Helen’s POV:
I looked out through the door seam as well, only to find that Velma was standing outside the door with
her hands on her hips, looking angrily at Sanford.
Obviously, he had run in to seek refuge from her.
Sanford felt quite embarrassed as if he had been caught with his pants down, and slowly pushed the
door open.
"Sanford, you scoundrel!"
“How dare you run away after kissing me full on the lips?"
Velma chided angrily.
Was she telling the truth? I was stunned.
Tina and Melissa also looked up in surprise and then leaned towards the door to take in more of the
juicy gossip.
"What nonsense are you talking? I didn‘t kiss you," explained Sanford in his defense.
"I just accidentally touched your lips when we were playing games last night."
However, Velma turned a deaf ear to his excuse.
"Just tell me if your lips touched mine or not?"
Sanford was red faced in the light of her accusation, and small beads of perspiration began to appear
on his handsome face.
"Yes, but I didn‘t mean to kiss you.It was a pure accident."
"That was a kiss! You said so yourself.Many relationships start by accident.If everyone acted rationally,
the human race would have been extinct long ago! You are in denial."
Velma had her own reasoning and you could not argue with her so–called logic.
Sanford seemed so embarrassed that he didn‘t know in which direction to turn.He dared not look her in
the eye.I stood there, amused by their childish exchange.It suddenly occurred to me that George
resembled Velma every time he quibbled! And then I thought of Kendal.He confused right and wrong
when he was unreasonable.
It just so happened that I was in the midst of reviewing Sanford‘s contract He was one of the most
popular stars of Fantail Entertainment.
In fact, he had signed up with the company before he started college.
In addition to his gorgeous appearance, he had solid basic skills.
His acting talent had been acknowledged by internationally recognized directors and his work in movies
and on TV spoke of his popularity.
But after looking at his contract with Fantail Entertainment, I found that he was underpaid for his ability.
His talent was being stretched to the limit yet his remuneration was not on par.
His ten–year contract was signed well before he became a celebrity.
Even when he later indeed became a famous star, the company did not include any supplemental
clause with him to increase his income.
In other words, Sanford kept only a fraction of the money he earned.
The contract was over seven years old and would expire in less than three years.
His fans had been persuading him to terminate the contract with the company.
Logically speaking, when he first signed the contract a few years ago, no one knew that he would
become such a famous actor, so the penalty mentioned on the contract wouldn‘t be too much to pay.
However, this problem hadn‘t been resolved yet, and Sanford had even publicly expressed his loyalty
to the company.
"Without the support of Fantail Entertainment, I would not be where I am today.I will not terminate the
contract with the company that helped me gain such a strong foothold in the entertainment industry."
Because of his attitude of gratitude, his fans loved him even more, and the public opinion of him was all
round praiseworthy.
Although he had emphasized that he wouldn‘t terminate his contract with the company ahead of time,
doubts remained as to whether he would renew his contract after expiration.
Spacetime Finance‘s acquisition of Fantail Entertainment was an attempt to use its resources to enter
the sphere of the entertainment industry.
In addition, their main reason of doing so was to appease the spoilt Velma.She was in love with
Sanford and wanted to be with him.
Therefore, the key to finalizing the whole case lay in Sanford‘s hands.
If he terminated the contract now or didn‘t renew it in two years‘ time, the significance of the acquisition
of Fantail Entertainment would be greatly diminished.
I checked the TV series that Fantail Entertainment planned to shoot in the next two years and
discovered that Sanford was not the main character in any of them.
It was clear that Fantail Entertainment shrewdly intended to take advantage of Sanford‘s popularity to
bring other entertainers to the public‘s awareness over the next two years.
In other words, the company probably suspected that Sanford wouldn‘t renew his contract with them,
so they were trying to make maximum use of him before he quitted.
I decided to talk to Sanford about his future plans to get a better perspective on matters.
However, when I was handed this case, Fantail Entertainment told me that the acquisition must remain
confidential and couldn‘t be disclosed to their entertainers, so it was impossible for me to directly
communicate with Sanford about how unfairly the company was treating him.
If I didn‘t talk with him however, the due diligence report couldn‘t be detailed.
I had no choice but to report the situation to Korbin of Spacetime Finance and ask him to look into the
matter Because of Kendal, Korbin had been very cooperative with me.
After listening to my concerns, he immediately had the lawyer in charge of the acquisition consult with
the company official of Fantail Entertainment.
Spacetime Finance had previously invested huge sums of money in several films of Fantail
Entertainment before the acquisition, so Fantail Entertainment quickly agreed to let me talk to Sanford
when Korbin requested such a meeting.
Although Sanford looked innocent on the surface, he was actually very wary of me.
After all, he was an intelligent man who had been in the entertainment circle for many years.
Every word he said was very precise and official.
It seemed as if he was answering all my questions, but on reflection, I found that he didn‘t add any
useful information.
I talked with him for a while, but it didn‘t pay any dividends, so I couldn‘t help feeling a little frustrated
"He was more cautious than I thought, choosing his words very carefully as he spoke to me.I talked
with him for a long time, but he was not prepared to budge.He was so shrewd at such a young age.No
wonder he had lasted in the entertainment circle for so many years,"
I complained to Lucy when I got home.
"I wonder if I can someday be that cautious like him.He never let down his guard even for a moment."
"You are good now.You don‘t have to be like anyone else.Have you thought about that maybe he just
has no choice but to be cautious about everything? The public may never understand how difficult it
was for someone to become famous at such a young age.It looked all fun and glamorous on the
surface, but in reality, it involved a great deal of private suffering.Besides, you are not his family or
close friend, so why would he tell you the truth?" said Lucy
"You are making a lot of sense."
I nodded in agreement.
Lucy had a point.I had only met him a few times, so he would obviously not take me into his confidence
and divulge his plans to me.
"Hey, when will you invite me to your new apartment? George was so generous to give you a new
apartment as a gift.I was really taken aback," said Lucy.
Her attitude towards George had improved since she found out that George had gifted the fancy
apartment to me.
Previously, she used to look disgusted at the mere mention of his name.
"You are so easily bought off by him," I said in jest.
"Not by him, but by his money! If he had been so generous earlier, I would have been softer toward
him.How about showing me around your new apartment today? I‘ll come by shortly," Lucy said,
sounding excited.
I texted her the address and told her to call me when she got to the gate.
This was a high–end gated community with and strict management.
Non–residents were not allowed to enter.
By the time George got home from work, Lucy had already arrived and was lounging on the sofa,
savoring some fruit.He looked at me, perplexed.
Just as I was about to explain, Lucy blurted out, "George, go cook something.We are starving."
She had really made herself at home.
George looked at me helplessly.
He went into the cloakroom and changed into something more comfortable.
Then he rolled up his sleeves, walked over to me and kissed me on the forehead.
In a soft voice, he asked, "What would you like to eat?"
"Shouldn‘t you ask your guest what would satisfy her palate?"Are you always this rude to your guests?"
asked Lucy, complaining.
"The guest should comply with what is convenient for the host.Haven‘t you heard of it before?" asked
George.
Lucy was left speechless.
George turned and went to the kitchen to check the menu on the smart fridge‘s screen.
Lucy leaned in and pointed to some dishes on the screen that she felt like eating.
Without saying anything, George quickly took out the ingredients for the dishes that Lucy had ordered
and started cooking.
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