[Morning]
Alex moved quietly through the bedroom with Asher in his arms, walking like he was stealing treasure from a museum. Asher was awake, staring up at him with big wide eyes, while Alex kept looking back to make sure nobody caught them.
He whispered, "Don't make noise, buddy. This is a secret mission."
Asher made a tiny sound.
Alex froze in the hallway and looked down at him. "Bro, I said secret. You already snitching on me?"
Asher kicked his little legs like he had no respect for the plan.
Alex carried him up to the roof and laid him carefully on the long couch. He put pillows around him, then sat on the floor right in front of him like this was the most important meeting of his life.
He leaned closer and said, "Alright, son. Today we are learning one very important word."
Asher blinked at him.
Alex smiled. "Dada."
Asher stared at him and sucked on his tiny fist.
Alex nodded slowly. "Okay, that was not dada, but I respect the confidence."
He pointed at himself and spoke slowly. "Da. Da. Dada. That's me. Your dad. The guy who buys diapers in bulk and still cries when you grab his finger."
Asher waved one hand in the air and made a random baby noise.
Alex gasped softly. "That sounded almost like dada. I'm counting that because this family needs a win."
Asher blew a spit bubble.
Alex wiped his cheek and looked offended. "You spit on your teacher. That is very rude, young man."
Asher smiled. "Aaiiee!"
Alex tried not to laugh, then leaned even closer. "Listen, your mom is going to teach you mama all day. She has an unfair advantage because she carried you and looks beautiful even when tired. And I saw Max sneaking you into her room and teaching you to say Max as your first word. So we have to work harder."
Asher kicked again and made another little sound.
Alex's eyes widened. "Was that da? Did you say da?"
Asher made the same sound again, then sneezed.
Alex sat back and sighed. "You sneezed. I got excited over a sneeze."
He looked around the empty rooftop, then back at his son. "This is embarrassing for both of us."
Asher smiled at him again, all gums and happiness.
Alex softened at once. He rested his arms on the edge of the couch and looked at him with a small smile. "You know what, take your time. Say mama first if you want. Or Max. I'll survive."
Asher made a tiny sound that sounded nothing like any real word.
Alex nodded like it meant something deep. "Yeah, exactly. Dada is still on the table."
...
[Noon]
Noon gave Max the perfect opening.
Asher was awake, and Max decided this was clearly a sign from the universe. She carried him into her room like she was sneaking away with royal treasure, then shut the door gently with her foot.
She placed him in the middle of her bed and surrounded him with pillows. Asher stared up at her with wide eyes, chewing on his tiny fist like he had been waiting for an important business meeting.
Max sat cross-legged in front of him and pointed at herself. "Alright, Wilson Junior, we need to handle something before your father gets too confident. I don't know what he has been teaching you, but knowing Moneybags, he is definitely trying to make dada happen first."
Asher kicked both legs and made a small happy sound.
Max nodded like he had given a full answer. "Exactly, you understand the danger. Your dad already has money, power, movie awards, and perfect hair on stressful days. He does not need the first word too."
Asher reached for his sock and pulled at it with serious focus.
Max gently moved his hand away and leaned closer. "Sir, please respect the lesson plan. Socks are fun, but making your father jealous is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Asher blinked at her, then blew a tiny spit bubble.
Max wiped his chin with a tissue and sighed. "Really now? C'mon, focus."
She smiled and tapped her chest again. "Now listen carefully. The word is Max. It is short, strong, and perfect for yelling across a mansion when you need snacks, cuddles, or protection from boring adults."
Asher waved one hand and made a noise that sounded close to a sneeze.
Max narrowed her eyes with deep suspicion. "That better not be your first attempt at sarcasm, because I will be proud and offended at the same time."
Asher squealed, kicked harder, and made a sound that came out almost like "Maaa," before slapping the blanket with both hands.
Max froze completely. Her eyes went wide, and her voice dropped into a whisper. "Do that again, tiny legend. Give me one clean Max, and I will make sure your dad hears about it forever."
She quickly took out her phone to record the moment, but sadly...
Asher smiled, drooled, and went back to chewing his fist.
Max fell back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling. "You're really good, mister. Giving me a ray of hope before snatching it away. But it's too early for you to test my patience because I have unlimited patience. Hehe."
She sat up again and took out a big photo of her with her name written below in bold letters from under one of the pillows. She held it before him.
"Say, Max... M-A-X. Max."
She kept repeating her name over and over again like a parrot.
....
[Meanwhile] [Titan HQ]
Alex sat deep in one of the lounge chairs inside Titan HQ's executive lounge, one leg crossed over the other, a thick stack of reports resting against his knee. The lounge looked more relaxed than his office, with leather couches, glass tables, framed movie posters, and a wide view of the studio lot below, although the amount of paperwork on the table made it feel like a war room wearing expensive perfume.
Rachel sat on his left with a tablet in her hand. Jane sat on his right with two folders balanced on her lap, her pen moving every few seconds as Alex read through each department update.
Alex turned a page and glanced at the ratings chart. "Nikki Heat season two is sitting between twelve and seventeen million live viewers per episode."
Jane nodded, already prepared with the breakdown. "That is a big jump from season one, which hovered between five and ten million depending on the episode. The finale pushed close to seventeen, and delayed viewership is adding even more."
Alex leaned back, reading the audience retention numbers with quiet satisfaction. "Looks like Megan really nailed the character of Nikki Heat, huh?"
Jane smiled, tapping her pen once against the folder. "She stumbled a bit in the first season because it was her big break, and you could see her trying too hard in some scenes. In season two, she stopped acting like someone who had been given a chance and started acting like the lead of the show."
Rachel glanced at one of the pages on her tablet. "Audience comments mention her confidence more than anything else. Viewers are buying her as a detective now, which they were still debating last season."
Alex nodded slowly and closed the report halfway. "Good, that means she earned the jump herself instead of being carried by the brand."
Jane flipped to the renewal section and looked at him. "Do you want to renew it for a third season, or should we hold until the full international numbers land?"
Alex rubbed his thumb across the edge of the page while thinking. "That depends on Castle's script. Check with him and see whether the story is worth another season. I do not want us dragging the show forward just because the ratings look pretty."
Jane wrote that down quickly. "You want final approval after Castle submits the outline?"
Alex shook his head and passed the report back to her. "I trust your read on this one, so I leave the decision to you. If the script has teeth, renew it. If Castle is coasting, tell him to sharpen it before we put another dollar behind it."
Jane looked up, clearly pleased by the trust even though she tried to hide it behind professionalism. "Understood, I will review it personally and speak with him."
Alex pointed at her with the folder before setting it down. "Also, when you see Megan, tell her I said good job. And I'm looking forward to working with her again in the next MCU movie."
Jane's smile widened a little. "She will pretend to be casual about it, then probably cry in her trailer."
Next, she handed him the modeling report.
Titan's modeling division had become one of the company's strangest success stories, mostly because Alex had treated it like a talent battlefield instead of a beauty parade. Every campaign had numbers attached, every face had performance data, and every contract had expectations that could bruise egos fast.
Alex opened the folder and studied the rankings. "The modeling sector is still climbing across domestic and international campaigns."
Rachel crossed one leg over the other and swiped through the matching digital report. "It is more than climbing. The internal competition is getting vicious, and the newer talent is pushing the older names harder than expected."
Jane added, "Max stepping away changed the entire ranking structure. Her maternity break opened the top lane, and Angela White took it before anyone else had time to breathe."
Alex looked at the chart, where Angela's name sat cleanly at number one across several major categories. Brand visibility, campaign conversion, international engagement, magazine pull, and social buzz were all marked in green.
Alex smiled faintly. "Angela took the crown that fast?"
Jane nodded. "She did. The perfume campaign overperformed by thirty-two percent, her superhero streetwear shoot went viral in Europe, and Titan's bridal wear shoot gave the brand a more mature edge. She is also terrifyingly disciplined on set."
Rachel gave a quiet hum. "She is smart enough to know this is her window, and she is taking full advantage of it."
Alex flipped through the photo samples attached to the report, then stopped on one from the Titan Noir campaign. Angela stood under rain-slick lighting in a black coat with a silver Titan pin at her collar, looking like she had walked out of a spy movie and stolen the plot on the way.
Alex nodded once. "That is a strong image."
Jane leaned slightly closer to see which one he meant. "That shot is already being requested by three magazines. The photographer said Angela barely needed direction once she understood the tone."
Rachel glanced toward Alex. "The sector wants to know whether you plan to push her as Max's temporary replacement or let the rankings stay organic."
Alex closed the folder and looked between them. "Do not call her Max's replacement anywhere outside this room. Max is Max, and nobody can replace her. Angela got her own style and image. Let's focus on that."
The rest of the meeting was all about new projects like animated series for DC and Marvel. Then, there was a talk about Spawn and Hellboy movies or animated adaptations. Alex wanted to hold it for a few more years before doing the adaptations.
Next was the release date of Supergirl.
Alex planned to release the movie on Christmas.
Then came AMD and Nvidia. Their stocks are tanking, and soon, Titan is going to swallow them. According to Rachel, she planned to take everything by late 2009.
Titan's own consoles and GPU development were going really well. Still, they are years away from creating the final product since creating an architecture from scratch isn't a little matter. Even if Alex pours more money and hires another hundred techs and devs, it won't go any faster than now. According to the data, the final products will be ready by 2010-2011.
The next report was on the Mass Effect game. The devs have finally created two playable campaigns and character interaction.
'Nice. Alright, time to check it out.' Alex closed the report and stood up.
"Alright, I'm done for today. Send the rest to my house. Right now, I'm gonna hit the game sector."
==
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