Page 10 of After Effect

“You again?” Christian Baek didn’t bother to lift his eyes from his laptop. “And Chandler. What is this regarding?”

“A proposal, sir.” Jonathan seemed much more stiff and uncertain in himself when talking to Baek. A far cry from his usual overly cheery demeanor. “Finch scouted some local talent that has proven to be a bit more rough around the edges than we’d generally take on, but being it’s his first potential project, I was thinking it would be a good learning experience to let him give it a shot.”

Baek rolled his eyes, though he still didn’t lift them from the screen. “Do you think ALIVE is a charity organization? On what basis are you asking me to make an offer to someone who’s ‘rough around the edges’?”

Jonathan glanced at me as a signal for me to plead my case. Only, I wasn’t really sure what my case was supposed to be. I came up here as a sort of knee-jerk reaction, and I hadn’t planned out any of my talking points. I already owed Baek most of my wages for months and months to come, and I was about to ask a favor? Not a great start.

I cleared my throat, and stood up as straight as possible in an effort to pull in some confidence from the universe. “Her name is Lillian Ainsworth-Cisneros. Her voice is unique, but extremely marketable, and her style has an ‘it’ factor that can’t be easily replaced. If her only real hang up is being nervous in an audition, I think we would regret letting her go somewhere else.”

I hid my inward cringing at my half-assed pitch. I hope that sort of sounded like I know what I’m talking about.

“And how exactly do you expect to fix these problems?” Baek seemed to be listening. Maybe he was even legitimately considering my proposal.

I was hoping Jonathan might have some ideas, because I didn’t have a clue. I waited for a few moments for him to chime in, but despite his offer to be my backup, he was clearly putting this all on my shoulders. I wasn’t the only one who was intimidated by Baek, it would seem. I made sure not to falter as I threw down my first bluff. “I have a full program I’ve designed to iron out the issues, which, upon successful implementation, will help all future recruits.” That sounded official, I thought. Jonathan gave me a nod and a smile. Good. I’m on the right track.

Baek leaned back in his chair, finally lifting his eyes to mine. “Send it to me when you’re back at your desk, and we can discuss further.”

Shit. That should have been a positive response, but I didn’t actually have anything to show. “I can go through it with you right now.” I heard myself blurt out, against any logical judgement. I just kept digging my hole deeper.

Baek smiled. Though it certainly wasn’t the joyful type. “I’m listening.”

I swallowed hard. Why was I going so far out on the limb for Lilly? Everything had felt so urgent that I came up here, completely unprepared. It was a foolish plan at best.

I’m supposed to be a writer, right?Improvise. “The issue in this case is primarily stage fright. Basically, we’re dealing with someone who has the heart and charisma of a performer, but is missing the ego. Which is actually an advantage. Overconfidence might be helpful in early stages of this career, but it’s always what ultimately creates between a star and the common people.” It was all actually sounding fairly reasonable in my head. I continued. “When I was in my teens, I had to completely reset my entire life. I started from scratch on friends, schools,” my parents, my name- he doesn’t need to know that- “everything. I was never particularly socially adept to begin with-“

“I can see that.” Baek interrupted. He stroked his goatee and raised his eyebrows, regarding me with pointed curiosity.

I shook it off and kept going. “So I had to learn how to invent a person who my peers would be willing to approach. I studied the way people reacted to subtle changes, like raising my hand more often in class, answering a question wrong versus answering a question right. Succeeding in sports versus feigning mediocrity. And it all came down to a simple formula: Be good but not too good. Be smart, but not too smart. People are willing to invest in someone they see as just special enough to lift their social status while not so special that they’ll be completely eclipsed.”

“Fascinating psychology. And your point?” Was that amusement in Baek’s eyes?

“You told me in our last meeting that our goal was to manipulate and sell to the masses. We’ve played out the perfect. When someone walks in here with all the confidence in the world, you don’t have the chance to break them of bad habits and mold them into what we actually need. But this woman- she’s young, she’s inexperienced, and she’s moldable.” I was speaking so matter-of-factly that even I started to believe myself.

Baek’s gaze bounced over to Jonathan. “And what do you think, Chandler?”

“We have the budget to give her a chance.” Jonathan tossed me a reassuring smile.

“Okay.” Baek nodded. “I’ll consider it.”

Really?! Just like that?!

“Thank you, sir.” Jonathan nodded.

“You won’t regret it,” I asserted.

“I know I won’t.” The words were positive, but Baek’s expression and tone were unreadable. With that, Jonathan and I turned on our heels and headed for the door. Jonathan stepped out first, but before I could follow, I heard Baek’s voice behind me.

“Corbin.” My name sounded more like a death sentence on his lips. “Hold back for a moment.”

I stopped in my tracks and let the door fall between me and my only ally. A moment of hesitation passed before I turned to face him. “Yes, sir?”

“Come. Sit.” He motioned toward the chair across his desk.

I obliged. “Is there an issue?”

“How is Mark doing?”

What? “He’s been well. Working as much as always.” I paused for a moment, unable to keep the look of suspicion out of my eyes. “I wasn’t aware that you knew my father.”

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