Chapter 453

She was about to shut her phone off, but Noreen picked it up for her.
The moment the call connected, a furious voice erupted from the speaker. “Claire, where are you? You need to get over here and apologize to Mr. Zachariah right now! I worked my ass off to get you this opportunity, and this is how you treat the sponsor?”
“He took an interest in you! That’s a blessing! And you threw a drink in his face and called him a fat pig? What kind of talent are you?”
“I’m telling you, you have to go apologize to Mr. Zachariah immediately and get his forgiveness, or the agency will terminate your contract!”
Noreen’s patience wore thin. She spoke into the phone, her voice calm but firm. “Then terminate it.”
“Who is this?” the agent demanded, realizing it wasn’t Claire’s voice.
“You don’t need to know who I am. But I will remind you that forcing your clients into situations like that is illegal. We reserve the right to pursue legal action.”
The agent burst out laughing. “Legal action? Do you have any proof we forced her to do anything? Let me tell you something, Claire is signed to a ten-year contract. If she doesn’t cooperate with the agency’s arrangements, it’s a breach of contract, and we will sue her for the buyout fee!”
Noreen’s expression didn’t change. “I’ll pay the buyout fee. But I will also pursue legal action against you. This phone call is all the evidence I need, isn’t it?”
The agent, suddenly worried Noreen was recording the call, hung up immediately.
Claire chewed on the end of a wooden skewer. “That was a bit impulsive, Noreen. The buyout fee is astronomical.”
“Is it really a problem if money can solve it?” Noreen said, gently taking the skewer from her hand.
Claire’s eyes lit up. “My sugar mama! Take me, I’m yours!”
“Don’t let this nonsense ruin your mood. I’ll have my lawyers contact them about terminating the contract. And then, we’ll start a new company. You’ll be the only artist we sign.”
“I’m clinging to this leg and never letting go!”
With Noreen in her corner, Claire’s worries vanished into thin air. The two of them drank until they were both thoroughly content before heading home.
The next morning, Noreen told Claire she was going to the office. As soon as she arrived, she had her legal department contact Claire’s agency. They were a well-established firm, used to handling these kinds of situations, and they treated Noreen’s team with dismissive arrogance.
Noreen cut straight to the chase. “Let’s not waste time. How much is the buyout?”
The agency representative tried to
play games
I’m sorry, Miss Gilmore,
but Claire is an artist we’ve invested
a great deal of time, money and resources
a great to developing. We are
not interested in releasing her from her contract.”
“Ten million.” Noreen stated the figure Claire had told her.
“It’s not about the money.”
“Twenty million.” Noreen wasn’t going to let Claire be tied to this toxic company for a second longer. She was ready to throw money at the problem until it went away.
The representative went silent for a moment. “It’s really not about the money.” “Thirty million,” Noreen said, her patience gone. “I suggest you take the offer.” Twenty minutes later, Noreen called Claire. “Hey, have you thought of a name for the new company yet?”
“How about Scrambled Eggs and Chives?” Google seaʀᴄh.net
Noreen frowned. “Are you serious?”
“Huh? Oh, I was asking if you wanted scrambled eggs and chives for dinner. I’m
at the supermarket,” Claire said, completely confused.
Noreen sighed. Fine. I’ll eat whatever you make.”
Claire grabbed a bunch of chives and headed to the checkout. As she was walking out, she saw two people that made her stop dead in her tracks. She quickly snapped a photo and called Noreen, he voice buzzing with excitement.
Noreen, assuming she had finally decided on a company name, was about to ask
when Claire’s voice exploded from the phone.
“Noreen! You will not believe what I just caught on camera!”