Lily and her assistant walked into the conference room, dark and empty except for the light the projector emitted and the Big Boss at the head of the table.
They sat in silence, waiting for the others expected to be in the meeting.
The familiar click of Jang Bleu's heels penetrated the comfortable silence, followed by Jimin, Nicki, his attorney and his mother. The lights blinked on with their arrival.
Jang Bleu sat opposite Lily, the light tinting her skin with a hue that made her look more like the vampire she is than human. Her red lips tilted up in a faint smirk before curling back down.
Nicki sat two seats down from Lily and her assistant.
With everyone settled, the meeting officially began.
"Good morning everyone, thank you for joining us today. I'm glad we could find the time to hold this meeting today."
"This meeting is intended to give us a chance to ensure all terms of the contract are clearly understood, address any questions and finalize the nexts steps."
"Starting from the right of the table please introduce yourself and, if you work here, your title."
Nicki's Mom went first, introducing her self as Mrs Hwang Ji-hyun, then Nicki as Nicki Hwang. The introductions went round till Lalia's turn.
"Lalia Jung, PA & Secretary. "
Then the attorney:
"Esquire Ines Frank, legal counsel."
Then Lily:
"Lily Song, Executive Producer."
After the round of introductions, they discussed the terms and clauses of the contract to which Nicki and his Mom were to agree or disagree.
The contract was to be renewed bi-anually, marketing and promotion was to be handled by the company, royalty rate was to be ten percent with a 70/30 split of revenue, a termination clause and lastly the exclusivity term.
In actuality, that's why they were all here, to discuss the exclusivity clause. Nicki was the next big thing, despite still being in training.
The public anticipated his debut, he had already garnered enough traction to not flop the early stafes of his music career which meant who ever got to managed him would not only gain a good reputation but a higher wage and if Nicki agreed to be exclusive with whichever manager he got, even better.
"Does everyone present agree to the exclusivity clau–"
"No."
Every head whipped to where the interruption had come from: Jang Bleu.
For fuck's sake the manager hadn't even been chosen yet.
"Although I think I'm obviously the best person to manage Nicki considering my success with Jimin and Eunji—they are flourishing— I think we should eliminate that clause so that he has some freedom to switch managers if he has any issues whatsoever." She explained.
Freedom? Obviously she just wanted a back up plan for if she failed to manage him properly so her mistakes would be someone else's responsibility.
She glanced at Lily then rolled her eyes.
For her own selfish gains, she suddenly wanted an alternative for the artist. Her reasoning didn't even make sense!
Big Boss cleared his throat before speaking again, he hated being cutoff or interrupted.
Lily would know because she had seen how strict he was back when she was a new employee.
"Well, I suppose it is up to the artist to decide." Big Boss countered.
Lily and Bleu's gaze turned to Nicki expectantly.
He'd been quiet the whole meeting, until now.
He looked around the room, no hint of nervousness in his fierce eyes. Usually, when artists lucky enough made it here, they'd usually tear up or suffocate with nervousness.
Nicki was unlike them, he was calm, calculated.
"Thank you, really for this opportunity and your suggestion. However, I will adopt the exclusivity clause. Of what use is an artist if he can't show loyalty to the very people that lay the foundation for him. How would he prove his dedication to the company? To his fans?"
His tone was cool but void of emotion.
"Well said, son." A shadow of a smile flashed across the boss's face, then it was gone.
Nicki's mother beamed with smiles, she'd been smiling ever since the beginning of the meeting.
"We have come to the most important part of this meeting. As an up-and-coming artist, Nicki needs an experienced manager, one who knows how maneuver they're way in the industry, the media and to set him up for success."
Jang Bleu fixed her suit, flashed another smirk in Lily's direction and angled herself to face the boss. Her smile grew, making her look like a little girl at the thought of candy.
"Therefore, I will... let the artist choose who he wants to work with."
Tension enveloped the room, Bleu tensed, Jimin shot Lily a dirty look while the boss and Nicki were calm and poised.
This was new. The boss had never let an artist pick who they wanted to work with because usually, the boss chose who's best for them.
Of course this surprised Bleu as she hadn't thought of convincing the artist himself of her competency.
"With regards to what I said earlier," Nicki finally spoke up, "I think it would be an honour if Miss Song managed me."
Lily turned to him, briefly acknowledging him before arranging her face into a neutral expression.
Bleu was horrified, she slammed her fist on the table then shot up of her seat.
"What? No! Lily's an executive producer she shouldn't be managing artists. I don't know if she even can." She snickered.
Big Boss glared at her. What did he hate more than interruption? Dramatics. That's why he owned a record label and not a film studio.
"Actually, she has managed a few artists over the years quite well, if I do say so myself." Big Boss said, interrupting Bleu.
Lalia's eyes widened, realising that even Big Boss was on Lily's side.
With no other choice than to obey, Bleu sank back into her chair.
"Lily," Big Boss turned to her, "from now on, you are responsible for the management, promotion, and public image of Nicki Hwang."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Lily said with a slight bow of her head.
"This meeting is over. Thank you all for attending." Big Boss addressed everyone then left for his office.
Nicki and his mom followed, then the attorney, then Jimin and Bleu but not before they shot Lily and Laila one more dirty look.
Lalia turned to Lily : "Now they're going to be even more difficult and dangerous."
Lily sighed.
"Great, just what I need."
They exchanged a knowing glance before exiting the conference room too.