Rejected My IP? I Gave It to Their Rivals

Chapter 2

Director Zachary was so furious that his lips trembled.

Sophie fell silent, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Anyone looking at us would've thought three grown adults were ganging up on a young girl.

I nudged the box of tissues across the table toward her.

"Sophie, I have a few questions for you."

She wiped her eyes without meeting my gaze.

"Go ahead."

"You knew what the original plan for this project was, right?"

Sophie mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. "More or less."

"We were going to put the entire cast through acting classes with professional coaches, rent rehearsal spaces, get custom costumes and styling, shoot promotional reels, and take the production on the film festival circuit."

I continued, "If you don't want any of that for yourself, fine. I won't spend a single cent on your training, wardrobe, or personal promotion. But you stood on that stage as the representative of all the new talent and told the entire internet that you were rejecting this opportunity. Did you even bother asking the other 200 people on the crew what they thought?"

Sophie raised her head. Her eyes were still swollen and red from crying.

"They just haven't figured it out yet. Dignity is worth more than opportunity."

Director Zachary looked like he was about to pass out from rage. "Shut your mouth!"

I actually laughed. "So you think you're smarter and more clear-headed than all of them?"

"I'm just speaking for the people who don't have the courage to speak up."

Director Zachary hurried to smooth things over before the situation spiraled any further.

"Mr. Lawson, I'll have her take the video down. Then the crew will issue an official statement. What about the investment...?"

I cut him off, "Director Zachary, did you bring her here tonight to apologize, or to save your investment?"

He froze, his mouth hanging open without a word.

Sophie cut in, "Mr. Lawson, if you really care about making quality content, you shouldn't abandon the entire crew just because of a few words I said."

Wow. She'd just laid one hell of a guilt trip on me.

I stared straight into her eyes.

"This afternoon, you were shouting that you didn't want handouts. Now you're saying pulling the investment would be some kind of petty punishment. Sophie, you can't have it both ways and still claim the moral high ground."

Tears welled up in her eyes again, spilling over before she could blink them away.

"I just don't want kindness that comes with being looked down on."

"Oh? Then what do you think kindness should look like?"

She spoke softly, "It comes with respect."

"Fine. We'll do it your way." I nodded. "I'll respect what you want."

Director Zachary's expression turned even more sour.

Once we'd seen the two of them out, my assistant set a tablet on the desk in front of me.

"Mr. Lawson, a number of small local crews have already sent in applications. Tons of people saw that livestream today."

I swiped through the submissions.

There was a small-town theater troupe, a technical school drama class, and a theater club for kids from struggling families.

When I reached the last page, I found one called Starlight Production.

It was a veteran group made up entirely of has-been actors who'd faded from the spotlight years ago.

My assistant spoke again, "They didn't even badmouth Sophie. All they said was that if Lightchasing Crew couldn't work with you, they hoped you'd consider stopping by their set."

I stared at the profile in front of me.

The cast's average age was over 35, and most of them hadn't landed a decent role in a decade.

They rented their rehearsal space and were already 3 months behind on rent.

Their costumes and props were all leftovers from their glory days, now tattered and worn.

The last time they'd gone to audition for a project, the dozen members of the crew couldn't even scrape together enough money for the trip.

Tucked inside the file was a group photo.

A dozen people stood in front of an abandoned factory, grinning as if they were pouring every last ounce of energy into those smiles.

The man standing front and center had a head of graying hair. His name was printed: Ryan Bennett.

I closed the tablet.

"We're going to Starlight Productions tomorrow."