Nowadays, most of the Howlers’ business decisions made would go through Harry and his team. Kai didn’t mind their input, after all, he was happy to admit that the experienced businessman and his team had far more experience in that area, and ultimately it was up to him to make an executive decision.
Nevertheless, Kai still liked to have Olivia by his side. While not as business savvy as the rest, her own experience, there were just some decisions, especially those pertaining to their gang, where she had a better insight, a knack of what was best for the development of a gang. A lot of how the Howlers’ current chain of command, with captains leading their own groups and such, had actually been proposed by her.
“So what do you plan to do? Do you want to inform Gary about the purchase of AJ Entertainment? Make him ask for more money from his own people?” Olivia asked with an amused smile on her face when she imagined his reaction when finding out. “He’ll be travelling to a Tier-2 city and if something does happen it could stir up quite a bit of trouble.”
“At this point, I think it's best if we leave things as they are.” Kai replied. “Judging by how excited he seems, we would just be spoiling his fun if we informed him that he is basically working for pocket change. Besides, he’s putting all his trust into us looking over the gang's finance with very lax rules to go by.”
“Still, this is a partnership with Ash and the Ashen gang. Although most of their business seems to stem from AJ Entertainment, who knows what goes on behind the scenes. There are plenty of entertainment companies that are involved in shady business.” Olivia cautioned.
“Yeah, but this is Gary we’re talking about. If AJ Entertainment turns out to be corrupt in some way that he doesn't agree with, then he will be the first to speak about against them, and stop associating himself with them. That or more than likely he’ll do something in an attempt to fix them. Right now, they believe Gary Dem from the AFA, and Gary Dem the business tycoon are two completely different people.
“It’ll be good to have someone on the inside to check if they have any skeletons in the closet. Gary also has the protection of the AFA right now, so there should be someone to prevent any worst case scenarios.”
Olivia smiled as she heard this. “You're right, but you do know that I was never worried about what they would do, if there are skeletons in the closet, then you know that it should be them worrying about what he will do.”
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The next day, Gary was getting dressed, putting on one of his nicest suits. It was a gift from Kai at some point. At the time, the blonde teenager had stressed that when doing business one needed to wear a nice suit, lest he wouldn’t be taken seriously, but so far Gary really hadn’t had many opportunities to put that lesson into action.
As someone from a family with barely any disposable income, he didn’t have that much stuff in the first place, and although his financial situation had taken a drastic turn, Gary had yet to make use of it to go on a shopping spree, something he had intended to do if he ever became famous as an Altered Fighter. As fate would have it, the teenager was already rich, and currently on his way to become an Altered Fighter.
‘Eddie said I wouldn't be doing any fighting before my debut, so I should just focus on looking my best… but I just feel so uncomfortable in these clothes. It feels as if I’m pretending to be someone I’m not.’ Gary thought as he looked at himself in the mirror. Uneasiness aside, he had to admit his reflection looked sharp. Kai had done a great job in finding a suit that was a nice fit on his body, it just wasn’t stretchy like his gang uniform or the AFA uniform.
The reason for his attire was because today was the day he would be heading the AJ Entertainment. Everything had been arranged for him, to enjoy a treatment that was rare amongst debut students.
‘Just think about the money.’ Gary told himself. ‘To get such a large payment just for a week's work of showing up and answering some questions, and now that I think about it, I’ll even get to hang out with all kinds of celebrities, singers, dancers and others Altered as a bonus!’
It was a position that many would pay a hefty price to be in, so he told himself that he ought to enjoy himself. He received a message on his phone, informing him that his ride was already there. The driver would take him to Mancull, the Tier-2 city in which AJ Entertainment was set up.
Eddie had apologised earlier about being unable to accompany him, and had told him that all the details would be shared with him upon his arrival.
Entering Mancull, it was safe to say that Gary was quite impressed. Although it wasn’t as flashy as Notsburg with all its large buildings and signs pointing to their various casinos, Mancull had its own feeling to it. There was a large river that flowed through the centre, and there was plenty of green life mixed in with the buildings, such as planted trees that had perfectly been put in place.
It was a city that had a lot of thought put into it, and the same could be said for AJ Entertainment’s building itself. It was a large tower-like building, and it wasn't just tall but wide as well, especially at the base of the building which was already as big as a shopping mall.
There also looked to be an extension of sorts going on, as to the right of the building there was a lot of building work. There was no sign, nor any clue as to what it was that they were building, but one thing was sure, they put a lot of money into it.
‘I wonder where they get the money to afford such a large building, and even add to it?’
The building was placed on the river, with a pathway in front of it that looked to be secluded or private. There were walls around the area of the building, and plenty of guards on the outside as Gary went in.
‘I guess it makes sense to have the place heavily guarded and private away from the others, since it's a building with plenty of celebrities, after all.’
Gary could already see trouble, as his car went inside the building just behind the gate, before they entered there were hundreds of photographers with flashing lights.
‘The paparazzi are watching this place with hawk eyes, even following some of the cars that come out, just to get a photo for their story.’ Gary gulped. ‘Well, one thing is for sure, this might not be as relaxing as I thought. I’ll have to be careful while I’m here.’
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