Chapter 441: Chapter 441

Rayna felt an incoming headache as she asked, “This is serious. Did Faymon Group’s PR team not do anything?”

“I’m not sure,” Ella replied, not sounding optimistic at all. “The news of Kelly taking drugs is all over the internet. It was posted at dawn, so the netizens should’ve taken screenshots of it. Kelly has recently become very popular, and other celebrities, including those at Excellent Entertainment Company, seem to be taking advantage of the situation by fanning the flames of the controversy. They are upset at how she hyped herself up previously.”

“What is her manager doing? Why is nothing done to stop her?” Rayna cursed under her breath. Suddenly recalling something, she asked, “Ella, has the news about her signing an endorsement deal with Glory been released?”

“No.”

Rayna heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s good to know. We’ll ask them to compensate for our losses based on the contract, then.”

“Ms. Garland, there is something more important that needs to be addressed immediately.” Ella glanced at her carefully.

“Newfirm Media just informed me that the script is finished and the director has a thirteen-day break, with filming scheduled to take place in Summerbank tomorrow. However, their timeline is now disrupted because of Kelly’s scandal.”

“No worries. Let the director and actor know that the shooting will be pushed back two days. Use those two days to get to universities or other film sets and locate a female lead who can sign the contract straight away. Once you’ve found someone, tell the film crew to commence shooting immediately.”

Ella spread her hands helplessly. “After reading the news this morning, I called Newfirm Media to tell them to delay filming, but they said it wasn’t possible. Wilson is apparently busy and has to attend a film festival overseas thirteen days later.”

Comprehension dawned on Rayna, and she sneered. “They want money, huh?”

“That’s right,” Ella said, surprised that Rayna had figured out the truth so quickly. “Newfirm Media is willing to postpone filming, but they want to renegotiate the contract. They will set the price according to the market.”

“I can’t believe they came up with such a fancy excuse just to get more money!” Rayna felt disgusted. “I picked him because I discovered he was good at angles from his graduation project. How dare he test my patience?”

Ella thought carefully and proposed, “We should stop collaborating with them since they didn’t bother holding back. I’ll send you some recent young directors’ graduate projects to look at while I go to universities to look for a new female lead.”

Rayna nodded. “That will do.”

“Should I get the script back?” Ella asked. “The scriptwriter works in Newfirm Media, but we’ve paid for the script. We’re no longer working with them, so it may not be a good idea to leave the script with them. What if something bad happens?”

Rayna thought it over and reassured Ella, “It’s all right. We’ve already signed a contract with the scriptwriter, so if anything happens, they will be held responsible. Don’t rush to end the contract with Newfirm Media. For now, let’s focus on finding a suitable female lead.”

If Rayna couldn’t find someone as talented as Wilson and had to go back to Newfirm Media after terminating the contract, they would likely raise the price. It would be wise not to make any hasty decisions.

“Okay, got it.” Ella quickly left to carry out Rayna’s instructions.

Rayna also got to work, first handling the pressing tasks and then moving on to reviewing the work and information of the young directors that Ella had sent her earlier.

She watched several directors’ works but didn’t see anything that she liked.

As she was working, she noticed the two lunch boxes on her table and suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to call Carl.

Since she was busy today, she sent a text message to Gabriel to ask him to come to Glory.

Of course, Curtis was the only one who could read the WhatsApp text.

When Curtis saw her text, he assumed she was flustered after she learned about Kelly’s scandal.

He summoned Gabriel. “Bring the files of Excellent Entertainment Company’s A and B-list celebrities to Glory and check if Rayna is interested in working with any of them.”

“Okay. I’ll head there later.” Gabriel nodded. He then muttered under his breath in confusion, “This is odd. It’s common to see this kind of news, but Kelly’s negative publicity can’t be quashed.”

Curtis explained, “It means she’s not well-liked in her industry, and she’s pretentious. Many people target her and they have connections on various websites, so it’s normal that she’s still trending.”

Gabriel sighed. “Luckily, Excellent Entertainment Company operates independently, so the negative publicity doesn’t affect Faymon Group. Glory took the hit, though. It was hard enough for them to sign the contract with Kelly, but then this happened.”

Curtis’ gaze darkened as though Gabriel’s words had given him a hint. “I heard that the CEO of Glory’s branch company is of mixed heritage. Has the name been announced?”

“Not yet.” Gabriel was caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, but he quickly understood what he meant. “Mr. Faymon, are you saying that—”

“I didn’t mean anything. You can go to Glory now.”

Gabriel was certain that his employer had figured something out, judging from his icy expression, but he could only leave the office quietly.

After obtaining the files on the A and B-list celebrities from Excellent Entertainment Company, Gabriel quickly made his way to Glory.

Both Faymon Group and Glory were located in the financial district and were relatively close to each other, so it only took Gabriel a few minutes on foot to reach Glory. He entered Glory and told the receptionist who he was. After getting in touch with Rayna, the receptionist guided him upstairs.

The receptionist brought him to Rayna’s office. “Ms. Garland, Mr. Tylinski from Faymon Group is here.”

Rayna looked up from her computer. “Okay. You can leave now.”

“It looks like Kelly’s scandal gave you a lot of extra work,” Gabriel said as he looked at Rayna and handed her the files he brought with him. “I have brought you the files on the A and B-list female celebrities from Excellent Entertainment Company.

Take a look and see if you like any of them.”

“I can’t believe you brought these here,” exclaimed Rayna. “I just sent you a text asking you to pick up some things. I didn’t ask you to give me these.”

Curtis had the WhatsApp number, so Gabriel had no idea what Rayna’s text was. He quickly explained, “I was afraid you’d be in a dilemma about picking a new spokesperson, so I brought their files here for you to review.”

“I have a tight budget. Even if you provide me information about the A-list female celebrities, I can’t afford to sign them.” Rayna shook her head and placed the files aside. “What happened to Kelly?”

Gabriel shrugged. “She was caught taking drugs. She’ll have to spend some time in rehab.”

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

Confused, Gabriel asked, “Then what do you want to know, Ms. Garland?”

“Mr. Faymon favors her, right? He gave her movie roles and international endorsement deals if I’m not mistaken,” Rayna said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Faymon Group’s PR team is one of the best in the industry. It’s been a few hours since Kelly’s scandal broke out, but why has no one suppressed the news?”

“Oh, so that was what you want to know.” Gabriel finally understood what she wanted to know. Puzzled, he asked, “But how did you find out about the resources Mr. Faymon gave her?”

I made sure no one found out about that, didn’t I?

Rayna explained, “Oh, people talk everywhere. It’s easy to find out about that. But you haven’t answered my question yet. Kelly is in trouble, but why hasn’t Mr. Faymon used Faymon Group’s PR team to cover up the matter?”

Gabriel was preoccupied with figuring out who leaked the information. Upon hearing Rayna’s question, he quickly responded, “Excellent Entertainment Company operates independently, so even if one of their celebrities gets into trouble, it won’t affect Faymon Group. Furthermore, Kelly is known for being arrogant and flamboyant, which led her to have many enemies who want to take her down. She was caught taking drugs. If Faymon Group’s PR team helps her without caution, the company will be dragged into her scandal.”