Behind The Spotlight Chapter 183
"That's not fair. You also used the car I gave you, right, Collin?" Princess Chantal pouted, her tone carrying childish dissatisfaction.
The two women had actually given him Christmas gifts, expensive ones. Far beyond what he had expected. A watch and a sports car, both luxury items, with the sports car being the most overwhelming. Collin wanted to decline the gifts, but the two women were adamant and refused to take no for an answer. Left with no choice, he accepted the gifts.
Of course, Wyatt and the others also gave Collin Christmas gifts, but they were far less expensive than what Princess Chantal had given.
Out of all his clients, Princess Chantal had spent over $100,000 on a sports car. A fact that still gave him a headache whenever he thought about it. Collin had no idea what to do with it… He was afraid of driving such an expensive car. He worried about scratches, accidents, and unwanted attention.
"Well…" Collin averted his gaze. He was guilty, as he hadn't used the sports car even once since receiving it.
"What? You wore Isabella's gift, but you didn't use my car? How could you?" Her voice rose slightly in disbelief.
"Alright, alright. Let's change the topic. What are you going to do with the people in the mansion? The New Year has already arrived. There's no point in them staying any longer." He quickly redirected the conversation.
"We want to party more!" Princess Chantal exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Woohoo!" Isabella cheered.
The two women ran out of the room to join the party downstairs. They were indeed young people.
"…"
Collin was speechless, staring at the empty doorway for several seconds.
'I thought Isabella was mature enough to be an assistant and handle serious matters, but I guess I was wrong. Isabella is still young. I need to hire another person who can help me manage Chantal, someone more level-headed and experienced.'
Collin made a decision.
He stepped out of the room and went downstairs. The two women were already adults, and they could do whatever they wanted as long as it didn't spiral into trouble.
When he stepped into the party, he saw Princess Chantal and Isabella dancing, their movements carefree and energetic. The music playing was Princess Chantal's pop song, which made the scene a bit better, at least thematically appropriate.
'At least they are dancing to Chantal's song.'
Princess Chantal saw Collin and invited him to dance, but he shook his head and declined. Princess Chantal approached him anyway.
"Collin, you'll help me if I get in trouble, right?"
"Why are you asking that? Chantal, don't do something stupid." He frowned.
"Of course not." She giggled and twirled a strand of her curly hair. "If I need your help, please help me."
There was seriousness in what she said.
"What kind of question is that? I'm your agent. My job is to help you." He assured her.
"Then, thank you in advance." She returned to dancing with the others as if the conversation had never happened.
Just to be safe, Collin stayed at the party until 3 a.m. in case Princess Chantal and Isabella did something stupid. But nothing happened, fortunately.
He sighed in relief. Before he left, he reminded the two that he would visit them later once things settled down. He hoped that Princess Chantal and Isabella would be sober by then.
...
...
...
Technically, Collin was still on vacation until January 4, but there were some things that needed his urgent attention, responsibilities that couldn't be postponed.
"You got a gig for me?" Jennifer was surprised that Collin had found a job for her. She thought her entire career would revolve around hosting The Singing Voice, with no room for other opportunities.
It seemed that Collin was still thinking of her as his client despite her doubts. She smiled, feeling thankful.
"That's right. I got a role for you. But it's different, you don't have to act. You'll be dubbing a character in a cartoon movie," Collin explained.
"A cartoon movie?" She was curious.
"You know Toys Stories, right?"
"Of course, I know it. It's the first 3D cartoon movie released years ago, produced by Fixar." Even though the movie was advertised for kids, Jennifer had the chance to watch it, and she was surprised by how much technology had improved.
A decade ago, 2D animation was the norm, while 3D animation was considered difficult and nearly impossible due to technical limitations.
"You'll be voicing a cowgirl toy in the sequel. The production team watched The Singing Voice and felt that your voice fit the criteria. Don't expect something huge, though. Just think of this as gaining work experience and broadening your portfolio."
"Gosh darn it, this is going to be fun." Jennifer squealed and clapped her hands together. She found the idea of voicing a cartoon character interesting and refreshingly different. At this point, trying something new sounded fun to her.
"Excuse me?" Collin frowned, clearly disturbed.
"Yes, Collin?"
"What did you say?"
"I said voicing a cartoon character is going to be fun. What about it?" She tilted her head.
"…Never mind."
'Did I hear that right? Did Jennifer just say "Gosh darn it"? What is going on?'
Out of curiosity and concern, Collin placed his palm on the woman's forehead, intending to check if her temperature was high. Perhaps she was sick or exhausted.
When his palm touched Jennifer's skin, she shivered in shock and instinctively avoided him. She noticed Collin staring at her seriously, and she felt "uncomfortable" whenever he did that. His deep gaze was just that hypnotizing.
"What the heck, dude? What are you doing?" Jennifer slapped his hand away and glared at him defensively.
"…I just wanted to know if you're sick," he replied honestly.
"I'm not sick."
"Then why are you speaking like that?"
"Like what? Goodness gracious, Collin, you should be mindful of your words."
"Like that! You're speaking like that!"
Collin was scared and deeply unsettled. As their conversation continued, he realized that Jennifer hadn't used a single swear word at all. This was terrifying!
"Are you a skin walker or a doppelganger? Did you kidnap Jennifer? Where is she? Tell me!"
"Good grief, you're acting insane." Jennifer protested and crossed her arms.
"You're the one acting insane."
After confirming that Jennifer hadn't been kidnapped or replaced by a skin walker, Collin handed the script to her.
"The best I can ask for is $100,000 as your salary," he stated professionally.
"That's already good. I'm going to treat this project as a way to have fun."
For Jennifer, $100,000 was only equivalent to two episodes of hosting The Singing Voice.
Jennifer excitedly flipped through the script to read her lines, but she frowned when she noticed something strange.
"Why do my lines have sexual innuendo?" she questioned immediately.
One of her lines read, "Nice pants, I wonder what's inside."
In that scene, Cowboy Woodie had new pants, and there were small toy guns inside, which prompted the line. It was innocent yet suggestive.
"Are you sure this movie is for kids?" Jennifer asked suspiciously.
She would probably be shocked once she realized that many cartoon movies cleverly hid sexual innuendos.
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[Author's Note: Happy Holidays. For 2000, I have a lot of side plots to tackle, so this year might take me many chapters to write. Also, since I've tackled the music industry, I'm going to explore the sports industry next. I'm going to set a poll later about that. This novel has 72 chapters on Patreon.]