Free Web NovelChapter 776: Chapter 747: Gage Grant vs. Maeve [009]
Tobias Blackwood walked ahead in silence, his face dark. Gage Grant trailed behind sheepishly, wearing a T-shirt with a large sticker of Maeve’s face, looking embarrassed.
Once inside Gage’s office, Tobias locked the door, turned around, and gave Gage a scrutinizing look from head to toe.
Silence lingered for a few seconds.
"What exactly were you thinking?" Tobias asked.
Gage righteously replied, "I was thinking about work!" As he spoke, he walked over to a cabinet, pulled out a brand-new white shirt, unwrapped it, changed out of the T-shirt, crumpled it up, and threw it into the trash can.
"Didn’t I remind you that she’s a friend of Director Thorne’s?"
"What does her friend have to do with me picking up a girl?" Gage sat down on the sofa, pulled out a cigarette from the pack, and lit it up.
As he puffed away, he was reminded of his first encounter with Maeve.
He had seen many women who smoked, most looking vulgar and bearing a heavy air of hardship, but she was the most unique. She smoked in a way that was both pure and alluring, causing him to think of her every time he smoked.
Seeing the almost drugged-like dazed expression on his face, Tobias shook his head and sat down opposite him. "There’s interest in developing Sienna Thorne as part of First Shepard’s cabinet in the future, so you might end up working closely together. It’s best if you don’t create a rift with Director Thorne, so it won’t affect future collaborations."
"Hah!" Gage removed the cigarette from his mouth dismissively. "If Sienna is such an unforgiving person, you shouldn’t be working with her either. Can someone who aims for big achievements really let my fling with her friend affect her work? Are you underestimating her or do you just not want me dating anyone?"
Such twisted reasoning.
Tobias was speechless.
At thirty-six, it’s shameful to have such things pointed out. Even as a friend, it’s embarrassing for him. But if left unaddressed, Gage might make a significant mistake.
"Did you recently transfer 15.2 million from Ian’s account as a tip?"
The smile on Gage’s face faded halfway. He cleared his throat and straightened up. "How did you find out?"
After speaking, he realized he had asked a redundant question and immediately cursed, "Ian’s such a nag, keeping my money just for holding, and I can spend it however I like. What’s he nagging for! If he nags more, I’ll shift it to Holt!"
Tobias stared at him coldly.
After a few more curses, Gage’s momentum dwindled until he shrunk back onto the sofa without speaking.
Tobias sighed and shook his head. "If you must spend on her, it’s best to do it through proper channels, at least with a pretense. This benefits both you and her. If the 15.2 million issue is discovered, your father would tear you apart."
Gage shivered and reflexively touched his own leg.
...
After several days of communication, Maeve eventually terminated her contract with the program team for personal reasons, quitting the finals, and Candice Chase replaced her, entering the finals with a fourth-place score.
Maeve knew all of this was orchestrated by Candice’s team, but she was powerless. She had a long way to go in the entertainment industry. If she insisted too much this time and offended the program team, the broadcasting platform, and major sponsors, getting blacklisted would be a more painful consequence.
She felt unwilling, but she was helpless, swallowing the injustice with blood and tears. This incident tore apart her carefully mended feelings once again.
Emotionally, she wanted to quit the circle.
But rationality told her that even if she decided to leave this big dye vat, now was not the time. If she were to leave, it should be at her pinnacle, not in a moment of defeat.
With this determination, she didn’t let herself fall into a slump. Instead, she faced it positively, tidied her emotions slightly, and soon embarked on a flight to The South to perform in a commercial show the next evening.
The performance went smoothly, with many of her fans attending, dressed in outfits featuring her photo, holding beautiful glow signs to cheer her on. This support lifted her spirits and provided strength, wiping away the gloomy days.
After the show, while removing her makeup backstage, her agent ran over agitatedly, "Maeve! Great news! You’re in luck!"
She looked at her agent, puzzled.
Her agent showed her the phone, flipping through the screen with chubby fingers, "Langford Group wants you as the spokesperson for their resort! They also want to sponsor your concert tour!"
Maeve frowned, "Doesn’t this seem a bit odd?"
"Not at all! What’s strange about it?" The agent eagerly explained, "The people from Langford said that Chairman Lowell’s wife loves watching ’Original Female Voice’ and is a fan of yours! She specifically asked for you as their spokesperson because she feels your image fits perfectly with the serene landscape vibe of their resort!"
"How old is Chairman Lowell’s wife?"
"The chairman looks pretty young, so his wife should be in her early thirties or thereabouts," the agent said with an ambiguous smile, "After all, rich people like marrying young women."
It didn’t seem suspicious.
Maeve nodded, "Alright, it’s certainly a good thing to have an endorsement opportunity, so let’s discuss it."
Given the importance of this matter, Maeve’s team returned to Jadeston the next day and met with the Langford Group’s chief operating officer that afternoon. The explanation matched what the agent said, that Langford’s chairman’s wife is a fan of Maeve and suggested signing Maeve as a spokesperson. Because Mrs. Langford regretted that Maeve had to quit ’Original Female Voice’ finals, they’re planning to sponsor her national concert tour in Langford’s name.
Langford Group, founded on high-end medical and customized medical products, also owns several renowned natural health resorts in the country. The contract signing ceremony attracted a lot of media presence. Maeve’s team seized the opportunity to announce the launch of Maeve’s national tour during the signing ceremony.
This stirred quite a discussion in the entertainment circle. Some thought Maeve got lucky being chosen despite not making it to the finals, while others suspected behind-the-scenes dealings. Linking Maeve to climbing the ladder through favoritism seemed unlikely due to her androgynous appearance and the absence of any compromising photos.
The watchers passed it off as gossip, but some green-eyed monsters couldn’t let it go.
At the time, Candice had already recorded the finals for ’Original Female Voice,’ and placing third by a narrow margin of just over a hundred votes from the second place, with no skills in composing or songwriting. Typically, a 50-vote gap is normal between places, but a hundred points indicates a significant disparity in capability.
After the show aired, fans of ’Original Female Voice’ discussed in forums, blogs, and other social platforms, agreeing that Maeve, who withdrew voluntarily, was more capable than Candice. They even compared Maeve’s second-round votes to the finals, believing she could have emerged as a dark horse to secure the runner-up position if she participated.
