In the end, Liam decided to be pragmatic.
He needed this program to succeed. And Lilith was the right person for this. So, he needed her currently. And Lilith also needed an opportunity to break into the circle.
It would be a win-win for both of them. As for how things would develop in the future, that was upto the future itself. He will let future Liam deal with future issues.
Thus, he settled the third program that was needed to be launched as well.
However, Liam didn't call Lilith directly like the last time. This time he decided to leave Rosa to handle the communications. He didn't want to give Lilith extra space. She should know what her status is. If she remains ignorant, he wouldn't hesitate to fire her.
Next day, Rosa came into the office with a bright skin and a skip in her steps. Liam unceremoniously dumped the issue of contacting Lilith to her and put her in-charge of the project.
Rosa didn't mind. She quickly went to work. After informing Lilith to come in for a meeting, she completed the backlog of work that had accumulated on her desk.
Meanwhile, Lilith had a roller coaster of a week.
After hosting the music festival, she was on cloud nine. She felt that she had done a good job. Everyone in the production team told her that she had a talent for the business and encouraged her.
Her friends, family, relatives, and everyone she knew also affirmed that thought. But, the call from MusixZ didn't come. That left her feeling a bit confused. She expected that they would immediately call to hire her after the music festival aired. After all, her performance was there.
There was a reason for her expectation.
Since Liam had told her that she will be hired permanently if she performed well, she decided to collect some information about her future workplace. During the time she worked with the production team for the music festival, Lilith gathered as much data as she could to understand the situation of MusixZ TV.
From the conversations she had with others and the bits and pieces she overheard, she understood that MusixZ was undergoing a rapid shift in their programming style and Liam was at the head of it. Liam was basically rehauling the entire channel and had absolute control over the channel.
After investigating a bit, she liked the direction of the new shift in programming. She felt it had promise. So, she wasn't worried about the future. Also, it gave her an understanding as to why Liam was thinking about hiring her.
Lilith was exactly the kind of change that MusixZ needed. She had always been confident in herself. Whether it was her sex appeal or her presentation skills, she was sure that they were top notch. The only thing she lacked was experience. She felt that once Liam saw her perform, he would immediately hire her.
Moreover, Rosa's relationship with Liam and rapid rise in the company wasn't a secret. Many people discussed Rosa's situation behind her back. But everyone turned a blind eye to it. Liam keeping things professional during discussions helped a lot.
So, she had a certain understanding of Liam's character. He was the type to go after hot women. But, he had his priorities clear. He knows when to keep things professional and how to be discreet. That meant, he had a good control of himself.
However, Lilith had seen several guys like that in her time in college. They were extremely dedicated to their studies or future career, but they had a blindspot for hot women. As long as they didn't conflict, they wouldn't make much of an issue. They chased after hot women and indulged them as much as they could, while maintaining focus on their career as well. To them, hot women were their means of reducing stress.
Lilith had met such people. Dated such people. Wrapped them around her fingers and played them like puppets. So, she was confident that once her performance reached the bare minimum, she would be getting a call from Liam.
However, that call never came.
It ate at her in the night. She was confident of her sex appeal. Years of playing around in parties and being the center of attention ensured her that belief. However, she wasn't so certain about her presentation skills. She wondered if she had not shown enough promise. That thought kept her up.
Her dream of being a host/interviewer relied more on her presentation skills than her beauty. If she wanted to use her beauty, she would have gone the actress route. But, she wanted to be known for more than her beautiful body. So, this affirmation was very important to her.
Liam wasn't like her friends or family members or acquaintances. He was a professional. He was someone who was in the circle. She knew Liam would never lower his standards for a pretty face. So, his affirmation was pretty important to her.
But, it never came.
After three sleepless nights, she ran into Liam in one of the clubs she frequented. The moment she saw him dancing without a care with a hot woman, something in her snapped. It wasn't jealousy per se. She was irritated, she was angry, and she was a bit peeved that Liam didn't seem to take her suffering into consideration.
She thought that even if Liam was annoyed, he would act gentlemanly towards her, leading to a conversation. Even if he was not impressed by her skills, she felt that she could get him to give her a chance. After all, as a newbie, her skills are already at the bottom and can only go up. She thought of persuading him with logic first.
If it failed, she could always try to seduce him. After being cockblocked, Liam must be desperate for release. So, she could charm him and spend a night with him for her break into the industry. Surprisingly, the thought of rolling on the bed with him for a night wasn't repulsive to her. After all, Liam was a handsome man himself. It wouldn't be a loss.
As for Liam not keeping his promise, she didn't even think about it. She was confident in her bedroom skills. She would make Liam sing like a canary for her. So, she had everything planned.
So, Lilith decisively interrupted him.
And that was a big mistake.
The conversation that followed really made her wince. It totally upended her view of Liam. He was too confident. It almost bordered on arrogance. He didn't regard her highly. It was clear that if not for John's intervention, he would have gone off on her. That shook her a bit.
It not only made her question her presentation skills, but also her charm. Seeing Liam easily hooking up with some other hot chick and leaving the club only made her doubt herself further.
The next day, Lilith almost lived like a zombie. She first thought she would get a call the next day from Liam. She rationalized in her mind that Liam was just being petty last night and would definitely call her.
The call didn't come and her hope dwindled.
Now, panic began to set in. She wondered if she had sabotaged her chances by being a bit impulsive. What if Liam had been busy with work and just needed a reminder from her?
In that case, if she had merely met him and had a conversation with him, instead of trying to manipulate him slightly, she would have gotten the chance. If that was the case, then it meant she shot her own foot with her actions.
Lilith had another sleepless night thinking about missed opportunities and berating herself for being arrogant and rash. The next day, her hopes entirely vanished as no call came that day as well.
She was preparing to put away this incident and start looking for other jobs, when the call finally came through. It wasn't Liam that called. It was Rosa. That irritated her a bit, but the content of the call made her smile.
MusixZ was creating a brand new program and she was invited to be the sole host for the show. That was enough affirmation for her talent and beauty. It was gratifying to be honest.
That night, she slept without any worries. She felt energized the next day. Even though Rosa asked her to come in within two days, Lilith didn't dare to use the extra day. The last event had taught her a valuable lesson. She was a nobody now, so she shouldn't be arrogant.
So, the next day, after dolling up nicely, Lilith came to MusixZ dressed up in a sexy manner. Even though it was Rosa who called her yesterday, knowing her position as Liam's secretary, Lilith expected to meet with Liam today. Her failure to seduce him and his awful parting words had lit a fire in her. She didn't know why she dressed to impress, but she felt like doing that.
Entering MusixZ, she was met by Rosa. As the conversation continued, it became clear that even though the idea was Liam's, it would be Rosa whom she would be dealing with. That took the wind out of her sail a bit.
Still, this was an opportunity for her. And it almost looked like it was tailor made for her. She and Rosa ended up discussing the program details well into the evening. By the time she emerged from MusixZ, she had a brand new contract in her hands.
The pay wasn't much. But, the opportunity to shine was there. She was the host, the centerpiece, the one around whom the entire show of Party Hoppers revolved. It was a one man show starring her.
Life looked good for her.