Hugo looked at Ron with sharp vigilance. He could no longer fully conceal his emotions; at best, he could only appear slightly distant. Against Ron's deliberate scheming, Hugo's youth still showed—he was struggling to keep up. He simply didn't know enough. Without a clear picture of the whole game, there was no way to counter Ron's moves.
But Hugo had never been someone who surrendered easily. While he couldn't match Ron in experience or manipulation, he was just as sharp-minded and far more flexible in thought. His eyes flickered with a hint of cunning before he curved his lips into a faint smile, masking all traces of wariness.
"Challenges exist everywhere," Hugo said lightly. "The weak fear them and look for shortcuts, but the strong welcome them and even enjoy the thrill that comes with the fight."
Since Ron had been implying that Brad Pitt might secure The Firm role through connections, Hugo chose to ignore the hidden meaning and counter him head-on.
Sure enough, Ron's expression faltered for a brief second before his gaze deepened. He had noticed Hugo's growing maturity in their recent encounters, but until today it had only been surface-level. This time, Ron could sense a newfound steadiness in him—confident but not arrogant, calm yet resolute. Still a bit green, yes, but clearly transformed. The discovery caught Ron off guard.
His first impulse was to snap back—his temper had always been bad but remembering the importance of today's luncheon, and his own ulterior motives, Ron forced himself to suppress it. With a forced smile, he replied, "But more often than not, many challenges end before they even begin. This society is equal, but it's not fair."
Hugo had never fully understood that line before. What did it mean for society to be equal but not fair? Later, after seeing a cartoon, he finally got it: two children start at the same line—one's parents drive a car beside them, the other's parents push a cart. The starting point is equal, but the means are not. That's the difference between equality and fairness.
In the audition for The Firm, this contrast couldn't be clearer. It had already been a month since Hugo received the invitation to audition, and A Few Good Men had been in theaters for four weeks—yet there was still no sign of an audition. Clearly, Ron wasn't bluffing. He must have known some inside information.
Hugo's instinct was to argue, but he quickly realized that was exactly what Ron wanted—to lure him into reacting. Since he couldn't see through Ron's full plan, it was better to stay still and see what cards Ron was holding. After all, Ron was the one who had approached him.
Having decided that, Hugo swallowed his retort and simply looked at Ron in silence.
That silence alone disrupted Ron's rhythm, letting Hugo claw back a sliver of control. Ron's temper flared again. In the past, manipulating Hugo had been easy—thanks in part to Tracy's help—but now, things were no longer so simple.
Ron decided to drop the pretenses. Smiling, he said, "Sometimes fairness isn't that hard to find. In this business, a good agent can close many of those gaps."
The implication was obvious. But Hugo was puzzled—was Ron trying to poach him? Did he really think Hugo would abandon Joseph and sign with him? Why? Had Ron forgotten all their previous clashes—the Golden Raspberry fiasco, the Basic Instinct premiere, Allerge's dirty tricks?
But Hugo didn't have time to dwell on it, because Ron threw out another bait. "Setting up a dinner with Sydney isn't hard for me. If you're interested, it could be tonight."
He was now being completely blatant. Clearly, Ron had given up on subtle persuasion; since he already knew Hugo's eloquence, he opted for tangible temptation instead.
Hugo frowned slightly as realization dawned on him. With A Few Good Men and Scent of a Woman, he had regained his career peak. Projects like The Firm and Sleepless in Seattle were showing interest, and he'd built connections with heavyweights like Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Bo Goldman, and Rob Reiner. His future in Hollywood was bright, and his agent's job was getting easier and far more profitable.
To put it plainly, if Hugo landed The Firm, Ron could secure him an $8 million paycheck. Ten percent of that meant an $800,000 commission—pre-tax. No wonder Ron was tempted.
Seeing the flicker of thought on Hugo's face, Ron assumed his offer had worked. Before Hugo could speak, he added in a conspiratorial tone, "Actually, Sydney and I are discussing another major project—something huge. I can't reveal much, but I can tell you this: Sydney Pollack, Martin Scorsese, Mel Gibson, and Kevin Costner are all on the preliminary list."
Compared to his earlier bait, this was a bombshell. His expression seemed to say: Come back to my side, and you'll be part of this too.
But Ron didn't elaborate further. In his mind, he'd already dropped enough explosive news for one day. He smiled at Hugo, then turned to leave, not giving him any chance to respond—only space to think.
Hugo stood there for a while, pondering the conversation. Though he had a clear sense of Ron's intentions, he wanted confirmation. Scanning the area, he soon spotted Gary Scott—Ron's assistant. Compared to Ron, Gary was much easier to deal with, and he harbored his own share of complaints about his boss, often gossiping about him behind his back.
When Gary saw Hugo approaching, his face immediately brightened with a teasing grin. "Hey, Sunshine! Long time no see."
Hugo couldn't help but laugh at Gary's exaggerated enthusiasm. The tension in his chest eased slightly as he chuckled, "Gary, don't bother batting your eyelashes at me—that trick doesn't work." Hugo's warm, joking tone made Gary pout dramatically before muttering, "At least let me have the right to fantasize."
Hugo widened his eyes in mock horror. "Gary, you're scaring me! I do not want to know what your fantasies are!" Gary burst out laughing, clearly amused by Hugo's reaction.
"Gary, I actually came to ask you something," Hugo said, suppressing his smile. He glanced around, making sure Ron wasn't nearby before continuing.
"I knew it," Gary said, raising one hand theatrically. "You never come to me without an agenda. So tell me—whose gossip are you digging for this time?"
"Your boss," Hugo replied flatly. Gary blinked, then gave him a mock glare. Hugo quickly clarified, "Not gossip. I just want to know—has Ron been talking to Sydney about The Firm lately?"
Gary immediately caught on. "Aha! So Ron talked to you just now!" Hugo nodded. Gary looked around warily, then lowered his voice. "Ron isn't talking to Sydney about The Firm. He's discussing another project—a collaboration with Universal Pictures."
Hugo's thoughts clicked into place. "The same project Tracy's involved in?" Rick Rosen had already told him that Ron, Tracy, and Universal were negotiating a massive film, and based on what Ron had hinted earlier, it was clearly an ambitious, large-scale production.
Gary nodded. "Yeah. But it's still in early talks. I don't know much yet." Then, with a playful gesture, he crossed his index fingers over his lips, clearly implying that he did know something—but couldn't say it openly as Ron's assistant.
Hugo chuckled. "I'm not interested in that project. I just want to know what's going on with The Firm."
Gary dropped his hands. "Simple. He wants you back. That's all. He's been meeting with Sydney a lot lately. If you agreed to return to him, The Firm would just be part of the package deal."
A sixty-million-dollar film treated as a bonus project—that only made Hugo even more curious about the mysterious Universal production. But by now, Ron's true motives had become clear.
Ron and Tracy were teaming up to seize control of Universal's new mega-project, something Tracy had been planning since early March. Both of them were counting on it to catapult their careers to new heights. And Hugo? He had never been part of their equation. Tracy would never agree to it. In fact, it was entirely possible the two intended to use the project to sideline him—perhaps by promoting Brad Pitt or deliberately excluding Hugo altogether.
But the situation had grown more complicated since Hugo's comeback. With his career surging again, Ron's greed had been reignited. Whether Ron's offer that Hugo would have a place in that project was genuine or just another illusion remained to be seen.
"So… are you going back?" Gary suddenly asked, interrupting Hugo's thoughts.
Hugo raised an eyebrow, then laughed softly. "Gary, are you really that naïve?"
That one sentence said it all—no matter how grand or tempting Ron's promises were, even if they were true, Hugo would never go back under Ron's management. It wasn't just loyalty to Joseph, his current agent—it was about his own integrity.
Gary sighed dramatically and shrugged. "I knew it." Then his face broke into a bright grin. "But hey, I already predicted your answer anyway."
...
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