Chapter 28: The Astronomical Penalty
Chapter 28: The Astronomical Penalty
As soon Wendy walked out of the shooting place, someone blocked her way.
"Are you Miss Finch?"
Wendy stopped and looked at the beautiful woman sporting a business suit.
"Who are you?"she asked, curiosity painted all over her face.
"I'm Miss Cotton, Mr.Evans's secretary.Do you have time right now, Miss Finch? Our CEO wants to talk to you."
Mr.Evans? Wendy's heart thumped upon hearing that name.
"Do you mean Kane Evans?"
Smiling gently, the secretary replied, "Yes, that's right."
"Oh, okay!"
Wendy followed the secretary out of Studio City.
It was already getting dark, and the neon lights had starting illuminating outside.
After a while, a luxury car halted by the gate.
And the next seconds, the window slowly lowered, revealing the person sitting on the back seat.
Much to Wendy's surprise, it was indeed Mr.
Evans in a suit.
"Mr.Evans..."she called, still in slight awe.
"Get in."
The man cocked his head to invite her in.
As the CEO of Glory Media, Mr.
Evans was a respected man, and he certainly wouldn't do anything and to her, Thinking of that, Wendy calmly opened the door and settled on the back seat.
Meanwhile, his secretary boarded the car in the passenger seat.
As soon as they were all inside, the driver roared the engine to life and stepped steadily on the gas.
In just a few moments, the Studio City was soon out of their sight.
Kane Evans sat expressionlessly and rigid.
His all-black suit only highlighted the rigid aura emanating from him.
Beside him was Wendy, who sat still, utterly lost for words to utter.
Oddly enough, she could see Ryan in this man.
But unlike Kane, the former still held emotions within him, no matter how cold he might be at times. Kane never hinted at any emotions flashing in his eyes.
Even when he got married to Rosie four years ago, Wendy had never seen him smile.
And right now, the atmosphere in the car was a little tense and strained.
None of them spoke, and the deafening silence only added to the thickness of the air inside.
After a while, Wendy moved uneasily, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Coughing, she finally decided to break the uncomfortable silence and said, "Mr.Evans, where are we going?"
"Our company."
"Oh, I see..."
After that quick exchange, it quieted down in the car again.
Wendy kept mum and leaned against the window to appreciate the night scenery of Ywood.
It was a coastal city with wet air and ever-changing weather.
The sun had been high in the morning, making the air sultry, but now it was beginning to spritzing a little.
With her head against the glass, Wendy quietly gazed at the drizzle outside the window.
Suddenly, she felt a heavy glance falling on.
When she turned her head, she saw Kane's deep and mysterious eyes piercing at her.
Blinking, Wendy carefully returned his gaze again, only to find his usual cold eyes.
At this point, she was rendered utterly speechless and quite confused.
But Kane turned his head away and asked, "Are you not gonna say that you're actually related to me?"
Stunned, Wendy furrowed her brows and asked, "What?"
"You are Rosie's cousin.I remember you from the wedding."
Now, Wendy was really surprised.
She didn't expect that he would still remember her after only meeting her once four years ago.
"Mr.Evans, do you want to talk to me because I'm Rosie's cousin?"
"No."
"Okay," said Wendy, shrugging. Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.
After a long silence, Kane finally said, "You are very different from your cousin."
"Everyone is different in their own way."
Hearing that, Mr.Evans was caught off guard for a moment.
"You are right!"he replied, nodding.
And although he relapsed to being cold again, Wendy felt that his aura was not stern.
Still, she did not know what to say.
After all, this was such an unexpected meeting.
And Kane was really a strange man! Thankfully, the car soon arrived at Glory Media's building.
The office area was in a luxurious building, which consisted thirty-two floors in total.
Outside was a huge sign flashing the brightly lit words, "Glory Media."
It was almost seven o'clock in the evening, but the whole building was still brightly lit.
Wendy got off the car and walked inside along with Mr.
Evans and his secretary.
The first floor, which was coated with several beige leather sofas, was undeniably too spacious.
As soon as they stepped foot on the front desk, the beautiful receptionist bowed and greeted them, "Good evening, Mr.Evans!"
Kane nodded expressionlessly without greeting her back.
Beside the reception desk was a shelf for entertainment magazines.
Meanwhile, photos of the company's stars blanketed the white wall.
With a quick scan, Wendy saw dozens of photographs arranged in accordance with the actors popularity.
Some were A-list stars, while others were less recognized in the industry yet still popular.
"Miss Cotton, please have the contract ready for Miss Finch to sign."
"Okay!"
The secretary ushered Wendy to the reception room.
"Miss Finch, please follow me," she invited with a smile."Sign the contract?"
"Yes! Mr.Evans especially went to the set today to have a look at your acting.He felt that you possess such great potential, so he decided to sign you in his company.Miss Finch, I'm sure you already know about our company.In that case, I won't bother you with the introduction.The contract has been printed already.I'll go and get it.If there's no problem and you agree with the terms, we'll sign it pronto.Is that okay?"
I Miss Cotton informed at once as if all these were not a big deal at all.
"Okay."
Wendy managed to reply casually, even though her heart was beating frantically.
She was slightly frenzied.
She knew it was all too sudden, but she was still very excited upon hearing what Miss Cotton said! After all, she knew how rare it was for a newcomer to sign a contract with Glory Media.
Yet even with that, the company still assured newcomers of a future in the entertainment industry.
And Wendy was not gonna lie - she liked Glory Media's reputation in the field.
Once she had signed up with the agency, she could focus on her acting career since her agency would take care of the rest for her! Soon enough, the secretary went back, with the contract printed out and ready in her hand.
And when Wendy thoroughly read the contract, she was lost for words.
The terms and conditions indicated were very much favorable to her! The company promised to help her get commercials, provide her with an assistant and a house to live in! What was more, she had the liberty to choose which project she wanted! Except for a TV series and a movie chosen by the company every year, she could act on any project at her own will! Even her income was so much agreeable, with sixty percent of her fees going to her pay while the agency got only forty percent! That was indeed a great deal! If it was another company, she was certain they'd offer her a fifty-fifty division of income.
Although the ten percent wasn't much of a big deal to famous stars, it was for a newcomer like Wendy!! Besides, the ratio was not permanently fixed.
If she were to win awards as she progressed with her career, Glory Media would consider upping her share! "Miss Cotton...Are you sure this contract is really for me?"
"Yes, this is the contract prepared especially for you.Is there anything wrong with it, Miss Finch?"
"No..."
Wendy answered, still bewildered at the seemingly too good to be true terms and conditions.
Yet still, there were some points she could not understand.
Normally, contracts like this would last for five years since there was no guarantee that a newcomer would eventually rise to fame.
If the actress couldn't get a break within five years, the company would have to let her go.
But according to Wendy's contract, she had ten years to make it.
More than that, the contract specifically prohibited her from dating or enter a romantic relationship.
Nowadays, the entertainment circle was different from how it was during the 80s.
At that time, actors and actresses known to publicly date experienced a plummet in their popularity.
They didn't have the freedom to freely fall in love.
But now, fans were more accepting.
In fact, if two stars were known to be dating, that would even boost their popularity. It was a great thing for both the stars and the company and also the reason why some personalities would fake a relationship and fool the public just to soar high.
But Wendy's contract was binding in this aspect.
Third, the penalty was so unusual! Once Wendy signed the contract and broke one of its terms and conditions, she would be required to pay a billion.
One billion! That was a lot! She wouldn't make that much money even if she worked every day from dusk to dawn.
Tightly holding the pen, Wendy swallowed hard at the sight of the words ‘one billion’.
After all, she had never heard any contract to entail such a massive penalty!
With this thought, the pen hung in waiting in her hand as Wendy hesitated to sign the papers.