"Is the host for the music festival selected?" Liam asked Evan while reviewing the preparations for the broadcast in his office.
"Mike Chandler, twenty five years old. He has worked on some comedy shows and presented some small events. He has a sharp wit and his counter-quips are hilarious. His comedic timing is top-notch as well. He has agreed to host the music festival," Evan replied immediately.
Liam nodded in understanding.
"Then, ask him to come in next week. We shall have a meeting with him. I might add another presenter to the show. But, I am not yet certain. However, I will confirm next week. We can have both presenters meetup and get to know each other," Liam said calmly.
Evan looked startled for a moment, before nodding along. It was perhaps the possible presence of a new presenter that surprised him.
This was an idea that Liam had brewed over the weekend. He wasn't yet certain. He always felt that having just a male presenter looked awkward for a music festival. That's why his first choice was a female presenter.
Unfortunately, those bitches looked down on the event and refused to present it. The event was being held at night. Combined with the musical atmosphere, having a female presenter would be more suitable. Liam still hadn't given up on that thought process.
"Evan, I hope that there are no issues with the new programs we are launching from today. Do a double check to ensure there are no hiccups. These programs are essential to increase our ratings this month," Liam said in a serious tone.
"On the bright side, the new hires had completed all the formalities and will be joining us from tomorrow. Put them under one of our older employees to learn the ropes. These people are energetic. We need that kind of energy in this office," Liam said relaxedly.
After instructing Evan on some other trivial matters, Liam sent him off from his office. Once the door closed, Liam took the table phone and dialled Dave's number. Dave picked the call up after three rings.
"Dave, this is Liam. Do you have Lilith's number?"
"Lilith's number, huh? Wait a moment, let me get it."
Dave searched his phone book and found the number. Liam noted it down and chatted with Dave for a while, before cutting the call. Liam immediately dialled Lilith's number and waited for her to pick up the phone.
"Hi, this is Lilith."
"Hi Lilith. This is Liam. Liam Hastings. Are you free for a couple of minutes?"
"Oh! Liam, it's good to hear from the busy Channel Head. How are you doing? I am indeed free currently."
"I am fine. I recently saw the MV tapes of your performance. It was good. But, I heard from Dave that you weren't interested in participating in MVs anymore. So, I will be a bit bold and ask if you have any other commitments?"
"No, I am quite free these days. Most of my time is spent job hunting. Apart from that, I am quite free."
"That may change after those MVs air today. Maybe an agent will see your performance and reach out to you."
"They can reach out all they want, but I am not interested in being an actress anymore. I did those MVs to see if I liked that work. Unfortunately, I can't see myself doing it for the rest of my life."
"Is that so? Then, are you still interested in being an interviewer or presenter?"
"Of course, that's my dream. I am indeed interested. Why are you asking?"
"Good, come to the MusixZ office tomorrow. There might be a chance for your dream to come true."
"Wait, you mean…"
"Tomorrow, my office, be there at 11. Have a good day."
Liam cut the call quickly with a mischievous smile on his face. He was sure that Lilith would be hopping on her toes right now in both anticipation and frustration. Liam felt comfortable all over after this.
The next day, two minutes after 11 AM, Lilith walked into Liam's office following Bella's lead. Liam gave a nod and dismissed Bella. He motioned for Lilith to take a seat. He didn't speak, his eyes returned to the file before him. After about five minutes, Liam finished the file and set it aside.
Looking over at the smartly dressed Lilith, he nodded in appreciation inwardly. She did indeed have the figure to captivate men. However, Liam immediately took control of his emotions and calmly greeted her.
Once the greetings were done, he dived directly into the matter.
"MusixZ will be broadcasting the Music Rain Music Festival that will be happening in two week's time. We are currently short of a female presenter/interviewer. If you are interested, I will hire you on a temporary basis to fill this role."
"You will be paired with an experienced male presenter. He will be the lead and you will have to follow his cues. However, you will also have your individual segments. Your responsibility will be to present the event, interview artists backstage, gather crowd reaction, and cooperate with your lead on segments."
"If you do a good job, there is a high chance that MusixZ will hire you as an in-house presenter. There are a few projects that require a host that are in the planning phase at MusixZ. It will be a good place to kick start your career. However, this is all predicated on your good performance at the Music Festival."
"What do you say? Are you up for the challenge?"
Lilith took a deep breath and nodded solemnly. Liam gave a nod in return and continued to speak.
"That's good, it solves our staffing issue. We will arrange a meeting for you to get to know your lead presenter and counterpart next week. You can get to know each other and form some understanding before the event."
"Here is the temporary employment contract. You can take it back home and bring it back tomorrow after signing it. Welcome aboard, Lilith. I hope you enjoy this journey as much as you hope to."
Lilith took the contract and left with a dazed expression on her face. She had come prepared for an interview, but Liam had completely flipped the script and directly handed her dream job on a silver platter. She wasn't sure how to react at that moment.
Liam thoroughly enjoyed the dazed look on Lilith's face. Having scratched the little itch to mess with people in his heart, Liam let out a large sigh and once more dived into the mountain load of paperwork on his table.
One week later, Lilith met with her co-presenter/colleague and the program team. Liam was the one who headed the entire program as he didn't want any issues popping up with this one. Soon, introductions were made and they got to discussing strategy.
Liam's approach was simple. He didn't micromanage everything. He simply outlined the effect he wanted, arranged responsibilities, listened to the opinions of experts in matters related to production, and finalized the overall plan.
Once that was done, he immediately handed everything over to the program team and left the meeting room. He assigned Rosa as the coordinator and didn't bother with the technical discussions much.
There was a reason that he didn't bother much after setting the overall direction. In Liam's opinion, no matter how hard the production team struggled, it wasn't going to elevate the overall level of the show. At most, it will give a better viewing experience for the viewers. Because, the level of the music event was at that level.
What's important for a music festival? It is the artists who perform. All the other things were mere embellishments. Liam knew that this was just a local music festival featuring mostly unknown independent artists. Their level could be judged if one thought with his toes. Barring a breakout performance, there will be no major surprises.
So, the quality of the show wasn't the most important thing for him. This show was just to facilitate MusixZ's entry into event broadcasting. What mattered to Liam more was the sale of ad slot for this show. Grabbing Peter, the marketing lead for MusixZ, Liam focused the rest of his energy on the matter of selling ad slots next.
Peter was a tall guy with a bit of a belly. He was sent to MusixZ to take care of the channel's marketing operations. Peter wasn't a marketing genius. His talent was quite mediocre. If not for that, he wouldn't have been sent to a start-up channel from the main office. He was also prone to procrastination.
Even a good housewife can't cook without rice. Let alone Peter. The ad revenue of MusixZ reflected this. The management strategy of the channel was a mess before Liam took over it. They didn't have a clear grasp on their positioning. So, the marketing was all over the place.
For this music event, Liam devised the marketing strategy. He didn't want advertisers that didn't align with their target audience. He targeted advertisers with clients that had similar target customers as the channel. This operation was relatively different than the MusixZ's usual strategy.
Thus, Peter's abilities came under Liam's scrutiny a lot during this time. Liam was like a slave driver constantly hounding Peter for updates. Under Liam's relentless driving from behind, Peter was forced to squeeze out all his potential and finally land a list of advertisers that Liam was barely satisfied with.
Thus everything was set for the music festival broadcast.