Behind The Spotlight Chapter 251
"Let me make it clear, Belle and I are done. She begged me to rekindle our relationship, but I said no," Collin spoke calmly. There was no hesitation in his voice.
"Phew, I almost had a heart attack. I'll stop talking to you if you get back with her, our friendship is over if that happens," Arnold sighed in relief. He was being serious.
"You really hate Belle that much?" Collin glanced at him.
"Of course, that bitch is the worst," Arnold snorted.
Back then, Arnold had been surprised when he found out that Belle had cheated. She might not have been the best woman, but she had clearly loved Collin.
Perhaps college changed her for the worse, or perhaps it simply revealed who she truly was. No matter the reason, the damage she caused could never truly be erased.
The two stopped talking about Belle and changed the topic as they played golf. The atmosphere gradually became lighter as they focused on the game.
"I've heard rumors that our CEO was seeing a man," Arnold spoke casually.
"Hm," Collin nodded. His expression remained calm.
"Apparently, someone saw Lila with a man, and the two went to a theater to watch a movie."
The rumor had already spread through several departments inside ANT.
"I know," Collin replied.
"Really? I thought you didn't know. I guess the rumors are already everywhere." Arnold didn't find it a surprise, rumors always traveled fast.
"Arnold, we are friends, right?" Collin stopped walking and looked straight at him.
"Unless you don't see me as one. Of course, we are friends," Arnold answered immediately.
"You're mad that I'm keeping secrets from you."
"Nah, I can understand why. I just can't help but get mad, you know me, I'm that kind of guy. You don't have to tell me your secrets, I will not listen." Arnold waved his hand dismissively. He tried to sound indifferent despite his obvious curiosity.
"I'm dating Lila Seraphina, the CEO of ANT," Collin said it outright, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
"..."
Arnold hit the ball, and it flew much farther than his usual shots. He walked ahead and didn't even glance at Collin.
Watching his reaction, Collin laughed and followed him. He found Arnold's reaction amusing.
"You truly didn't listen at all," Collin teased.
"Did you say something?" Arnold replied without turning back.
"Nah." Collin smiled.
The two reached the hole where the ball was resting perfectly close. Arnold tapped the ball until it dropped into the cup.
"As long as you're happy. No matter what, I'll support you," Arnold muttered sincerely, and Collin nodded.
...
...
...
In December, a huge incident arose in Hollywood. The entertainment industry was thrown into chaos.
Shawn Jacob, an action superstar, had caused a massive incident that shook the whole country.
Shawn Jacob had just left a Christmas party drunk. He drove his car onto the highway and killed a family of four who were on their way to a family vacation. The heartbreaking accident instantly became national news because of the actor's fame.
It was shocking news that made headlines on many news stations and publishers. Shawn Jacob was a famous action star in the '80s and starred in many films such as Fight Till Death, Final Trigger, and Hard Target.
His biggest role was in Final Trigger, where he was the face of the franchise. Final Trigger had so many sequels that hit the box office. For many people, Shawn Jacob represented the golden era of classic action films.
Shawn Jacob was known worldwide because his action movies were famous. No one expected that the superstar actor would kill a family in a car accident.
When the police saw the scene, it was chaotic. Shawn suffered a broken shoulder, but the family's car was crushed, and the people inside were killed instantly. It was devastating, and the public mourned.
In just a day, Shawn's reputation took a nosedive. He might even go to jail.
"WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE THAT!?" Salvador roared at the shareholders who attended the last quarterly meeting of 2000. His voice echoed throughout the conference room in frustration.
The executives averted their gaze and didn't even look at Salvador. Most of them already knew the situation was impossible to salvage.
"Salvador, you have to understand. Your client did something wrong," President Claude answered, staring at Salvador.
"Shawn is one of the pillars of this entire agency. He's the reason ANT found its footing in Hollywood. In the '80s, he paved the way for ANT. And now you're saying we are going to abandon him?" Salvador's eyes were red. Shawn was one of his clients and his most profitable one. Shawn had starred in many action films, and it was hard for Salvador to accept that his client would be useless just like that.
"Our PR team is doing its best."
"It's not enough. We can turn this around." He was being frantic. He had spent more than a decade working with Shawn and cultivating him... He couldn't accept that all his hard work would be for naught. To him, losing Shawn also meant losing a huge part of his career.
"And what? Influence the media and tell them that Shawn is innocent?"
"ANT can do it," he said with conviction. Salvador was being outrageous, and even Claude scoffed.
Even Collin and Arnold couldn't side with Salvador this time. The evidence was clear. Even if ANT used its resources and influence, the best they could do was lighten the sentence.
"The best we can do is lighten the sentence for his crime," Salvador muttered.
Salvador was not done. No, he believed that Shawn's career was not over. He could make a comeback.
"Are you hearing yourself right now!? Shawn is already washed up. He's not profitable anymore. He can't even act! Even if he completed his jail time and returned to Hollywood, no one would accept him! He is blacklisted. Have you ever seen an actor who went to jail and then made a comeback!? No one!" Claude was losing his patience.
In the first place, Shawn might stay in prison forever.
"Shawn can do it. All we can do is paint it so that the family of four is at fault while Shawn is innocent," Salvador said with conviction.
Talent agents were shameless people. They would speak lies and make it look like they were speaking the truth. The entertainment industry was never as glamorous as ordinary people imagined.
"Enough."
Lila raised her voice, which silenced both sides. Her authority immediately suppressed the heated argument.
"This meeting is over." She felt like continuing the meeting was useless, as Salvador couldn't understand the situation. Perhaps he didn't want to understand it.
[Author's Note]
Since I already posted for 4 days straight, I guess I don't feel ashamed anymore.
First, I apologize for not being active last month. A missile hit the job site where my father works. He is safe and so are most people there. Thankfully, the situation there became better and my father's job started again. My family and I are worried about him. My mental state lately is not that great and my father's situation also affected how I see my day-to-day life. In all honesty, I couldn't find the motivation to keep writing last month.
But this week, I decided to force myself to be productive and so far I'm steadying my progress. I'm sorry for being absent, I'll try to keep writing until we reach the end of this novel.
And also, thank you for reading this novel. Not going to lie, I can already see the ending of this novel, I might be close. I can end this novel in 400ish chapters, with the latest chapter on my Pat reon being 348.