I gestured at Jake and asked Ryan, "You know him? Is he a new artist we just signed?"
Ryan glanced at him, confused. "I guess? Don't really remember him."
I smiled. "He says he's my nephew. Funny—I didn't know that."
Jake's face had gone completely pale.
I found this amusing. "You probably joined the company while I was on leave, so you never met me. You just knew the CEO's last name was Jensen. You saw Chase that time because he was helping me pick up materials from the office. Though you're right about one thing—we definitely are 'that kind' of relationship."
Being CEO of an entertainment company at 27 sounds absurd.
How did I get there?
Talent?
No. My dad.
Junior year of college, I said I wanted an internship. My dad didn't want me bothering him at his company, so he gave me startup capital and told me to do my own thing.
That year Chase had just entered the industry. I pulled together some partners, opened an entertainment company, and boldly declared I'd make him a star.
Later, the artists we signed kept blowing up and the company grew huge.
I never really managed anything—my partners handled it all. But I remained the majority shareholder.
Jake was stuttering now. "C-Claire—I mean, boss—I only said I was your nephew because I was being vain. I didn't know your real age. I'm so sorry, really sorry."
Sophie was shocked, mouth hanging open. When she recovered, she shoved Jake hard. "You lied to me! I spent so much money on you, you fraud!"
Sophie glared at me resentfully before storming off.
...
He scammed you, why are you glaring at me?
Ridiculous.
I looked at Jake. His looks would stand out among regular people, but his character meant even with resources, he'd cause problems eventually.
Better to cut losses now.
I clicked my tongue. "Break your contract."
Jake froze, then started groveling with all sorts of excuses.
When he realized I wouldn't budge, his expression turned vicious. Before leaving, he spat out, "You'll regret this."
I didn't understand what he meant at first.
Until the next day when I saw the flood of articles:
"According to insider sources, Chase Hamilton's wife is the secret CEO behind DreamWorks Entertainment. When Chase first debuted, Claire Jensen poured massive resources into promoting him. Whether Chase was groomed by a sugar mama is up for debate, but the childhood sweethearts story Chase posted is clearly fabricated. What do you think?"