Behind The Spotlight Chapter 168
"D- Dad, I was just..." Rico stiffened as he realized that his father had arrived, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly. Elijah smiled at him, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. Rico swallowed hard and lowered his head.
"I apologize for my bad behavior."
Elijah casually waved his hand and sat down like a king surveying his kingdom. He looked at the people sitting on the golden chairs. Everyone was present, even the young children who could only babble. They were taken care of by the maids. As for their mothers, they were in a different part of the mansion, strictly separated from this formal gathering.
The master of the family nodded his head, as if approving the arrangement.
"Let's start our meal."
The maids entered the dining hall with food carts and prepared different meals that matched the children's tastes after hours of careful planning and discussion.
Some of the children were allergic to certain foods, hence the dishes were different for each person. Even the babies were only served fruit purée.
Everyone in the kitchen researched so hard not to mess up this situation, because serving the wrong dish here was equivalent to losing a job. Each child's disposition regarding food had been studied. One mistake could cost them their entire career as chefs.
William Edward looked at his siblings... He was not close with any of them, especially the older ones whose ambitions were visible in their eyes. The older ones were always eager to prove themselves.
Elijah had no unique taste in women, as he basically impregnated women of different races. African, Caucasian, Latina, Asian, you name it, Elijah had put his seeds in them.
'... At least he's not racist.'
William wouldn't even be surprised if Elijah impregnated an alien from outer space... His father was just that kind of guy.
Every child at the table had undergone DNA testing by Elijah's team, confirming that all of them were his children.
Once the maids finished setting up the appetizers, Elijah took the first bite before signaling his children to eat. He wore a gentle smile that never reached his eyes, which only made everyone more uncomfortable.
The children followed suit and quietly ate. The dining hall was lit by chandeliers, and the walls were painted in bright colors of white and real gold. Yet despite the bright atmosphere, every child felt cold while eating. The food might have been warm, but none of them felt it.
"Rico," Elijah called his son.
"Y- Yes, Dad." Rico almost dropped his utensils.
"I heard about what happened to your company. Why did it fail?"
"D- Don't worry, I can fix it."
"No, I'm asking you why it failed."
"... We relied too much on the stock market. Our website has no sustainable business model and our company was overvalued."
"It looks like you know the reason why you failed."
"I promise I'll fix it."
Elijah simply kept his smile. He started conversing with his children one by one. He first talked to those who were facing problems, business problems, school problems, or whatever the issue was. He evaluated them like a judge reviewing cases.
"William, you've graduated from a film school. Congratulations."
"Thanks, Dad." William's answer was short, as he didn't know how to interact with his father.
"I assume that you want to work in the Entertainment Industry?"
"That's right. I currently own about 30% of the copyrights for The Accidental Wedding Crashers. It's one of the highest-grossing movies of 1995."
"I watched that movie, and I laughed hard. If you are interested in filmmaking, you can contact your sister. She has a lot of connections for you to thrive, and she knows how to navigate the industry better."
"... She was actually the one who introduced me to the director of The Accidental Wedding Crashers," William admitted.
"You already understand how the business works. That's great."
"Thank you, Dad." William smiled, though it looked unnatural. He was tense.
"How about you, Lila? ANT has been doing great these past few years. I'm impressed. Out of all my children, you're the one who never disappointed me."
Lila sliced her steak as every child looked at her. Some of them showed jealousy and hatred, while others felt nothing, as if they had already accepted their inferiority.
"I got lucky."
"Luck is also a talent. And for you to continuously be lucky is an impressive thing."
"..."
"I only bought ANT on a whim for a quick cash grab, but I didn't expect it to get this big after a few years. It can even beat AAC if it continuously creates stars. What is his name again? Hm, Collin, that's right, Collin East. His newest client became a superstar this year. Princess Chantal topped the Billboard Hot 100 for months, and her songs also have high ratings on international music charts. How about you make him an executive and give him company shares? We can't let a talented agent like that leave, right?" For the first time, Elijah's expression changed. He smirked, as if making fun of his daughter, testing her reaction.
"I'm already thinking of doing that. Next month, I'll promote Collin and Arnold into executives and give them 1% company shares each."
"Great, haha, great," Elijah chuckled. "Although I have no idea who Arnold is."
"He's Jolyne Robs' talent agent."
"Oh, Jolyne Robs? Then I guess you have to give him a share too."
1% of ANT might look small, but the valuation of the talent agency was $1.2 billion. The company generated about $370 million in annual revenue after representing many talents in different industries such as acting, filmmaking, modeling, music, and sports. If Collin became an executive, he would earn a company share worth $12 million. Considering that Collin's net worth was around $95 million, that 1% was indeed not bad. But the status it could bring was something Collin was eager to get.
At last, Collin could introduce himself as an Executive of ANT, and that sounded better than a meager talent agent. The title opened new doors.
Furthermore, if he kept earning achievements, the company would give him more shares. So far, the talent agent with the highest shares owned 5%.
There was an agent who once owned 12%, but Elijah bought those shares for a premium price, and the agent retired after that. Elijah became the major shareholder since then and took the position of Chairman. A Chairman who never participated in ANT's business.
"You should keep valuable people close to you and use them thoroughly because wasted talent is an unforgivable sin in business."
"I understand."
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Today's is the first day of the month and a great time to promote my Patreon, I apologize to the readers who are getting tired of my promotions.
[This novel has 68 chapters on Patreon.]
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