hour but we're kind of working around the clock here."

"No problem. I was up working on the act."

"I don't doubt it. Were you able to see Gary Richardson's act in Nashville?"

"I'm not sure. Which one was it?"

"If you're asking that, then you didn't see it."

"It was pretty memorable, huh?"

"Very memorable." He waited. People remembered things better if they came to conclusions themselves.

"So, he's my main competition."

"He's really your only competition."

"Okay,"

"If I send you some videos of him doing his trick, do you think you can duplicate it?"

"No problem. If you let me study a video of anyone's trick, I can recreate it and make it better."

"Good. I'll send you a link to his folder on the sharepoint. Don't make it too flagrant but get something similar built into your act." He paused a moment for emphasis. "The next part is important."

"I'm listening."

"Don't send me any texts, e-mails, or messages about this. Nothing in writing. If you need to discuss it, call me."

"Got it."

"Try and get some sleep."

"I'll sleep when the act is perfect."

"Attaboy."

They hung up.

Ed thought for a moment about the ethics of what he had just done. Luckily, he had been in Hollywood long enough to not lose any sleep over it. He looked up at the clock and at the list of things he had to get done before he went to sleep. A bologna sandwich was a good idea. Hopefully, he wasn't out of mustard.