Ted spoke to Scarlet as he walked ahead, “Don’t forget what you promised me either. Please introduce my artists to others in the industry so they can advance their careers.”
“Of course, Mr. Swanson. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely do so,” Scarlet whispered.
She turned to look at Stephen, who seemed rather nervous, and comforted him, “Mr. Laine agreed to meet us, which means we’re already halfway there. Don’t worry too much about it.”
Stephen forced a smile and replied, “Yeah, I hope so. Thank you.”
“We’re friends, aren’t we?” Scarlet smiled brightly.
Stephen felt his heart skip a beat at Scarlet’s beautiful smile.
There had been countless people surrounding him, calling him Steph and buddy, back when he was famous. Yet, they had all run away now that he needed help. The only one willing to forgo her image to help him was Scarlet, who he did not even talk to much.
This was a favor he would never forget.
Shortly after, Ted brought the two before Jasper.
“Mr. Laine,” Scarlet greeted cautiously.
“Hello, Mr. Laine,” Stephen greeted as well.
“Hi.” Jasper smiled and nodded. His gaze fell on Stephen first. It was a rather interesting feeling to see someone he was so familiar with in films appear before him in real life whilst acting so courteous.
In all honesty, this did wonders for his ego.
“Well, you can probably already tell that I’m a bit busy today. I don’t have much time–maybe around fifteen minutes? So let’s talk as we walk and try to be as concise as possible. Is that okay?” Jasper suggested.
Scarlet looked at Stephen.
Stephen hastily replied, “Of course, Mr. Laine. We won’t waste your time.”
Jasper walked toward the door as Ted quickly ran over to open the door for him like an attendant. This was hardly befitting of the president of the largest entertainment company in half of the Mainlands, but he seemed rather happy and proud to do it.
Jasper walked out first, with Scarlet following half a step behind. Stephen stood on his right as they walked.
“It’s like this, Mr. Laine. I wanted to meet you, and Scar helped because I was hoping that you could invest in my company, Mr. Laine.”
Stephen’s first sentence told Jasper a lot.
Scar.
Invest.
Jasper remembered how some rumors surrounding Stephen and Scar had surfaced back when the two had filmed A Somer Odyssey in his past life. Jasper was still a normal civilian then, so he did not know whether the rumors were true, nor did he have any understanding of the lives of such high-class celebrities.
Jasper also remembered that Stephen had opened his own film company in the year 2000. However, while the films involving Stephen himself made plenty of money, the company as a whole ended up making terrible losses the first two years.
Unfortunately, there was no way a film company could survive from the revenue of just one person.
Thus, Stephen found himself in a very troublesome financial crisis back then.
This was further worsened by the fact that Stephen did not have many friends in the entertainment industry, which placed him in a difficult position. This had also been one of the reasons why Stephen had become more withdrawn.
However, after a few more years of financial difficulty, Stephen’s film company began to find its footing again after the release of blockbusters like Monastery Soccer and JC7. While these films did not make immense profits, they still brought in quite a bit of revenue.
“I heard that you recently opened a film company, but it’s not going very well for you,” Jasper spoke.
Stephen nodded and admitted curtly, “You’re right. The company is barely making ends meet.”
“I’ve produced a few films, but they all ended up losing money. I couldn’t even earn back a tenth of what making the films cost me, and I’m surviving purely on my own savings. I even got a loan from the bank with my home as collateral, but I don’t know how long that’ll last me.”
“Why didn’t you ask other entertainment companies in Harbor City to invest in yours? Why run all the way here to ask me?” Jasper asked with a smile.
As they spoke, the group of people made their way out the room and to the backstage area. More than half the people present were celebrities changing their attire before they got on stage to perform. In a space like that, one would bump shoulders with a celebrity or manager and every turn.
All the celebrities recognized Jasper as he walked over, and they all wanted to approach him.
