Chapter Text
“Congratulations Owen!”
“Thank you, Candice.” Owen smiled as another group of well-wishers walked past his table. One of the servers set a glass of scotch down in front of Owen and he raised it up in thanks.
“So how does it really feel?”
Owen turned around to find his son TK sliding into the empty seat next to him. Owen smiled. “Honestly?”
“Yeah.” TK grinned. “Gotta say I never thought you’d retire.”
Owen snorted. “Well, I figure it’s better to step off the set gracefully before they shove me off. The camera doesn’t love you forever- not even me. Last thing I want to be remembered as is old, or balding…”
“Please.” TK rolled his eyes. “Your hair is great.” TK took a sip of his mineral water and smirked. “And while I absolutely make it a policy to not watch any of your scenes, from what I hear stamina was still not a problem.”
“Well, I very much appreciate that policy." Owen sighed. "But you understand my point right? There aren’t very many old porn stars.”
“You’re not old Dad.”
"Eh, I'm old enough," Owen said. "Besides, I've got more than enough money in the bank to set me up for whatever I decide to do next…" Owen trailed off. "I mean come on, it’s not like you’re planning on doing this forever either are you?”
TK shrugged. “I don’t know… I enjoy it.” TK fiddled with the buttons on the end of his suit.
Owen narrowed his eyes. “Okay spill. What’s going on?”
TK blinked at him. “Who says there anything going on?”
“That.” Owen pointed to TK’s fidgeting. “It’s the same thing you always used to do when you were a kid and you had something you wanted to tell me…”
"Fine." TK shook his head and smiled. His face lit up. "I'm going to ask Alex to marry me after your party."
Owen bit his tongue to stop from saying the first thing that came to mind, namely that most supportive partners would be at this kind of party. TK insisted Alex knew everything about his job and didn’t have a problem with it, but Owen couldn’t have helped but notice over the almost two years they’d been together that Alex avoided any industry events TK might go to like the plague. Owen’s retirement party tonight was in a nice upscale ballroom the studio had rented out, and the dress code had been black tie. Nobody outside of the event would have ever guessed what they were celebrating, and everyone who was inside knew and didn’t care. Owen understood from experience it wasn’t always the easiest maintaining a healthy relationship in their line of work…
“Dad…” TK groaned. Owen had waited too long to say something. “I really don’t want a lecture again okay? Can’t you just be happy for me?”
“Yeah.” Owen sighed. “I’m just saying I think most people would try living together and working through some things first…” Owen trailed off when he saw TK’s face. It wasn’t like Owen wanted TK’s relationship to not work out. Owen only ever wanted TK happy, he just wasn’t sure this was the way it would happen. Owen forced himself to smile. “You love him?”
"I do." TK smiled back. "I'm telling you, dad, he's the one."
"Okay then." Owen forced himself to smile.
“Okay?” TK frowned.
"I say go for it then," Owen answered. "Look we both know I've been divorced twice, I'm not exactly the guy to question anybody else's romantic decisions. I say trust your instincts. If you think Alex is the one then go for it.”
TK squeezed Owen into a tight hug. "Thanks, dad!"
“Of course.” TK hugged him one more time, then Owen watched as he drifted off to talk with some of his costars.
“Hope I’m not interrupting…”
Owen turned around and smiled. “Bobby Nash.” He waved the man over to the table. “How long has it been now? Five years?”
“Eight.” Bobby smiled. He nodded over at TK. “Is that your boy?”
“TK. Yeah.” Owen smiled proudly.
“Continuing on in the family business huh?” Bobby chuckled. “He looks just like you.”
“Thanks. Really I think he looks more like his mom.” Owen laughed. “And let me tell you, she was not happy when he signed up with Sunset Studios.” Owen shook his head. “I think she’d still been hoping he’d come to his senses and join her firm.”
“How is Billy Tyson these days?” Bobby asked. “I know we’re competitors, but I’ve heard things have been… challenging over there a little this year.”
“Oh, you know how it is,” Owen said. “Everybody is always restructuring. Billy’s righting the ship.” Owen smiled. “Although between you and me, calling us competition when you’ve got the two most sought-after men in the industry in your stable is pretty generous.”
"Hey, well Billy may be losing you now, but he's got TK," Bobby said amicably. "I've been hearing good buzz about him."
“Well, I’m happy to hear that.”
Bobby smiled. “Owen Strand retiring. I have to say I never thought I’d see the day. Honestly, Athena and I had you pegged to take over instead of Billy.”
Owen leaned in a little closer. “They offered it, but honestly I just don’t see myself in that kind of a position.” He smiled. “Where is Athena by the way? I don’t think I’ve seen your lovely wife yet tonight.”
“Sorry,” Bobby laughed. “May had a school event tonight. Just me.”
“I guess I’ll just have to make do.” Owen clapped Bobby on the back and raised his glass. “To old times then huh?”
Bobby clicked Owen’s glass with his beer bottle. “To old times.”
***
Owen checked his phone first thing in the morning when he woke up. There were no new messages from TK, but the two of them were supposed to get together for lunch later, so maybe TK was just planning on telling Owen how his proposal had gone then. Owen got dressed and set about making himself breakfast when he got a call on his cell phone. Owen frowned. He wasn’t expecting any calls today, but he recognized his agent’s number. Maybe there were some final details in Owen's retirement package she had to go over.
“Hello?”
“Hi Owen, I’m sorry for calling you without any notice.”
“Well, that’s fine. What’s up? Did I forget to sign something?”
“Hmm? No, your exit paperwork from Sunset Studios is all in order. I actually just emailed you a link to a Zoom meeting Owen, is there any chance you’d be able to join?”
“Uh sure. I guess.” Owen lumbered over to his computer and typed in his password. He found the email his agent had sent and followed the link. When the meeting finally loaded Owen was met by two faces, his agent on one side of the screen and an older man in a suit that he didn’t recognize.
“Owen, this is Alden Radford, he’s a wealthy donor to some of the companies you’ve worked for.”
“I’m a fan of your work Mr. Strand.” Radford smiled, there was just the faintest hint of a Texas drawl in his voice. "Not in a personal sense mind you, but I've heard good things. You were the one who advocated to make sure all the performers at Sunset were paid the same regardless of gender right?"
“Yeah.” Owen frowned. “Yeah, I helped play a part in that.”
Radford nodded. “And you advocated strongly for the hiring of Paul Strickland?”
“I did.” Owen nodded. “Frankly I still say the studio should have hired him, but I was overruled.” Owen glanced between his agent and Radford. “If you don’t mind my asking, just what exactly is this meeting about?”
“Owen-can I call you Owen?” Radford asked. Owen nodded. “I’m looking to start something and I think you may be just the man to help me do it.”
Owen blinked. “Okay, just what exactly are we talking about here?”
“Owen, Mr. Radford is looking to open his own adult entertainment studio. Based around the notion of inclusivity and diversity.” His agent explained.
"Well, I can't say I'm not flattered, Mr. Radford, but that's really not the sort of thing I see myself doing," Owen said calmly. "Besides, if you're going to try and build a brand around diversity, shouldn't you hire someone to run it who's, you know, diverse?"
Owen’s agent smiled. “That’s what I told him you’d say.”
Radford laughed. “I think you know as well as I do Owen that if something like this were going to get off the ground it would need some big names attached to it. And you have that kind of name recognition.” Radford sighed. “I knew this was a long shot, but I had to ask. Just do me a favor and think it over alright? You let me know if you change your mind.”
Owen nodded. “To be honest I don’t see that happening sir, but I appreciate the offer. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”
As soon as Owen finished logging off of his computer his phone rang again. Owen shook his head when he saw who was calling. “Gwyneth, and to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”
"Cut the crap, Owen." There was something in his ex-wife's voice that gave Owen pause. “Have you spoken to TK yet today?”
Owen frowned and double-checked that he hadn't missed any messages while he was on with his agent. "No, but I was supposed to meet him for lunch. Why?"
“We were going to go out to breakfast together, but he never showed.”
Owen’s stomach dropped. “You tried calling him?”
“His phone just rang until it went to voicemail. Owen…I’m on my way over there now but I’m worried.”
“I know.” Owen scrambled to find his keys. “I’m closer, I’ll meet you there. Did you call-“
“No.” Gwen cut him off quickly. “The last thing we need would be a false alarm.”
“Yeah…”
“You call me back the second you get there okay?”
“I got it.” Owen hopped into his car and barreled out of his driveway. He took one of the fancier sports cars he’d acquired over the years, for once thankful for all of the extra speed it could provide. TK lived in an apartment about five minutes from Owen’s house under normal circumstances, but with LA traffic that could change dramatically depending on the time of day. Luckily things were still early enough that the roads were mostly congestion free. As he drove Owen tried dialing TK’s cell. After several rings, TK's jovial voice answered him.
“Hey you’ve reached TK, you know what to do-“
“TK pick up your phone!” Owen growled. “Call me back as soon as you get this!” Owen hung up and tried again, but just wound up with TK’s voicemail a second time. Owen drove his car into the first parking spot he saw by TK's building and raced up the stairs. TK was on the third floor, but Owen didn't know if he had the time to wait for an elevator. When he got to the landing of TK's apartment Owen pounded on the door.
“TK? TK!” No response. “Alright, I’m coming in!” Owen fumbled with his key ring for the spare to TK’s apartment. Gwen and Owen had both insisted on having one after the last time… Owen burst through the door as soon it unlocked. There was no immediate sign of TK. Maybe- then Owen spotted him on the floor. Owen rushed over, already fumbling for his phone. “Siri call 9-1-1!”
***
Owen remembered how to breathe again when TK blinked open his eyes, coughing and retching up whatever he’d taken.
“Dad?” TK stammered.
“Hey.” Owen ran his fingers through TK’s hair. “You’re going to be okay. You’re gonna be okay…”
“What happened?” TK looked over and saw some of the tools the paramedics had been using. “Oh god-“
"You're okay," Owen said again softly. "We got you back."
TK swallowed hard. “People are gonna know. My job-“
Owen snorted. "Your mother is currently out in the hall threatening to sue the paramedics six different ways I think if any of them ever violate your privacy. I wouldn't bet on any of them wanting to go up against Gwen Morgan would you?”
TK started to sit up, and Owen helped him put his back against the couch.
“TK…” Owen asked quietly. “What happened? Was this your first relapse?”
TK sniffed and nodded. “It was Alex…”
Owen’s face darkened. “What about Alex?”
“He’s in love with somebody else.” TK swallowed hard. “I took him out to this nice restaurant to ask him…” TK trailed off. “He said he’s been sleeping with his yoga instructor. Then he said it was my fault because I'd been sleeping around too. He pulled up one of my videos right there at the table…full volume… he said that wasn’t the kind of guy he could ever marry.”
Owen was furious. No scratch that, he was murderous. He was going to track down the punk who thought he was too good for TK, the guy who humiliated Owen’s son like that… He was going to kill him and Gwen would make sure no jury in the land convicted him if it went to court. Assuming of course she didn’t try to kill Alex first when Owen told her what happened. Owen swallowed hard. He could get revenge later, for now, he needed to focus on his son…
“Where’d you get the pills?”
“C’mon on Dad, there’s an opioid epidemic…”
"TK," Owen said sternly. "Tell me."
“F-from work okay?” TK mumbled. “They’ve got stashes of stuff…”
Owen stood up so fast he felt a little lightheaded. “I’m getting you out of that company.”
“Dad come on.” TK sighed. “I’ve got two years left on my contract, I just got named one of the top performers of the year, they’re not just gonna let me go…”
“I’m talking to Billy.” Owen pointed down at TK. “You stay here with your mom you got me?”
TK hung his head and nodded mutely.
“TK,” Owen waited for TK to look back up at him. “Were those all the pills you had?”
“There’s a bottle on my dresser…”
Owen took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and went to go grab the pills. He ruffled TK’s hair gently when he walked past him. “Don’t worry. I’ll fix this.”
Owen caught Gwen’s eye on his way out. Sure enough, she was staring down the paramedics as they finished packing up. Owen waved her over. "I'm gonna go take care of this.” Owen showed her the bottle TK had directed him to that still had at least six pills rattling around inside of it. Keep an eye on him?”
Gwen nodded.
Owen drove to Sunset Studios in silence. Normally he’d have put on a book on tape, or one of his podcasts, but he just wasn’t in the mood. Owen looked down at the label on TK’s pill bottle again, a cold fury rising in his chest. The guard at the gate recognized Owen and let him through without any question. Owen’s parking spot hadn’t been reassigned yet, so he pulled in and claimed it for one final time. Owen marched inside. Reception gave her a few funny looks, but Owen had been a staple of the company for so long that no one stopped to ask him where he was going. Owen headed right to the executive elevators. Margaret was waiting for him outside of Billy's office when Owen got off the elevator.
“Owen.” Margaret gave him a fake smile. “I don’t know what this is about, but Billy isn’t in-“
“I think he is Margaret.” Owen had already spotted Billy’s car in the parking lot.
Margaret moved to block his path to Billy’s office. “Owen I can’t let you just-“
“It’s fine Margaret.” Billy opened his door and poked his head out. “Owen and I are old friends aren’t we?”
"Yeah," Owen said stormily. "Old friends.”
Billy sighed. “Well come on in…”
Owen stepped inside of Billy’s office and shut the door. Billy raised his eyebrows.
"Owen I don't know what this is about, but if there's a problem with your retirement package-“
Owen slammed the pill bottle down on Billy’s desk. “I just got those from TK.”
“Ah…” Billy eyed the bottle. “Well, I'm sorry to hear that Owen. TK is a good kid-“
“Don’t give me that crap.” Owen snapped. “Miles Matheson.” Owen pointed down at the bottle. “Did you think I wouldn’t recognize your old character?”
Billy winced. “Come on now, Owen, you can’t possibly think I gave those to TK. Anybody here could have used that name-“
“That film never got realized.” Owen shook his head. “Only people here who would know that character are you and me.”
Billy was silent for a minute before he finally spread his hands wide. "What do you want me to say, Owen? Are you really going to stand there and try to tell me you never took anything in all those years you were performing? Nothing? I’m providing a service to our performers.”
“I want TK’s contract here ended. You’re gonna buy him out.” Owen demanded. “And I want you to stay the hell away from my son.”
Billy laughed. “And why in the world would I let one of my best stars go?”
“Oh, he's leaving one way or another," Owen said bitterly. "I'm not letting him stay in an unsafe environment. You're paying him to not go public with whatever racquet you're running here. Because I've got to imagine if you're giving out opioids TK's not the only one. And who knows what other kinds of substances might turn up if the police started investigating."
“Really?” Billy smiled. “Because I think if that happened TK would never work again.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Owen asked. “TK doesn’t have a noncompete clause in his contract.”
“Course not. Gwen raised him too smart for that.” Billy smirked. “But how many other studios do you imagine are going to hire a drug addict? Especially one that’s already relapsed once? That is how you found the pills right?” Billy asked. “I can’t imagine you’d be here if TK hadn’t used them.”
Owen glared daggers down at Billy. “You’re a real son of a bitch you know that?”
“Sticks and stones, Owen.” Billy grinned. “So let me tell you what I think is going to happen here. We’ll cancel TK’s contract, I don’t want an unreliable addict on my payroll who goes running to daddy any more than anyone else will, but he’s not getting any of his bonuses. And if you breathe a word about this to anyone, all of TK’s dirty laundry gets aired out in the public.” Billy snorted. “Tell TK good luck getting hired without having to explain being let go from Sunset.”
“You know for the record Billy?” Owen ground out. “I always thought you were an ass.”
“Well, I always knew you were a self-righteous bastard, so I guess that makes us even. Now get the hell out of my office.”
“Oh, we’re not done here Billy-” Owen yelled.
Billy glanced down at a monitor on his desk and smiled. “Actually, I think we are.”
A knock came from the door behind Owen, and then Margaret led a man in a police uniform in through the door. Only the supposed police officer was taller than Owen and bulging out his uniform.
“Really, Billy?” Owen laughed. “What did you get the new guy to throw on a costume from storage?”
“Oh, he's real Owen." Billy grinned.
"Um, Mr. Strand…" The would-be office coughed. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises…"
“Right.” Owen rolled his eyes. “A police officer who just happens to be in the building, and somehow knows my name.”
"I have a friend with the city who heard your call and warned me you might be coming over," Billy said gleefully. "Officer Reyes here was waiting on site before you even showed up. As for how he knows your name, well, I suspect you'd have to ask him that…"
Owen turned around to see the police officer flushing awkwardly. “Oh damn.” Owen cleared his throat.
The officer tried again. “Could you-“
"Yeah, I'm coming," Owen said. He spared Billy one last look over his shoulder on his way out. "I'm not spending any more time with this snake than I have to."
Billy scoffed. “Pleasure doing business with you Owen. Give TK my best!”
It took a supreme effort on Owen’s part not to turn around and punch Billy in the jaw. Officer Reyes led Owen to the elevator and rode it back down to the ground floor with him in silence. Owen gave the nervous officer another once as they rode.
“So you’re really just a police officer…”
“Yes sir.”
“Sir.” Owen laughed. "Been a while since anybody called me that. I'm just saying Officer," Owen reached into his pocket and pulled out an old receipt. He scrawled his number onto the back of it. "It seems you’ve seen some of my work. And I’ve got to say from experience, you could be big. You ever decide you want to earn a little extra money you give me a call.”
Officer Reyes looked pretty taken aback, but he still took the receipt from Owen on reflex. Owen shook his head. When the elevator doors opened, he decided to spare the poor Officer any further embarrassment.
"I can find my way from here." Owen smiled. "I'll head straight to my car. Promise."
“Uh-yeah, yeah okay.” Office Reyes fumbled. “It-uh, it was nice meeting you?”
Owen nodded. The elevator doors closed again and true to his word, Owen headed right out for his car, ignoring the knowing looks he got again in the building's lobby. As soon as he got to his car Owen pulled out his phone. He hadn’t expected to ever call the number, but he was suddenly glad he’d saved it.
“Mr. Radford? Owen Strand. I’m in."