“I forgot to mention that there will be a large number of investors there tonight. So, just don’t screw this up, okay? There will be a dinner party after the concert, and don’t try to run away this time.”
Scott didn’t appear to be interested in that at all. He said, “No, I don’t want to go.”
Sam said seriously, “What are you talking about? No, you have to go! Have you noticed how many endorsements the singers in the same company with you have? Do you think they got all those endorsements out of nowhere? Let me tell you, they got them by having dinner with their sponsors. If you have a lunch and a few drinks with them, you’ll get tens of millions of dollars. So, you have to go, Scott.”
Scott was irritated because Sam kept saying that. He replied, “Gosh! I don’t want to be in those gigs ever again! You know, I just want to write my songs without being disturbed.”
“Are you really listening to what I’m saying? CDs now are so passé! Do you know how many pirated albums you can find on the Internet now? Even if you publish the music on the internet and sell them, you won’t make much money. That money isn’t even enough to cover the cost of making the CD. I have nothing to say to you if you want to be an artist. But I’m doing this because I want you to make money. So, will you listen to me just once?”
Scott held up a hand to show he was surrendering. He said, “All right, all right. I got it.”
He was deeply aware that no one could concentrate on art today without making money. He wrote songs with the money he earned through endorsements and concerts, which allowed him to follow his heart. He’d only been a singer for a year, yet he already felt fatigued from head to toe. He felt like he was spinning like a gyroscope, and he would fall
No matter how brilliant I am on the stage or how wretched / would fall from the altar, the audience would only look at me and do nothing. They don‘t care about how I feel at all. Scott thought to himself.
Just after the show, someone told Scott where he should go to the dinner. Sam followed him closely on his way there until they got to the hotel restaurant. So, Scott didn’t have a chance to escape.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere, so you can go back now. It creeps me out when you keep looking at me like that.” Scott said to Sam.
Sam then said, “If you say hi to the president of Walnut, I’ll let you go.”
“What? Over my dead body! Have you met Mr. Evans? Do you know what he looks like and how creepy he is? He’s a p*****t!”
“All you have to do is to smile at him.”
A man approached them just as they were about to argue because neither of them wanted to back down. That gentleman was dressed elegantly in a brown suit with a dark blue bow tie and holding a glass of champagne.
“Wow, Scott! I thought you would never go to parties like this.”
Scott froze immediately when he heard the words. His face turned pale as he realized it was Randal.
Sam immediately laughed gleefully and said, “Oh, hello, Mr. Wilson! No, I think you might misunderstand something. Scott isn’t opposed to attending the dinner parties. But, whenever there is a dinner party, he happens to feel uncomfortable. You see, he’s feeling fine today, so he’s here.”
“Oh?” Randal uttered the last note slowly and deliberately, which seemed very meaningful.
“Oh, I’ll leave you guys alone. I’m going to go say hello to a friend over there.” Sam left immediately after realizing what he had to do. He even suddenly tapped Scott’s shoulder and gestured for him to take his chance before leaving.
It seemed that he didn’t even seem to notice that Randal liked Scott.
Scott became embarrassed. He thought, I shouldn‘t have let Sam be my agent! He‘s an expert in getting me into trouble.
“It’s been a long time.” Randal, who was standing behind him, said at that moment.
Scott forced himself to smile and said, “Hey, I don’t think it’s been that long. We just ran into each other ‘by chance three days ago in Tokyo.”
Scott felt like he was showing Randal respect by saying that. Scott was taken aback by the fact that they ran into each other every few days in various locations around the world. He wondered if Sam had told Randal about his schedule because Randal paid him well.
Randal shook his glass, and the yellow champagne in it swayed gently. He said, “It’s a real pity. You know, if we’d gone there in March, we’d have seen the beautiful cherry blossoms.”
Scott glanced at him with no expression on his face. He said, “I’m not in the mood for cherry blossoms. I was there for work, so I couldn’t decide when I would be there. But you’re different because you have all the time in the world.”
Randal didn’t say anything. He just smiled and said, “Hey, I heard that you had some problems with the president of Walnut?”
Hearing his words, Scott immediately showed an embarrassed expression and said, “It has nothing to do with you!”
Mr. Evans, Walnut’s president, was well-known in the entertainment sector as a p*****t. Mr. Evans touched Scott’s ass in front of the entire crew backstage at a film festival in Kyoto half a month ago. Scott felt horrified every time he remembered this incident later.
If Sam hadn’t stopped Scott immediately at that time, he would have punched Mr. Evans.
“Yes, it has nothing to do with me. But my company has recently been working with Walnut. So, I showed something to his father. Now, he’s not the president of the company anymore.”
Scott then froze, looked at Randal in surprise, and asked, “What? What did you show him?”
“Oh, nothing, just photographs of him with some toy boys in a nightclub. His father almost had a stroke when he saw them and immediately removed him from his position.”
Randal seemed naturally wild, so it didn’t surprise Scott that he did such a thing. Scott froze and finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Oh, aren’t you going to thank me? You can buy me dinner.”
Scott raised an eyebrow, set his glass down, and said, “Hey, it’s not like I’m begging you for help. Well, in that case, I don’t have to stay here and apologize to him. If you see Sam, please tell him I’m leaving.”
With that, he left in style. Randal stood there for a moment, smiled, and followed him.
Scott took a few steps down the street before noticing Randal was following him.
He couldn’t help himself and blurted out, “Don’t make a fool of yourself, okay? Why do you keep following me? Do you really want me to buy you dinner?”
Randal took a deep breath and said calmly, “I’m a businessman, so I’ll do whatever it takes to make a profit. So, you need to do something to get us even.”
“You won’t follow me if I treat you to dinner, will you?”
“Sure.”
After hearing Randal’s answer, Scott looked over at the Turkish kebab food truck on the side of the road and smiled. He said, “Don’t regret it.”
“Hey, you can have whatever you want. It’s my treat.” Scott waved his hand generously as if he had bought the entire food cart.
The owner of the kebab stand was glad to see them. She then pointed to the menu and said to them, “What would you like to eat? You know, the foods here are fresh.”
Scott placed the plate in front of Randal after ordering a few kebabs and grilled vegetables and said, “Enjoy, it’s on me.”
He thought that Randal would leave immediately after he finished.
Scott then smirked a few times to himself. He felt sure that since Randal grew up in a wealthy family, he would of course refuse to eat from a roadside food truck.
Randal looked at the plate in front of him with several kebabs, then picked up one. “What’s this?” He asked. “Hey, don’t you know what kebabs are?” the stall owner asked, surprised.
Randal smiled and answered, “Yes, I do. Well, I do like grilled meat. I think it’s delicious.” Randal looked at Scott and then started eating the kebab on his plate.
He ate all the kebabs on his plate after a while. Then, he finished all the roasted tomatoes and mushrooms on his plate.
“What? You ate it all?” Scott asked, wide-eyed with surprise, and was taken aback by it.
“Yes, I thought it was delicious. Get me some more, please.” Randal handed Scott the empty plate and then looked at him with expectation,
Scott then realized that Randal was a big fan of barbecue. Scott then felt he shouldn’t have brought Randal here and immediately regretted it.
“Gee, can you just stop eating?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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