The day blended into night, and for the first ti in a long ti, Kyle was pleased because he had enough alcohol in his system.
It was the woman with him who kept him in check, even though he wasn’t out of it and could still observe his surroundings.
Nakamura was back out, and more people were showing up, prompting Kyle to be on alert, as there were many he didn’t recognise at the mont.
"Are you sure we won’t take you back ho?" Cassandra suggested, but Kyle’s eyes were focused on Nakamura like an eagle.
"No, I’m okay..." Kyle said, but he saw Nakamura walking a man into a different compartnt of the building.
"Who is that man?" Kyle thought to himself, upon realising he had a strange feeling about him.
Whoever that was, Kyle felt a chill run down his spine, but he needed to know more about this mysterious figure.
A man approached Kyle. Kyle turned his attention to an average, bespectacled man in his late twenties; however, Kyle knew who he was.
This wasn’t just any man—this man was Tobias Vellum, and he had an Oscar under his belt.
Jane and Cassandra recognised him faintly, but he wasn’t one of the more mainstream nas, so they couldn’t place where they had seen him. But Kyle didn’t suffer from this defect.
Kyle knew exactly who was in front of him, and this brought a smile to his face because there was no way soone like this was approaching him just for fun.
There had to be a reason, and the tipsy Kyle suddenly sobered up as he realised the potential of discussing business was sitting right in front of him.
There was no doubt—what he did with Calista was sothing her previous agency was unable to do. So what did Kyle get right?
"Hello, Tobias," Kyle greeted, and Tobias wasn’t surprised that he was recognised because he had won an Oscar.
If anything, he would be offended if he weren’t. Tobias resembled a blend of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, as he shared their physical traits.
"Kyle, I’ve heard great things about your agency," Tobias said, sitting down, but his eyes were focused on Kyle.
Not once did he deviate to admire the two won seated at the sa table.
Jane looked at Cassandra, wondering if they should excuse the n to talk; however, Kyle gestured for them to stay.
"Is that so? I hope Nakamura didn’t give too much credit," Kyle showed his humble side, but this was all deceptive on his end.
"Hahahah! Don’t worry, he kept so of that credit for himself," Tobias was quick to refute this claim.
"Tell , Tobias, why is soone as talented as you seated here?" Kyle asked right away, skipping all forms of small talk.
"Nakamura was right about one thing—you certainly do get straight to the point," Tobias chuckled.
"What can I say? Ti is money," Kyle responded, chuckling as well, but the table suddenly fell quiet.
Cassandra and Jane had no idea what was going on, but the air felt so heavy.
They had only exchanged a few words, yet it felt like they were at war with one another.
This was because they were sizing each other up and seeing what the other person was like.
"Have you seen any of my movies?" Tobias asked Kyle, to which Kyle nodded.
"A few," Kyle responded.
"Can you point out the similarities they all had?" Tobias asked another question, waiting for an answer.
"You," Kyle said, but the man shook his head before his thin lips parted.
"No, that isn’t it... What they lacked was a soul," Tobias corrected Kyle, but Kyle had no idea what he ant by this because, to him, the movie was just fine.
"Soul?" Kyle asked, hoping to get clarification.
"Yes, soul. The art is dying—all we have are zombies playing roles without souls," Tobias reiterated; however, Kyle understood what he ant this ti.
The art was dying in the sense that the entertainers were no longer embodying the role of their characters.
Kyle knew this wasn’t the case, as he had watched so emotional movies that did move his soul, so he had no idea what Tobias was talking about.
"Everyone wants to censor everything—but art cannot be censored..." Tobias said, and Kyle couldn’t believe the words coming from his lips.
This was the exact thought he held—there was no way this man before him had the sa views as him.
"That is right... True art cannot be censored, or it stops being art," Kyle completed his sentence for him.
Tobias’ eyes lit up the mont he heard Kyle say those words.
"EXACTLY!" Tobias was excited about this response, and it showed with his deanour.
"And I believe we can bring that life back. I saw Calista, and there was sothing about her performance—I could see the soul of the character," Tobias added.
Jane’s heart dropped the mont she heard that na. She had no idea why she was still feeling this way, despite Kyle offering her all the reassurance he could provide.
There was nothing more he could do, and this was sothing for Jane to tackle on her own because it stemd from her insecurity.
"I see. Have you seen the movie already?" Kyle questioned with a raised brow, but his silence told him all he needed to know.
Nakamura must have given him sothing to watch because it was hard to discern this from the trailer alone. And if he was referring to Calista’s previous movie, then he would be wrong in his assessnt, because it was a diocre film at best.
Kyle knew he had the money to scrub it off the internet, and there would not be a single trace of it.
But it was her past, and it was sothing that made her known—and erasing it might not be the best choice, as it would be a great reminder to show the world how far she had co.
"Silly thing for to ask. Of course, you haven’t seen it," Kyle said. Plausible deniability was a thing.
Jane was amazed by how composed Kyle was, despite this man having more fa than he did.
Kyle controlled and dictated the conversation. This was the first ti she had seen him interact with another person outside their relationship.
"I want to feature her in my next movie," Tobias said, but Kyle squinted at this offer because it sounded like sothing anybody who tried to take advantage of a situation would do.
Once again, Jane could feel her anxiety rising the mont Calista’s na was ntioned.
The fact that she was the subject of the conversation made her feel small, even though Cassandra didn’t feel the sa way.
She noticed Jane was anxious and placed her hand on her lap to calm her down.
Jane didn’t know she was fidgeting, but the mont she felt Cassandra’s hand, she cald down.
"I decline," Kyle said sternly, because he knew what this was—he wanted to feed off her montum to promote his next film.
Everyone was shocked at the table because they expected Kyle to say yes due to the fa of the man in front of him, but Kyle wasn’t bothered.
"I’m only reaching out to you out of respect. I’m under no obligation to," Tobias said sternly, but despite his serious tone, Kyle didn’t bother much with anything he said.
"I have given you my answer. Now, can you leave my table? I prefer the company I had before you joined," Kyle responded, but there was sothing sinister about his tone.
Tobias felt insulted—as he should—and without saying a word, he got up and left.
Kyle knew he would try to reach out to Calista, but this would be a good test for her.
He checked his phone briefly, and—speaking of the devil—Calista was trending.
"Huh?" Kyle thought to himself, and the first link he clicked showed a picture of Calista and a mysterious man supposedly kissing.
Kyle didn’t say a word and simply slid his phone back into his pocket, focusing on the won in front of him.
There was no emotional connection, so he wasn’t hurt, but Kyle did feel disrespected by her actions. Still, he didn’t care enough to confront her about it.
Jane excused herself to the toilet, and Cassandra allowed her to have her space, because she knew she might need a little ti to recollect herself.
"Is she okay?" Kyle asked.
"She got anxious when Calista beca the topic, but she will be fine," Cassandra inford Kyle, but Kyle could hear the worry in Cassandra’s voice.
"I see..." Kyle responded, and it finally hit him—Calista wasn’t worth making Jane worry about.
He shouldn’t be keeping her if it made the woman he did care about anxious.
Kyle knew he had a choice to make, and he had to make it soon, because one bad egg can ruin the bunch.
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