Page 20 of Vicious Tycoon

“Aires.” Dad intervened. “The man is throwing you a bone. I suggest you take it.”

Despite the director singing my praises, my father didn’t give a shit about it. What I accomplished never mattered. Nothing was ever good enough for him.

“People love a good comeback story, and I want to be a part of yours. It’s really that simple.” B. Night laid the contract on the table. “You’ve always been a very private actor, and I respect that about you. Your fans, your diehard ones, they don’t really know who you are. At least not the man behind the screen. I think it’s time you remind them what you’re made of.”

I was eagerly waiting for the other shoe to drop. There had to be a catch. No doubt about it.

“Your fans will love to feel like they’re part of your life outside of your movies. Not only have they been with you since yourKids Clubcareer began but now they’ll also be a part of your second-chance, epic comeback. Fans love to feel like they’re a part of something, and with this journey we’re about to embark on, we’ll make movie history and win every award.”

My mind was spinning. It was a whirlwind of emotions until he slapped me with the plot twist. The one I was never predicting.

“You wanted a catch?” He nodded. “You want to make this movie with me?”

“Of course,” I declared.

“Great.” He smacked his hands together before dropping his atomic bomb on my head when he hit me with the ultimatum. “We can make this movie together on one condition. I want yourKids Clubcolleague to play your love interest.”

My stomach dropped. “Bailey?”

He smiled wide. “Absolutely.”

“Have you pitched?—”

“We have to her team.”

“And?”

He eyed Thomas and my father as he shared, “They refuse to allow her to work with you.”

“I see.”

B. Night slid the contract across the table. “On top of your legal issues, you have a short fuse and often let your temper get the best of you.”

“I always warn the paparazzi to get their cameras out of my face before I react to their incessant stalking.”

“It’s their job to have their cameras in your face,” Dad bit. “The day reporters don’t harass you with their cameras in your face is the day we have a bigger problem than you and your rage.”

“They always seem to catch me on a bad day.”

“Every day is a bad day?” Dad ridiculed.

Redirecting my gaze to the director, I questioned, “If her team has said no?—”

“It’s now your job,” Thomas stressed. “To make them say yes.”

I shook my head. “How the hell am I supposed to make that happen?”

“You two used to be two peas in a pod.” Thomas stood. “Use your charm, your memories, use your dick if you have to… just get her team to agree.”

“A love story within a love story,” B. Night remarked. “I can hear the box office gold now.”

I didn’t have Bailey’s number, and I hadn’t spoken to her since the night I got into all of this trouble for her. I knew how her management worked. If anyone could convince them, it would be her publicist Capri Locke.

Growing up in this business, I learned to keep my friends close and my enemies closer. This mentality wouldn’t be the first time to save my ass. Capri’s fiancée, Elias Sinclair, owed me a favor.

So it was now or never.

The phrase “everything happens for a reason” meant more to me at that moment than ever before.

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