Page 38 of After Effect

Chapter 10

Finch Corbin

I hadn’t been in the office for more than three minutes before Baek had waved me into his room.

I had been doing more and more odd jobs for Baek throughout the last couple years. A delivery here, or a drop off there. Nothing terribly complicated. I helped him out, and he’d pitch me some contacts or offer me some new resources. It’s been shockingly smooth working with him, considering our rocky start. Though I hadn’t asked for any new favors, so I wasn’t sure what this meeting was going to entail. I took a seat across from him.

“You’re doing better than I ever could have expected.” Baek addressed me without lifting his eyes from his own fingernails. Despite his words teasing at a compliment, his mannerisms never failed to remind me of how far above me he thought he would always be. “Maybe you really are a shark outgrowing its fish tank.”

“Thank you.” I played along, but I knew he couldn’t have called me in here to offer a kind word. He wasn’t that kind of guy. “Lilly Cisneros hasn’t been the easiest star to polish, but I truly believe this is only the beginning of what we’ll be able to accomplish with her talent.”

“Your debt has ticked well past a quarter million in favors and resources.” Baek’s eyes at long last found mine, just in time to catch the slightest glimpse of my dread. “How much higher do you plan to go?”

“I’m not afraid to go as high as I need to.” Confidence is key when talking to megalomaniacs like Christian Baek. If I’ve learned anything these last few years, it’s that. “But with how she’s been performing, I don’t see that lasting much longer. Is there a problem?”

“Another year of interest, another half a million in marketing and promotion and travel.” His voice was deadpan. His words, completely unreasonable. “It’s amazing how deep you’re willing to go just to prove you can buy a fan base.”

I fought the urge to scoff. “There’s nothing purchased about Lilly’s fans. Plus, I’ve seen the numbers. A quarter million in a year is a fraction of the marketing budget for Jonathan’s last acquisition. Give me another year and she’ll be making that every show.”

Baek settled into a smile. “You’re right.”

I’m what? I eyed him suspiciously. “I’m… I mean, right. I’m not an idiot. So what’s the issue?”

“The issue…” He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. “Is that she won’t ever be worth that kind of money if you’re the one managing her.”

My blood was near boiling, but I had to keep my cool. There was no reason to have this kind of doubt. “On what basis? Everything that’s gotten her where she is right now has been my plan. I’ve gotten her on the radio. She’s selling out shows. How much more proof do you need?”

“Headlining at a popular bar on Sunset with a $20 cover charge hardly counts as ‘selling out shows.’ Think bigger.”

“If I wasn’t in this meeting, I’d be working on ‘bigger’ right now.” I should have been biting my tongue, but my temper had me giving in to his provocation. “Are you just going to take me off the project while we’re still swinging?”

“Not at all. I spoke to Lilly this morning, and she was eager for more resources. We both came to the conclusion that she would likely be better served by our senior marketing team now that she’s gotten her career off the ground.”

The temperature of my blood went from scalding to ice in an instant. “Y-you… Lilly said that?” My chest muscles closed in on my heart, tightening like a noose. There had to be some misunderstanding here. She would never say that. What Lilly and I have is… It’s more than… It’s…

Baek tossed a pile of papers across the desk. My eyes glossed over a thorough marketing plan, prepared and signed off by Jonathan. I registered the full implication without absorbing a single word. He watched my eyes. “You’ve given her a solid start, but she’ll be dead in the water if she continues under your direction.”

“What did you offer her?” My voice somehow managed to sound firm. Though my soul was still shaken to its core. I know Lilly believes in me, so there has to be more to this story than that. She wouldn’t let herself be poached within the company unless she genuinely thought it was in both of our favor. I know she wouldn’t.

“I offered her a future.”

A future. I repeated the words in my head until their weight started to feel suffocating.

“What about my future?” I found myself grasping at straws. “You can’t give me a loan, and then steal the business I created right out from under me.”

“Oh? I can’t?” He laughed. I hate his laugh. “Please, tell me more about what I can’t do, Corbin.” Baek folded his hands over themselves, and rested them on the desk. “Let me give you a little bit of insight on how this all works. This is my company. I founded it. I built it. And I will control all of its assets until the day we sell or crumble. And you, Finch Corbin, are one of my assets. Lilly Cisneros is one of my assets. And everything you used to make Lilly Cisneros worth a damn was, you guessed it, one of my assets.”

I didn’t break eye contact. I wouldn’t let him see me buckle. “So what am I supposed to do then? You keep talking like you own me, but I don’t see how it helps either of us to make it so I can’t possibly pay you back. What value is there in breaking our contract at this stage, when I’m the only person she knows and trusts.”

“You’re smarter than you look.” He nodded. “I never said I was taking you off her team. On the contrary, you’re going to be an integral part of our strategy going forward. You and Lilly seem to have formed quite a bond, and that does have tremendous value. I’m simply offering you more resources.” Huh? That was a 180. “Which is why I know I can trust you to make my next proposal a success.”

“What kind of proposal?” I felt physically ill, and I couldn’t begin to explain why. I was still going to be working with Lilly, so that was a good thing, I guess. But I had a sinking feeling that something about this wasn’t going to be kosher.

“How would you like a spot on the Bass Jumpers Tour?”

“What?” That should have been incredible news, and I should have been jumping for joy, but I held back my enthusiasm. This conversation had already been a rollercoaster of emotions, and I would need a few moments to find balance again. And I knew this wouldn’t be a gift. Just the presentation of the coffin we were about to be nailed into. “That would be incredible but… the Bass Jumpers Tour is in three days. How will we promote?”

“I can help you with that. But of course, I’ll need something from you first.”

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