CHAPTER 128: WORTH MORE THAN FAME

I stopped walking and laughed for a moment. Why did he text me like he was my secretary or something?

Besides, why did he talk as if we didn’t live under the same roof? Still, no matter how odd it was, I appreciated it because he sounded adorable, like someone eagerly waiting for his present to arrive.

[Me: Thank you for reminding me. I’ll let you know once I head to Zentra 3]

Was the heart emoji necessary? Probably not. But I felt like it matched the tone of my message.

Lando didn’t reply after that, probably because he thought it wasn’t important enough to respond to.

I shrugged it off and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. It didn’t take me long to get ready since I wasn’t wearing much makeup today.

When I arrived at the Green Leaf office, Marissa was already waiting for me in the lobby. She looked as neat as always, and she had already told me earlier that she planned to negotiate for the same fee that Red Zone Production had offered me.

However, the negotiation process didn’t go as smoothly as we hoped.

"Ms. Hale, with all due respect, but thirty-five grand?" Eric, the producer, raised a brow, clearly thinking it was a ridiculous amount of money.

This drama had twelve episodes in total, and since I was the female lead, my total pay would come to around $420,000—almost half a million.

If I were a famous actress, they probably would’ve agreed right away. But since I was still a newcomer, they only offered around seventeen grand per episode.

In other words, they wanted to underpay me, while Red Zone Production had even set the rate at twenty grand at first.

"What’s wrong with that number?" Marissa said calmly. "The last time I checked, you paid eighty grand per episode for Lariette Archer in one of your youth dramas."

I stiffened the moment she mentioned Lariette’s name but quickly tried to calm myself down.

More importantly, how did Marissa even get information about the fee Lariette received?

Just as I thought, Marissa was truly one of the greatest managers, and a spy as well.

On the other side, Eric leaned forward, looking annoyed, like he thought Marissa was being unreasonable.

"That’s because Lariette is already famous! Of course, you can’t compare a newcomer’s rate to a veteran’s." Then he turned to me and added, "Please don’t take that the wrong way, Helcia."

I only smiled in response, because Marissa had warned me to let her handle the negotiation battle.

"Veteran? Newcomer?" Marissa replied confidently, as if she had dealt with this kind of argument hundreds of times. "Mr. Donnelly, when you held an open audition, weren’t you looking for talent? An actress’s famous level shouldn’t matter when we’re talking about talent."

"I’m sure you can see that Helcia’s acting skills are on par with the so-called ’veteran’ Lariette you mentioned," she added.

She sounded a bit sarcastic toward Lariette, and that was exactly her intention. People in this industry knew Lariette’s acting was mediocre at best, so saying she deserved higher pay than me felt like an insult.

But honestly, fame still plays a big part in this world because, at the end of the day, it could be the difference between getting what you deserve or being underpaid.

More than that, a well-known actor could also provide free promotion since their fans usually follow all of their projects.

However, if fame is the only thing used to determine the quality of a talent or a film, then this industry is already doomed.

"Ms. Hale, maybe we should talk in private," Eric suddenly said. He glanced briefly in my direction, clearly showing that he didn’t want me to hear what he was about to say.

Marissa might not have said anything yet, but as a manager who had been in this industry for a long time, she surely had connections with plenty of producers, including Eric.

"No," Marissa said firmly. "I’m Helcia’s manager. If you want to discuss her contract, you’ll do it in front of her."

"Mr. Donnelly, I understand that fame is important in this business, but how could you possibly offer such an unfair rate to someone as talented as my actress?"

Eric clicked his tongue and let out a rough sigh. "It’s not like this is my decision, Ms. Hale," he said. "The budget for this drama was cut by about twenty percent, and the amount I offered Helcia was suggested by Mr. Brixton."

Marissa frowned. "Kai Brixton?"

"Yes," Eric replied. He glanced at me again and spoke in a lower voice. "I didn’t expect him to do that either."

Eric clearly knew there was tension among the Brixtons, but since Kai was the one who recommended me at the audition, he probably never thought Kai would turn around and offer me such a low rate.

Was this because I refused to have coffee with him? But seriously, it was just coffee, it’s not like I hit him or kicked him in the nuts.

"That’s ridiculous," Marissa sighed. "Alright then, forget the number Mr. Kai suggested. How much are you actually willing to pay Helcia based on your current budget?"

Eric went silent for a moment, clearly thinking hard about her question.

After a while, he finally said, "How about twenty-five grand? I can stretch it to that amount, but I promise, Ms. Hale, if this drama becomes a hit, I’ll make sure Helcia gets a bonus."

Marissa smiled faintly. "Words mean nothing in the business world, Mr. Donnelly. You can write that promise into the contract."

"That’s fair," Eric muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I’ll have my team update the paperwork. You’ll get the revised contract by noon."

"Good," Marissa said. "Once we review it, we’ll give you an answer."

When Marissa was about to get ready to leave, I said to Eric, "Could you rewrite the contract a bit faster? I still have other things to do after this."