Behind The Spotlight Chapter 267
March 2001 arrived.
The news about ANT's acquisition gradually died down after a few days. Most people in the industry were aware of Apex Network Talent, but that didn't necessarily mean they cared.
Only those directly related to the company would likely care about its future.
It was already confirmed that ANT was being sold, as even Lila Seraphina showed signs of concern. As for Elijah Edward, he didn't offer any confirmation, but he didn't deny it either.
If ANT weren't a private company, many people would probably buy its shares in the stock market just to make a quick profit. ANT had a promising future, and holding onto its shares was a smart move.
Anyway, the people most worried were the shareholders and the executives. They were concerned that if a new organization took control of ANT, the management structure might be heavily affected.
But a company acquisition could sometimes take months or even a year to finalize. Furthermore, no one knew exactly which parties were interested in acquiring the company, only a few people possessed that information.
One thing was for sure: Elijah wouldn't sell ANT for just $3 billion, he wanted more.
Days passed and things calmed down. At the end of the day, the employees had to keep working whether the company was sold or not.
"... Are you being serious?"
Collin's voice was cold and heavy as he stared at Joel with a piercing gaze. However, the producer didn't budge despite the terrifying glare. He admitted to himself that Collin was scary right now, but he had a project he had to protect.
"I'm just following orders," Joel said.
"You can't do this to Jennifer. She's the one who made the show famous. She's the face of the show. How can you just kick her out like that?" He was furious.
Collin had already expected that this outcome might happen. But he didn't want to leave without fighting for a chance. If he could, he would convince Joel and Patrick to keep Jennifer on the show.
"You're right. But Morning with Jennifer—I mean, Morning with Kimberly—is a project funded by Nation TV. They have the final decision." Joel raised his hands in defeat.
The fact that Joel had already changed the name of the show meant that he had chosen a side. The production team had no plans to renew Jennifer's contract. She only hosted the show for one season, and Kimberly Alphonse would permanently take over her position.
"You're really choosing a sports reporter over someone more experienced in hosting? Joel, are you even sure that the show will succeed now that Jennifer is gone?"
"Are you saying that the show's success is entirely because of Jennifer?"
"Yes."
"Hah." Joel scoffed. He admitted that Jennifer possessed a strong charisma whenever she stepped onto the stage and hosted the show, but he believed that anyone could do the same exact thing she did.
Even if Jennifer was a factor in the show's success, the cooperation of the entire production team was the biggest reason why it happened. Joel believed that the show would keep doing well even if Jennifer was gone.
In fact, the show still maintained a good rating while Kimberly was hosting. It had a steady rating of 8 million viewers.
Another reason why they preferred Kimberly over Jennifer was because of Jennifer's bad behavior. She was a liability and hard to control. They couldn't let a host who couldn't control her emotions lead the show, she could bring disaster. In fact, she already brought one.
Shawn's rampage had given them massive publicity, and the morning show became the main topic for a month, but it was a dangerous kind of publicity that could negatively affect their show in the long run.
"You can't deny that your client made the wrong decision."
"She made the right decision."
"I'm not going to argue with you. Jennifer is too unpredictable. We can't let her host the show."
"...How about I lower the salary instead? Jennifer has no problem accepting $10,000 per episode." Collin had no choice but to try and convince them through numbers.
If the salary was the main issue, then Jennifer's side would accept the pay cut as long as she retained her position.
Jennifer's salary was $25,000 per episode in Season 1. Collin had originally been interested in increasing her salary to at least $100,000 per episode for Season 2.
But what happened last month brought a terrible outcome which made a salary increase completely impossible. Heck, Jennifer was on the verge of losing her job entirely.
So, as a way to solve the problem, Collin offered another option. It didn't matter if Jennifer's earnings decreased, they simply had to keep the hosting position.
He already talked to Jennifer, and the woman agreed to lower her salary. She knew her situation well and compromised. She didn't even have a problem if her salary per episode went down to $1,000, as long as she could host the show.
Unfortunately, Joel was not interested in Collin's offer. He shook his head. What happened last month was truly unfortunate, but Jennifer made her bed and she had to lie in it.
'I spent so many sleepless nights just to fix the problems she caused. It was true that she brought us a lot of publicity, but I was still berated by the management. The consequences of her actions affected so many people, I can't let someone like her remain on the production team.' Joel had a valid point.
"Collin, let's not make this complicated. I'm not even asking Jennifer to pay for the damages she caused. I can understand why she did what she did, I've heard about her past. But the management simply cannot tolerate her behavior." Joel stared back at Collin, although he felt chills because Collin's gaze was quite intimidating.
"Is there really no other option?"
"There's none. And don't bother talking to Director Patrick, he shares the exact same opinion as I do. Furthermore, his talent agent, Salvador, is incredibly mad at you."
"You will regret your decision." Collin gritted his teeth.
"No one knows the future."
"You're right, but I know Jennifer's future. She will reach the top."
Joel just nodded. He knew that many talent agents had delusions regarding their clients' futures, and Collin was not even the weirdest one he had encountered.
"I'll take my leave. If you want to contact us, you know our contact info." Collin walked out of the office.
He had already expected this outcome, but it was still a incredibly hard pill to swallow.
Jennifer worked so hard for the show, yet she was just abandoned like that.
[Thank you guys for reading this novel.]