While Anna made plans, I went to my office to see if there was any news about the show. Grabbing the phone, I dialed Harold. “Hey, Harry. Do you have good news for me? Have we been picked up for a full season yet? ’Cause I’d love to get paid. Or maybe you’ve heard about an earlier start? I’ve kind of had to hide the delay from my wife, so if we could get this going in September or October, you’d be making my life a hell of a lot easier.” I listened for Anna, but she was downstairs on her cell phone talking to Kiera, or was last time I saw her.

Harold’s voice was crisp and professional. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hancock, unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be making your life any easier.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

Harold paused a moment, then said, “First off, I want to thank you for your time and energy with this project. Your enthusiasm and desire to make the show a success was evident in everything you did.”

“Um, okay,” I said, scratching my head. “Thanks for the kudos, but what’s going on? You almost sound like you’re saying goodbye. You leaving me, Harold?”

His voice still stiff, he continued on like he was a recording and not an actual person. “Regretfully, LMF and the creator have decided to…part ways. The show is being shelved as all parties involved move on to other projects, and all the cast members are being released from their contracts. I’m very sorry, but the few episodes that were filmed will most likely never be shown.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Harold?” I suddenly felt like I was back in school and the teacher was explaining a subject that was so pitifully easy that everyone could do it. Everyone but me. And just like at school, I felt like I was missing something that should be obvious. It only confused me even more.

Harold let out a frustrated grunt, similar to my schoolteachers when they had to “dumb down” something so I could learn it. “Acing It has been cancelled, Griffin. Thank you for your time and energy, but your services are no longer needed.”

Like a massive earthquake had just struck the city, I lost the ability to stand. Luckily for me, a nearby couch was close. I landed on it with a thud. “What?” I whispered, stupefied. “Cancelled? It can’t be cancelled, it hasn’t even been aired yet. What you’re saying doesn’t make sense…”

“Yes, well, to put it bluntly, the studio and the creator have decided that it is no longer worth their time and energy, and ultimately, it’s their choice.”

“But…how can they decide that before it airs? It’s going to be huge, they just have to stick it out!” I was screeching into the phone now, but my tone didn’t alter Harold’s.

“I’m very sorry to have to tell you this. I was…very hopeful about this one.” He said it like he did this all the time. I didn’t. This show was all I had.

“This is bullshit!” Standing up, I began pacing. “We’ll go somewhere else, somewhere where the people have more vision.”

“We can’t, Mr. Hancock.”

“Why the fuck can’t we?” I yelled into the phone.

Harold sighed. “The show doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to the creator, and he’s decided that he wants to go in a different direction. And besides…no one else wanted the show. LMF was our only prospect.”

I had no clever retort to that. No flash of brilliance to make this all pan out. All I had was a knot of indigestion roiling in my belly, making me feel like I was going to throw up. “But…I gave up everything for this…” I whispered. What the fuck was I going to tell Anna?

Harold sniffed. “Yes, that is unfortunate, but these things happen. You just have to dust yourself off and try again. I’m sure one day you’ll be a huge success. Best of luck, Mr. Hancock.”

He disconnected the line before I could respond. I stared at the phone for a second, then dropped it onto the couch. One day I would be a huge success? Those were his parting words of wisdom for me? But I’d already been successful before him…with the guys…and I’d left the band to do this. Because this was supposed to get me even greater success. But now…it hadn’t even really started and it was over, and the band was over, and I had no fucking clue what to do. The knot of tension in my stomach started replicating uncontrollably, and I had to lean over and put my head between my knees. Taking deep breaths, I tried to focus my vision; it kept wavering in and out. I’d bet everything on this gamble, given up my spot in the band, created tension in my otherwise flawless marriage, and all because I hadn’t really thought the show was a gamble. It was supposed to be a sure thing. And now it was gone. Jesus…what the fuck do I do now?

Three hours later, I was still in my office, staring at the gold records lining the walls, trying to think of a way to keep my dream alive and to keep my marriage from falling apart. If Anna knew it was all for nothing…the crack between us would grow into something truly ugly. I felt numb. I felt hopeless. I felt defeated. It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way.

A timid knock on the doorframe got my attention. A bare leg swung through the door and wrapped around the frame, and with a bright smile on her lips, Anna rotated her body into the room. She was hugging the doorframe like it was a stripper pole. Any other day the sight would have given me an instant boner, but I was too shell-shocked to be aroused. My plan had been flawless…what the hell had happened?