Behind The Spotlight Chapter 272
"What are you doing?"
"I'm comforting you." His arms tightened slightly around her.
"You..." She smiled weakly, her expression easing up. She was happy and relieved now that Collin was here.
"You should have let me defend you. I didn't like that they announced your resignation in front of all the shareholders. It would have been better if they did it privately." He was mad that Lila was disrespected like that. If not for the message she sent, Collin would have confronted Cherilyn.
"They probably did that to show authority and assert dominance. They wanted the executives to fear them, and it worked," Lila calmly answered. Her fingers curled into his tuxedo, seeking reassurance and comfort. At this point, she didn't care if other people saw them hugging.
"Still..."
"Collin, you should know better. You have to protect your career..." She paused, her blue eyes trembling. "You won't break up with me now that I'm useless, right?" That thought immediately popped into her mind, and she became afraid, her grip unconsciously tightened. She was being emotional and vulnerable right now.
"What are you talking about? Do you think I only like you because of your position?" Collin was offended by the accusation.
"Well..."
Collin didn't let her speak, choosing to act instead. He sealed her lips with a passionate kiss that left Lila heart-struck.
"... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
After a breathless kiss, Lila realized her mistake. Collin patted her back and told her he didn't mind. He was just worried about her, he didn't want to see her sad.
"Thanks, Collin."
"Lila, I actually have a plan... Can you please listen to me?" This time, Collin became serious.
...
...
...
Weeks passed, and the management gradually adjusted to the changes as their shock slowly faded. They were still not used to calling Claude the CEO and Salvador the President, but they had to accept the reality and move on.
Lila sold her shares entirely because she wanted to leave everything behind, she was done with ANT. With all the shares and benefits she received, Lila walked away with $141 million, a staggering amount that symbolized her worth as the CEO who had turned ANT around.
As for Collin... His situation in the company deteriorated now that Claude and Salvador were the bosses. He was being targeted, or rather, his clients were being targeted. He realized he was tired of working under someone else. If he had to leave everything behind and start over, he would do it. The idea was no longer frightening.
Things were far from simple. Now that Lila was gone, no one could protect Collin from the bad intentions of others. He admitted it: Lila had protected him all the time, and Collin was extremely grateful for it. He truly loved her so much... Ahem.
The biggest threat came from Salvador and Claude. For some unknown reason, the two had decided to join forces, forming an alliance to protect their own interests. After what happened with Shawn, Salvador treated Collin as his worst enemy, putting his friction with Claude on hold for the time being.
Their targets were Collin's clients. They wanted to transfer their contracts to other agents, leaving Collin with nothing, effectively destroying his career and kicking him out of the shareholders' circle.
Naturally, the other executives were also interested in Collin's clients. They were all profitable, except for Jennifer, who faced an uncertain future after her scandal. If Claude and Salvador successfully won this battle, the other executives would get a piece of the pie. The Music Department would finally get Princess Chantal, while the Film Department would take Wyatt, Lawrence, and Axel. They didn't care much about Jennifer.
Speaking of Jennifer, the excuse Salvador used to transfer Collin's clients was Collin's failure to protect her. Salvador claimed that Jennifer's career was destroyed because Collin fucked up, so he had to take responsibility for his mistake. Salvador added that Collin should transfer his other clients' contracts because his performance as a talent agent was destructive to their careers.
It was deeply ironic, considering the biggest reason Jennifer lost her job was none other than Shawn, Salvador's client. Yet Salvador had the audacity to blame Collin.
Talent agents were truly shameless people.
As for the other executives, they agreed with Salvador and acted as though Shawn was not part of the reason Jennifer lost her hosting job.
They simply wanted to acquire Collin's clients, who were massive money makers.
'I already expected it.'
Collin smiled faintly. He was done with corporate politics, this was too much for him to handle. Surprisingly, he felt nothing about it, no sadness, no anger, not even frustration.
Back when Gabriella had offered him a chance to work under her agency, Collin had already considered leaving ANT.
This company had brought him so many good things. It was the place that helped him change his life for the better. But he also knew that ANT was a toxic workplace for someone as talented as him, full of people who were jealous of his success and constantly schemed to destroy him.
'I guess it's time to contact my clients.' Collin was about to grab his phone when his secretary informed him that Arnold wanted to talk to him.
"Let him in."
Just like Collin, Arnold was not in a good position. He could protect his clients in the film industry since he wasn't the target of this attack, but Arnold knew that Pulse Static would be separated from him moving forward.
Arnold had heard about the plans Claude and Salvador intended to execute.
"They want to reshuffle our clients," Arnold said to Collin.
Moving forward, a client from the music industry could only be handled by a talent agent from that same industry to maximize efficiency. Aside from that, they wanted clients like Princess Chantal and Pulse Static handed over to someone in the music department... It was a defeat.
Arnold sighed and sat down.
"Collin, are you okay?"
"You're worried about me?" Collin teased.
"Bro, this is not the time to joke around. You have it way worse. I can protect Tom, Jolyne, and Brody since they're in the film industry, but I have to let Pulse Static go... But you? They want to take everything from you and leave you with nothing."
"Even Jennifer?"
"I guess so."
[Thank you for reading this novel.]