Chapter 124 He’s Not That Bad
The “two guys fighting over one girl” video had different impacts on everyone involved. Whitfield Group took a serious hit, but surprisingly, Morgan Group was the first to crumble.
Morgan Group had been struggling for a while, putting on a good front while falling apart inside. They’d been desperately trying to turn things around and might have pulled it off–until Richard’s street brawl went viral. The scandal was the final nail in the coffin for Morgan Group.
This explained why Richard had suddenly given up his wild lifestyle abroad to come home and “take responsibility” for Rebecca.
He’d been eyeing the Whitfield family fortune all along, planning to get his hands on it.
Internet trolls flooded Whitfield Group’s website with comments, sarcastically suggesting they should bail out Richard’s family business: [The guy gave up his party lifestyle overseas for your daughter. The least you could do is throw him a lifeline, right?]
This pissed off Nathaniel so much he ordered the company website shut down completely.
After catching up on the local New York news, Alistair returned to
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Wattpad to work on his novel.
His story had officially been featured in the recommendations yesterday, and since last night, his author dashboard had been blowing up with reviews and comments. He scrolled through them, totally pumped to see what readers thought.
Earlier, Alistair had killed some time browsing through writer forums and picked up one key piece of advice–never read the comments if he wanted to keep his writing mojo. Negative feedback could mess with his head faster than anything.
Writing novels was like cooking. Alistair knew he couldn’t please everyone. He had braced himself for some harsh reviews, but scrolling through the comments, he was shocked to find almost nothing but praise. The few negative comments were barely worth noticing.
Between this and getting his screenplay selected after just
spending an afternoon on it, Alistair’s confidence was through the roof. It turned out he had other talents besides cooking that he’d never bothered to explore before.
He wasn’t such a loser after all.
Alistair felt fired up. For him, writing stories wasn’t about making money anymore. It was about proving himself, showing he wasn’t just some deadbeat living off his wife.
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The whole “living off his wife” thing didn’t actually bother Caroline, and honestly, once Alistair chilled out about it, it didn’t bother him that much either. But that didn’t mean he should just
sit around doing nothing.
Alistair checked his stats on the backend.
Before his work got featured, his daily readership was tiny. His best day had brought in just 24.20 dollars, with 20 of that coming from a single generous reader’s tip.
Yesterday was his first day being featured, and today’s numbers
were 433.25 dollars.
Those few hundred dollars meant more to him than the million dollars he got as the monthly allowance. No billion–dollar windfall could match the thrill of money he’d earned himself, fair and
square.
Alistair couldn’t help staring at the earnings report again and again
like an excited kid. He even took a screenshot to commemorate
the moment.
Just as he was getting his head back in the game, ready to dive into writing mode, an email notification popped up. He read through it carefully, then stood up and left the break room.
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Chapter 124 He’s Not That Bad
The office was quiet with no one else around except Caroline, who was buried in paperwork.
Alistair had kept her company like this for days, careful not to disturb her. He’d noticed how incredibly focused she became when working. Sometimes, when nobody was looking, he’d sneak out just to admire how lost in her work she’d get.
The funny thing was, Alistair had no idea that Caroline did the same thing. While he was deep in his writing zone, she’d occasionally peek through the door just to check on him.
“Honey, I need to head out for a bit,” he said.
Caroline nodded without looking up. “Okay, see you later.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me anything?”
“Fine. Where are you going, dear?” she asked with a playful smile,
twirling her pen.
Alistair put on his most serious face. “I’m off to pursue my career.”
Caroline paused, looking up with surprise. “Your career? What
kind of career?”
What she really wanted to say was that he didn’t need to work so hard. He could just relax and be with them. But she quickly caught
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Chapter 124 He’s Not That Bad
herself, realizing how selfish that sounded.
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Money wasn’t an issue for her. She could give Alistair the best life money could buy, and she didn’t need him to be some big
success.
Whatever he needed, she’d provide. But if what Alistair truly wanted was to find his purpose in life, she would be acting just like those self–righteous people she despised, the ones who claimed
“I’m only doing what’s best for you” while imposing their own will.
Besides, if Alistair genuinely wanted to pursue a career, Caroline
had no reason not to help him.
Alistair told her about entering a mystery screenplay competition and the novel he was currently writing. He hadn’t mentioned it before, not because he was hiding anything, but because his “achievements” seemed trivial compared to Caroline’s
billion–dollar annual income and the millions of dollars she
casually gave him as spending money.
He imagined himself excitedly telling Caroline, “Honey, I made a few hundred bucks yesterday!” and picturing her reaction.
Sweet, supportive Caroline would probably say, “Wow, babe,
that’s amazing!”
The thought made him smile.
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Caroline’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re not just writing screenplays, you’re publishing a novel too?”
He’s been keeping that secret pretty deep!
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If Alistair could read her thoughts right now, he’d be falling over himself to prove his innocence. He really wasn’t hiding anything.
“Send me the link to your novel. I’d love to check it out when I have time,” Caroline said.
Alistair suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. “Let me write a bit more first, then I’ll show you.”
He’d been scrolling through online forums where authors discussed the importance of keeping their pen names secret. Many users mentioned risks like public humiliation or getting roasted by friends and family if their cover was blown.
Alistair mentally reviewed his novel’s content and felt relieved. Thankfully, he’d written something completely appropriate with no questionable plot elements. He hadn’t used anyone’s real name for villainous characters either. His work could stand up to public scrutiny–even Eloise could read it–so he wasn’t worried about Caroline seeing it.
His screenplay had made it through multiple rounds of selection
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to reach the final three. The event organizer wanted to meet him to discuss next steps.
Caroline felt uneasy. Alistair was inexperienced in these matters.
“Maybe Julian should go with you,” she said.
Alistair shook his head. “I’ll be fine on my own, honey.”
Caroline didn’t push it.
Alistair headed downstairs, got into his car, and drove to the meeting spot–a coffee shop near Emerald Media.
*****
Inside the coffee shop, a balding middle–aged man, Brady Newman, was speaking intently to a young man in a business suit.
“Caleb, do I really need to explain how much damage this has caused online? The boss wanted to kick you off the project
completely. I had to fight like hell and make all sorts of promises just to keep you on the team!
“Get this handled today, and I promise there’ll be plenty of opportunities for promotion down the road. But mess this up? Sorry, but I won’t be able to protect you anymore. It’s your call.”
Caleb nodded eagerly. “Don’t worry, Mr. Newman. I won’t let you down. I’ll handle everything perfectly!”
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