As soon as Gary arrived at AJ Entertainment, he accidentally bumped into a young man who exuded an air of importance. The man was accompanied by guards and his confident posture further confirmed his significance in the organization. Although the encounter was brief, it left a lasting impression on Gary.
“Oh, are you one of the producers?” Gary calmly asked.
“Gary!” Upon seeing the three men, Elanor quickly stepped forward and humbly bowed her head, leaving the others in a state of surprise. Clem instinctively grabbed Gary's sleeve and pulled him to the side, as they both watched Elanor's respectful display.
“You idiot, that's not just anybody, but Ash!” Clem whispered. “He’s the person in charge of AJ Entertainment.”
Gary was taken aback to learn that the person running such a large entertainment company was so young – he appeared to be in his early twenties. However, the teenager realized that he too was quite young and perhaps age was not a barrier to success in the industry.
"Please forgive me, sir. I wasn't aware that you would be present here," Elanor apologized politely. "Also, I must clarify that Gary is just a guest and not affiliated with our company as a star or employee. Hence, his knowledge about our business is limited."
Ash smiled, appearing unperturbed by the situation. "No worries, I didn't inform anyone about my arrival either. I just wanted to personally welcome our new talents and share a few words with them."
"You are the future of our company and in order to reach new heights, we must create new stars from the ground up, bigger and better than before," Ash declared with enthusiasm. "Therefore, I have entrusted our producer, Neville Stomper, and one of our directors, Matthew Pearl, to oversee this program and to decide on future projects for both of you."
"You might have heard the rumors that AJ Entertainment no longer holds the majority share in our company, and that is true," Ash confirmed. "However, I will continue to lead this company, and the investment from our partners is what will allow us to expand and grow even further."
Gary observed the other two standing beside Ash. He noticed that the producer was wearing sunglasses indoors, despite the lack of sunshine, and a brightly colored shirt as if he were ready for a day at the beach.
The producer's attire and demeanor seemed out of place for the setting and the country they were in. He appeared aloof and disinterested during the conversation.
On the other hand, Matthew, the other man by Ash's side, exuded an intimidating aura that made others feel uneasy. When the new stars arrived, Matthew kept his focus on them, his hairy physique drawing their attention. He wore a v-neck shirt that showed off his chest hair and a pointed beard that accentuated his strong jawline. His curly hair flowed down to his shoulders, completing his rugged look.
Given the amount of hair on his body, Gary couldn’t help but feel that Matthew resembled a Werewolf more than himself right now.
"It was a pleasure meeting you all, and I look forward to getting to know you better in the future," Ash said, signaling the end of the meeting. As he prepared to leave the room, he gave one last glance at Gary.
As he left the room, Ash couldn't help but ponder about the temporary addition from the AFA. ‘I didn't bother researching him much, but maybe I should,’ he thought to himself. However, first he needed to address the small mess he had created for himself.
As soon as Ash exited the room, Neville stood up and pulled his sunglasses down, glancing towards them. "All female stars, please step forward and do a twirl ever so slowly for me," Neville ordered, his tone oozing with a hint of sleaze. The boys exchanged a glance, uncomfortable with Neville's request, but the female stars complied, understanding the power dynamics at play and the importance of pleasing the guy before them.
"No, no, no!" Neville shouted, his frustration palpable. "What's with these costumes? Where's the beautiful skin, the long, slim legs? These girls are beautiful and sexy, yet you're not showing any of that. Sex sells, and you have them dressed up like this!" The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as everyone stood frozen, unsure of how to respond, except for Gary.
"Is this guy from the 1980s or something?" Gary spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "It feels like I've stepped into a time machine and gone back in time. Plus, aren't they all aiming for different things? One's an actor, another is a TV presenter, and the third is a singer. This guy seems like a bit of a perv to me, to be honest."
As Neville took off his sunglasses, his eyes narrowed and he glared at Gary, seemingly trying to kill him with his eyes. However, Gary remained unfazed, meeting the producer's gaze without flinching.
Their silent stare-off continued for about half a minute, until Neville sighed heavily and rubbed his nose. "I guess it's safe to say who will be the last pick in everything," he muttered. "Alright, this has soured my mood for the day. Just take the rest of the day off, there will be no filming until I call you. You can thank the green-haired boy for missing out on this rare chance."
Gary didn’t care about not being involved in much of the programme, a fact that Neville had understood from him mouthing off. As such, rather than punish him in any way, he had left this comment to steer the group's hate toward him.
Eleanor quickly left the room, and the rest followed. They were in silence walking down the hallway, that was until Spring spoke up.
“Why did you have to open your mouth?” Spring questioned him, the fury blazing in her eyes. “Did you think this was anything new for any of us? That we haven’t heard comments like that dozens of times before? Do you think we don’t know what many like him think, that we just got to meet him because of our looks?
“This was a big chance for all of us, and you might have just ruined that could have been our ONLY chance to work with someone like him? WHY?! Just because you wanted to be some type of white knight?!
“Do you get off on this Sh*t, do you think doing this type of stuff will get us to sleep with you, because it won’t! Maybe you don't care about this stuff but we do, so stay out of it.”
Spring entered the elevator and placed her hand forward not wanting Gary to head inside, the others were already in the elevator apart from Big Dave. Gary could see he wasn’t wanted and thought it was best to let hem head down on their own and approach them again after they had cooled down.
“That one has quite the mouth on her doesn't she, Unfortunately, a lot of them are like that.” Dave commented. “I’m sure you just wanted to do what you felt was right, kid. After all, you got a bad feeling from them two, didn’t you? If so, you’re not wrong.
“The Producer guy is pure scum but he is quite open about it and easy to read, the real one to worry about, is the director by his side Matthew. I’m sure you already know, unlike the others, but the guards including myself are a part of the Ashen Gang.
“The Ashen Gang and AJ Entertainment are run by two people, Ash who is at the top, and Matthew. As AJ entertainment got bigger, though, Ash started to run things in the company more rather than the gang.
“In turn, it also means that Matthews has been able to run a few more things. Gary, I’m only telling you all this because I like you. I like what you did back in Slough and saw how you grew up.
“Matthew is a strong Altered, in fact he’s the strongest in the gang. However, the loyalty in the gang for Ash used to be unmatched, but slowly it started to change. I have a feeling Ash might have known this and that's why he sold control over the company, maybe for some outside help but who knows what he’s thinking.
“Either way, I know you are strong and feel free to get on the bad side of the producer as much as you want, but stay away from the Director.”
-------
Back inside the meeting room, Matthew was licking his lips.
“That girl Spring, I liked her, I really liked her.”
*****
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