Behind The Spotlight Chapter 298
"Quite late, huh. Secretary, you can head home now. I'll be staying in the office all night, so I won't be needing you anymore."
"Thank you, sir."
Elijah sat back down and uncorked a bottle of wine. Today was meant for spending time with his family, yet he had chosen to prioritize his business empire instead. He felt nothing about it, his kids were just the products of him having sex.
Suddenly, his phone rang, it was Lila calling.
"Lila, what is it?"
"Elijah, I just wanted to say thank you. If not for you, I might not even be alive in this world. You might not have been the best father, but I genuinely appreciate everything you've done for me." Judging by the slight slurring in her voice, Lila sounded a bit tipsy and in unusually high spirits. It was because of Collin's baby picture.
"..." Elijah was left completely speechless. He had never expected Lila to call him out of the blue just to express her gratitude.
"Happy Thanksgiving, I guess."
"All right. Make sure you attend our family get-together next week," Elijah reminded her.
"I will."
The call disconnected.
Elijah set the phone down and took a slow sip of his wine. Throughout all the years he had buried himself in work, none of his children had ever dared to call him casually like that. Lila's unexpected phone call had just broken that.
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"Sir, right this way." Denis respectfully guided Collin down the hallway toward the recording studio.
Only a few months ago, Denis had been an ordinary waiter, convinced his life would continue down that exact same dead-end path until the day he died. He wasn't particularly book-smart and had barely scraped through high school. Coming from an immigrant family, it had taken him years just to adjust to life in America, by the time he found his footing, he was already a grown adult with nothing to show for it.
Then, out of nowhere, a woman introducing herself as the President of Talent Management and Representation at GSG showed up. Lila had invited him to join their agency.
Denis had been thoroughly bewildered at first, yet he sensed this was a major turning point in his life and decided to take the leap.
Adjusting to the fast-paced industry had been rough in the beginning, but he now carried himself like a seasoned, professional talent agent.
"Sir, this is the recording booth where Miss Randon is doing the voice-over for the documentary."
"Denis, you did an incredible job. Closing a deal worth over $1 million is something to be genuinely proud of. Keep up the great work, the company will reward you with a bonus at the end of the year." Collin gave his shoulder a firm, encouraging pat.
"Y-Yes, sir!" Denis replied excitedly. At long last, he realized what he had been missing all his life. Being recognized and appreciated for his hard work felt incredible, for the first time, he felt like his life had real purpose.
Collin knocked softly on the studio door, and a female assistant director pulled it open. She recognized Denis right away, though she didn't know Collin.
"W-Who is it?" the assistant director stammered, visibly taken aback by how strikingly handsome Collin was.
"I'm Collin. We're here to see Jennifer."
"Oh, she's right inside." The assistant director clicked her tongue softly in mild embarrassment.
"Thank you."
Collin and Denis stepped into the recording room, finding Jennifer standing in front of the studio microphone.
Suddenly, Collin froze dead in his tracks.
"Since when?" Collin muttered under his breath.
"Sir?"
"No, it's nothing." Collin offered no explanation for his sudden outburst.
He couldn't explain it even if he wanted to.
How could he possibly explain the glowing golden text floating directly above Jennifer's head?!
'Since when did her talent evolve? What triggered the breakthrough?'
-- Jennifer Randon
-- Talkshow Queen (Gold)
Collin was momentarily at a loss for words, simply staring at Jennifer through the recording glass.
"Denis, when you were negotiating with the producer, I assume he was blown away by Jennifer's audition?" Collin whispered.
"You're completely right, sir."
"I see."
'No wonder the production team readily agreed to pay Jennifer over $1 million. They were sold the moment they saw her in action.'
A few minutes later, Jennifer wrapped up her voice-over session for the special episode and stepped out to find Denis and Collin waiting for her. She greeted them with a bright grin.
"Have you guys been waiting long?"
"You've improved tremendously," Collin remarked.
"You saw my dubbing session?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks." Jennifer could feel the difference within herself, too. Ever since confronting her inner demons, her entire mindset had shifted for the better.
"I think things started clicking after what I did for Shawn Jacob. Back then, I was completely torn, I didn't know whether to risk everything to help clear Shawn's name or play it safe. Once I finally decided to stand by my principles, it felt like a massive weight lifted off my shoulders, and my head finally cleared. Of course, the fallout from my actions still lingers, but it's something I'm ready to face head-on and overcome," Jennifer explained calmly.
'So that was the catalyst.' Collin listened intently. It mirrored the exact moment Axel had summoned the courage to file a lawsuit against his ex-wife, his fierce determination to protect his son had pushed his talent into the golden tier.
"So how has work been treating you lately? Everything going smoothly?"
"Things are going great."
Even though Collin was the CEO of a growing talent agency and couldn't personally micromanage every single client on GSG's roster, he still made it a priority to check in on each client at least once a month whenever possible.
"That's good to hear... As for Singing Voice—" Collin paused, hesitating slightly.
"Nah, we already went over that last time, you don't need to rehash it. I already know the producers have zero interest in bringing me back," Jennifer said with an easy shrug.
She had originally walked away from Singing Voice to prioritize hosting Morning With Jennifer, a move that had undoubtedly rubbed key figures on the production team, including the executive producer, the wrong way.
"You don't need to worry about that anymore. By next year, you'll be hosting your own talk show again," Collin assured her firmly.
"You sound way more confident this time around."
"Because I am."
Now that Collin had seen firsthand that Jennifer's talent had evolved into a Gold-tier trait, he had zero doubt that at least one major television network would jump at the chance to build a show around her.
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December rolled around, bringing with it the theatrical release of a brand-new horror flick helmed by a rookie director. Its title was "Sawed".
For this release, Harper Studio pulled out all the power to ensure the film opened in at least 400 theaters across North America. Balthazar had sunk $10 million into acquiring the project, and determined to recoup his investment, he went completely all out.
[Thank you for reading this novel.]