Talented

Irene finished speaking, and the conference room fell silent.

The executives present all drew in a sharp breath. It had been a long time since any young person had dared speak to Jerry Nelson like that.

Everyone thought the director would fly into a rage and defend his authority.

Instead, Nelson merely raised a hand, slowly brought the half-smoked cigarette between his fingers to his lips, took a deep drag, then stubbed it out in the crystal ashtray beside him.

His tone was unusually calm. "Of course we respect the contract. Let's do as Miss Coppola suggests."

Irene raised an eyebrow slightly. He had given in just like that, without arguing further.

Two meetings, two completely different attitudes. This Mr. Nelson really was interesting.

"Since Director Nelson understands my point, that's all the better. Does anyone else have any questions?"

The others exchanged glances, their eyes moving back and forth between Nelson and Irene, then all shook their heads in unison.

"Good. One more thing: I recommend that Britney's stage moves after her official debut stay as close as possible to the style in the music video. Cutting out those unnecessary sexual innuendos would do more to shape her image. What do you think?"

"Thank you for the suggestion, Miss Coppola." Carl hurried to respond, afraid she might say something else to make the situation even more awkward.

"Then let's call it a day. I've already copied the music video for you, so my job is done. If you need me to help with anything else, just get in touch." With that, Irene picked up her document folder and strode out.

Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the door opened again.

Irene poked her head in and blinked. "I almost forgot to ask: can I collect the rest of my payment today?"

The conference room sank into awkward silence once more. Everyone looked at one another, but no one answered.

Nelson lifted a hand, his tone unchanged. "Of course. The check is ready at the front desk. Miss Coppola can pick it up anytime."

"Thank you, Mr. Nelson. Your generosity is admirable." This time, she really did leave without looking back.

The executives were left exchanging glances.

"Why are you still sitting there? Get back to work." Only after Nelson spoke did they finally file out of the conference room, as if granted a reprieve.

Once everyone had left, Nelson's assistant stepped forward to close the windows, then refilled his teacup and asked softly, "Boss, didn't you say you were going to give her a hard time? Why did you let her off so easily..."

Jerry Nelson lifted his teacup and breathed in its fragrance. The fresh scent of green tea wafted into his nose. "She has a point. If I kept giving her a hard time, how would that look if word got out?" He paused, then asked, "What do you think of her?"

"Miss Coppola?"

"Obviously. Who else?"

The assistant thought back carefully over their two meetings. "She's audacious, but clearly very talented."

"Even you can tell she's talented. Did you think I couldn't?" Nelson chuckled. "So why would I give a hard time to a director whose bright future is obvious to anyone? Besides, she's quite close to Britney."

He gestured for his assistant to come closer, then lowered his voice. "Shelly Ovitz has been trying to secure Britney's management contract lately. Take him out in a couple of days and tell him I agree in principle."

"Understood, Boss."

"You're not going to ask why this time?" Nelson joked, an unusual thing for him.

"Boss is always thinking several steps ahead." The assistant answered earnestly, clearly missing his superior's joke.

"All right, go on. And don't make tea next time. You're almost through all that expensive tea of mine."

After collecting her payment without a hitch, Irene saw that it was still early and went to browse a nearby bookstore, hoping to spot any familiar IPs.

Every year, the top movies in Hollywood were either adaptations of existing IPs or sequels. Original works were few and far between. If she had enough money, she would sign up a few promising properties right away.

Unfortunately, she was still broke. If she hadn't recently earned this extra money, she would still have to ask her mother for pocket money.

Compared with her peers, the amount she could earn was certainly enough to make her parents proud. But it was still far from enough for her real plans.

It would be more than a year before she could access her trust fund.

Even if she could withdraw the whole sum at once then, it still wouldn't be enough to make a movie. Even a teen comedy would need at least a million dollars in investment to achieve the kind of results she'd seen in her previous life.

What's more, she needed to use the buzz around Britney's debut to give herself a boost. Otherwise, who would take a chance on a rookie director?

The movie had to be released by the second half of next year at the latest. With three months for production, a month for preproduction, and time set aside for promotion, she didn't have much time left.

Money on one side, time on the other. Both were major headaches.

Even if her parents could come up with the money, Hollywood directors never financed their own movies. That was common knowledge in the industry. Her parents had worked in Hollywood for years, and they would never support her doing something like that.

How could she make the most of the situation?

The question kept circling in her mind. Even after she returned to the apartment she was renting, she still hadn't found the perfect solution.

"Welcome back, miss. Miss Sophia called. She asked you to get back to her as soon as possible." Ophelia promptly handed her a cold drink and passed her the phone.

Well, she really couldn't get used to a phone with no entertainment features beyond making calls. She often forgot to bring it. When was Jobs finally going to get moving?

"Hey, sis. What did you need?"

"Why didn't you bring your phone again? I can never get hold of you. You're even busier than I am! Mom and Dad said you're still in Los Angeles. You haven't left yet?" As soon as the call connected, Sophia started complaining.

Irene hurried to explain. "Sis, how could I be busier than you? I found a job recently, so I stopped traveling. Aren't you getting ready to make a movie? Why did you suddenly call me?"

"I knew you'd forget. Didn't we agree you'd come watch the audition? How could you forget already?"

At Sophia's reminder, Irene remembered that her sister had invited her to observe the auditions on graduation day. Now that her work was done, she had the perfect chance to see how it was done.

"My bad, my bad. When's the audition? Where is it?"

"You're quick to admit it, but you never change. That's just how you are." Sophia sighed helplessly. "Nine o'clock the morning after tomorrow, in West Hollywood. Call me when you get there, and I'll send someone to pick you up."

"Okay. See you the day after tomorrow, sis."

"Mm."

"Sis, then should I..." Irene hadn't finished speaking when Sophia hung up.

She had wanted to ask if she needed to prepare anything, but since Sophia hadn't mentioned a thing, she supposed she could just show up.