"The company head is a narcissist. Success at a young age has gone to his head. He thinks he's a business genius and invests in all sorts of random projects. Someone in the know revealed that at one point, he lost everything and nearly went bankrupt.""Bankrupt? How is there not a hint of this online?" The company's stock price had remained stable."That's because he sold user data, which plugged some financial holes. He did some PR work and secured new investments, barely keeping the company running.""About six months ago, they developed a game and wanted to collaborate with Luke, but the deal probably fell through. The project is still on hold. You can ask Luke for more details."I suddenly understood why the tech company was so eager to hire me."His reputation in the industry is terrible. The company can't secure investments. At this rate, he'll run it into the ground sooner or later."Wendy was well-informed - companies she didn't approve of usually had no future. I crossed
However, the game had bugs and violent, bloody scenes. Luke wanted them to fix the bugs and remove the violent content.Though Mr. Frank agreed initially, when he met Luke for the second time, nothing in the game had changed. Luke felt Mr. Frank wasn't serious about the partnership and stopped meeting with him. Given Mr. Frank's arrogant personality, he probably thought their game was perfect and didn't need any changes. I'd bet that even after six months, the game was still exactly as Luke had first seen it.Now that I understood Mr. Frank's true motive for hiring me, I thoroughly deleted all JL Capital-related files from my computer.The next day, I went for an interview at One Entertainment. George, one of the interviewers, nearly fell out of his chair when he saw me. Thinking he must be mistaken, he looked down carefully at my documents."Is JL Capital closing down?”"Mr. Walker would sue you for defamation if he heard that.""If JL Capital is running fine, why did you leave?
George's self-pitying tone made me laugh."Come on, you won't even agree to that?" After my long silence, George added, "Let's keep things friendly - we'll still have to work in the same industry. No need to make enemies.""I really don't want to be an agent," I repeated."Well, if you put it that way, I'll take your word for it."I chuckled, "Penelope needs a professional agent. You're perfect for the job."My endorsement clearly pleased George. "We're actually short-staffed. The general manager's assistant position has been empty for over half a month - we can't find the right person.""So you need me to save the day?""Our general manager is very professional and easy to work with.""If he's so great to work with, why did his assistant leave?""She married rich and quit to become a housewife. If you don't believe me, ask Penelope. She's met him.""I can be there in thirty minutes."After dealing with George several times, I knew he was decent. Given my relationship with P
The departure of several popular artists had severely damaged the company. Now, Mr. Lloyd was much more careful when signing new talent, unlike the company's early days when he would spare no expense promoting new signees. Before investing resources in contracted artists, he carefully evaluated their character. If any artist grew impatient and secretly contacted other agencies, the company would sideline them.As a former artist who turned CEO without powerful backing, Mr. Lloyd had seen available opportunities steadily decrease over the past couple of years. His artists could only occasionally land good scripts, and when not filming, they had to make do with appearances on variety shows and events.Mr. Lloyd was still quite handsome, and rumors suggested he planned to make a comeback to help boost his artists' careers. Unlike the overly edited photos online that looked artificial, he was even more attractive in person, carrying himself with the refined air of someone from an old, pr
"This will be your office, Ms. Middleton. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll get it for you."I nodded."After several rounds of downsizing, we don't have many artists left," Beatrice opened the computer and clicked on a desktop folder. "These are their profiles. We have six agents total. They're not exceptional, so they don't bring in many opportunities. Most of our resources come through Mr. Lloyd. Once you're familiar with our operations and the artists' looks and abilities, you'll help allocate these resources.""I'll be in charge of resource allocation?"That kind of work would easily make enemies!"If you're concerned, Ms. Middleton, we can tell people that Mr. Lloyd and I make the decisions, and you just relay them.""Were you Mr. Lloyd's agent before?"Now I realized why she looked so familiar - she was Beatrice Lewis, Mr. Lloyd's agent after his return to China!Beatrice was a top-tier agent whose husband had been an entertainment industry mogul before dyi
"What kind of pranks does he usually pull?""He puts frogs, lizards, mice - anything that crawls - into his classmates' backpacks. Mr. Lloyd has tried everything from talking to strict discipline, but nothing works. Just the other day, he put a hamster in a classmate's bag and made a girl cry. Yesterday he was grounded as punishment. He seems better behaved today."I noticed her skeptical tone on "seems."I had a phobia of those kinds of creatures - just being near them gave me goosebumps and made me want to scream. The thought of finding one in my desk drawer or coffee mug made my skin crawl."Does he spend a lot of time at the office?""Depends on how often he acts up. They can't keep a nanny - they've been through dozens. Mr. Lloyd has no choice but to bring him here.""What about his mother?"I immediately regretted asking such a personal question and apologized.Beatrice sighed, "That kid would give anyone gray hair! Mr. Lloyd checks his backpack every morning before schoo
As I reviewed the artist profiles, Ian pushed the door open again, peeking in. “Pretty Jen, can I come in?”“Sure.” Beatrice’s words echoed in my mind, but I couldn’t turn down such a sweet kid.Ian entered with his hands hidden behind his back. Was he hiding some little creature back there? The thought made me grip my mouse nervously.“Jen, this is a cake my dad bought for me. I saved you a piece.”“Thank you.” I stood and walked over, accepting the rice cake he offered.Did he add something unusual to it? But he was so cute—maybe I could trust him just this once. If he betrayed my trust, I’d be more cautious in the future.I opened the box, and the aroma of vanilla wafted out. “Smells amazing!”Ian beamed, looking even more adorable. “My teacher says good things should be shared.”“How sweet!” I reached out to pat his head, but considering we’d just met today, the gesture felt a bit sudden.He handed me a freshly unwrapped spoon, watching me expectantly. Surely there wouldn’
Whether it’s JL Capital or One Entertainment, to me, it’s just a job. I worked hard at JL because there was someone I liked there. Now that I’m at One Entertainment, I’m not about to slack off either. My life is my responsibility.When I got back to the office, Ian was waiting patiently at my desk. Hearing the door open, his eyes lit up. “Jen, it’s break time now.”“Want me to play with you?”He nodded, then scratched his head shyly. “Or… do you need a nap?”“Not today.” To thank him for sharing his cake with me earlier, I decided to play along. “So, what games do you like?”“I like all kinds!” He beamed, pulling out an iPad and bringing it over to me. The screen was filled with various mini-games.“How much time do you usually spend on games each day?”“One hour.”“Only an hour?”For someone who brought up games the moment we met, one hour hardly seemed like enough time to satisfy him. I couldn’t help but be a bit skeptical.“My dad set a screen lock on the iPad. Once I hit