CHAPTER 416: CHAPTER 416: REGAINING MONEY

[Edward POV]

Taylor came back after spending Thanksgiving with her family, arriving almost at the same time as me.

"Edward, we need to talk," she said seriously, her face clouded with anxiety.

"Okay." I hesitated for a moment, then decided to go to my room with her for privacy.

Haley, Ness, Selena, Willa, and Barbara were curious, but they didn’t attempt to eavesdrop.

Once the door clicked shut behind us, Taylor slicked her hair back and perched on my bed, radiating a manic energy.

"Hey... I know we said there are no rules during the lockdown, right?" she asked cautiously.

"The others said that. Not me," I replied, sitting beside her. "Although I go along with it. What’s going on?"

Taylor swallowed and said, "Well... my dad and I got into it over Thanksgiving. He said I shouldn’t have done this, and he’s disappointed in you too. He said you didn’t keep your word."

Her words hit harder than I expected. I remembered the talk I had with Taylor’s dad when she joined my entertainment agency—I promised to take care of her and never hurt her.

"So he wants me to go back..." Taylor continued, her eyes searching mine for validation. "He just doesn’t understand the new generation, right?"

[Taylor’s commentary]

"That’s not actually what my dad said," Taylor added, a small, satisfied smirk tugging at her lips.

"My dad said, ’Edward didn’t keep his word, and that’s a good thing—he went above and beyond helping my daughter’s career. I have no problem with Edward at all.’

"But I’m trying to guilt-trip him a little, just to have some leverage," she admitted gleefully.

[Commentary ends]

I studied Taylor’s questioning gaze, feeling a prick in my chest. Patting her hair gently, I asked warmly, "Do you want to stay... or do you want to go back?"

Her eyes widened at the question.

"Um..."

[Taylor’s commentary]

Taylor scowled, thinking aloud. "How hard is it to just say, ’I want to stay’? Then I’d hold all the leverage! If he tries to control me, it’d make me look desperate..."

She paused, then sighed with realization. "Well... I am the desperate one."

[Commentary ends]

"I... want to stay. At least until the lockdown’s over. I don’t want to be alone," she admitted, hugging me softly against her chest.

I smiled. "Okay. Until then, I’ll take care of you the best I can."

"Except you’re going back to work tomorrow," she teased with a grin.

"I’ll take care of you in the two hours a day we can be together," I joked.

"And those two hours need to be divided among six girls," she said, mock-stern.

"Nah, Willa, Barbara, and Selena only want the physical stuff. They don’t care about the relationship part," I replied casually, which clearly irked Taylor.

"Annie has the biggest advantage—she’s going to spend sixteen hours a day with you on set," Taylor muttered, pouting.

"Yeah, but she can’t screw me in front of the camera," I joked dismissively.

"Well, she can, but everyone else will try to stop her," Taylor added, then widened her eyes, gasping slightly as she thought of the next joke. "Or worse. Join her."

I laughed together with Taylor and, after some time, we rejoined the others. We didn’t eat again for Thanksgiving since it was already midnight, so I just went to sleep after playing with the girls for a while.

Although I went to sleep alone, I woke up to two girls sleeping on my left arm, and two more sleeping on my right arm.

Barbara, Selena, Taylor, and Ness were sleeping with me. Willa and Haley lost the rock-paper-scissors game they used to decide positions last night.

"Hey, Edward. I have an idea," Haley said before I could go to work.

"What is it?" I asked while wearing my shirt.

"You know how there’s a lot of hit pieces about you lately. Do you want to turn them into satire? Like a hit-piece-style documentary about the articles."

I laughed slightly, amused at the idea, and said, "Sure. We’ll do that when I get back."

"Great!" Haley smiled widely. "Just to be clear, this is our thing, not an ’everyone’s’ thing." She added.

I was slightly taken aback but still replied, "Oh. Alright. We’ll do it with just us."

Haley made me do a pinky promise on it.

[Haley’s commentary]

"Taylor? Yeah, I definitely know what she’s doing," she said with a dissatisfied expression.

"But I also wish I thought about that first."

Cutscene to Haley, Selena, and Ness watching Edward pamper Taylor on the couch from afar.

Haley added, "That bitch wants to play... so let’s play!"

[Commentary ends]

...

[General POV]

Entertain company building.

"What’s the profit from merchandising pre-sales?" a sales manager asked.

"We have 250 million Evolve or Die t-shirts pre-ordered. Same with mugs, tote bags, and umbrellas," the sales team leader reported.

"The profit alone would reach two billion dollars," he added, shaking slightly, disappointed in himself.

The manager sighed. "It’s still not enough."

"It’s already selling well, considering the show’s only been on air for three weeks," another chimed in, unsatisfied.

"We’re not talking about company profit," the manager said jokingly, trying to ease the tension. "It’s the profit for our messiah."

"I don’t think he’s low on money," a skeptical employee said. "If he was, why would he push his singles out for free on the pandemic album?"

"You’ve only worked here a month. You don’t know him yet," the manager explained. "Mr. Newgate doesn’t care about huge profits unless they can be used to help others."

Misunderstandings were brewing among the 15,000 employees under Edward’s empire.

The sales manager glanced at the designs on the shirts—a Chickenosaurus Rex chasing a squad member.

"I should buy one for my kid," he muttered.

Merchandise was distributed efficiently thanks to Han’s sub-orbital rocket delivery system.

Orders from the U.S. would arrive in Australia by the afternoon, even the newest ones, though sheer volume meant the exact delivery dates were staggered. They would arrive within a week.

Another big problem arose when Edward had built up the distribution line.

Amazon wanted him gone from the shareholder seat. He had bought up around 10% of the company, so Jeff Bezos was offering him a lot of money for his shares.

However, the shares were only at $70.22 per unit, and Owen knew it would grow to $200+ in just a decade. Selling now would cost him around $2 billion in potential revenue.

"Sell it. Let’s compete with Amazon for the e-commerce line," Owen agreed, opening an e-commerce company after selling his Amazon stocks for around $700 million.

Jeff wanted to eliminate potential shareholder influence—especially since Edward was someone with a strong moral code.

Instead, he turned a friend into a very strong competitor.

The gaming company released multiple expansions for LOL and Mythic Quest, which earned Edward a huge profit from sales.

However, in all Edward’s branches of income, pharmaceuticals were bringing him a hefty sum from selling medicines and medical supplies.

Robin decided to release another phone model after the lockdown so the electronics branch wouldn’t fall behind—maybe even earning more than pharmaceuticals.

Edward’s T-bot was selling like hotcakes even at $15,000 each.

He also offered a payment plan for the elderly and disabled, and the cumulative profit from T-bot sales alone had reached over $500 million.

In Cuba, the new factory—Harmony Tech—was already built by Robin and Sado, providing jobs for over 40,000 Cubans. In return, Sado supplied rare earth minerals at a lower cost for Edward’s electronics.

"Can’t you open up the portal permanently?" Robin asked one of Edward’s duplicates as she walked over to Cuba from LA.

The duplicate shrugged. "I could, but it would mess with the fabric of reality, so I prefer not to do that."

With the portals, the company could easily grow their distribution line. On the surface, it looked like they were using the suborbital rocket, but secretly, products were delivered via portals.

The second music video for the pandemic song dropped to the public 6 days ago.

The music video already had 500 million views, and numerous comments under the post.

It also made a lot of speculation arose from the media about Edward’s relationship with a certain girl,

The music video started with Edward sitting on the couch in his house, Taylor came from behind and closed his eyes, asking, "Guess who?"

"Really? You didn’t even bother to change your voice." Edward replied jokingly.

Lily, the fanclub president, played the second pandemic song and wore headphones as she listened.

The soft melody carried the melancholic feeling of the entire song.

[JP Saxe - If the World Was Ending (Official Video) ft. Julia Michaels]

Edward sang with a melodic voice, "♫♪ I was distracted and in traffic. I didn’t feel it when the pandemic happened ♫♪

"♫♪ But it really got me thinkin’, were you out drinkin’?

Were you in the living room, chillin’ watchin’ television ♫♪"

"♫♪ It’s been a year now, think I’ve figured out how

How to let you go and let communication die out ♫♪"

Taylor giggled as Edward tickled her, and they suddenly locked eyes.

"♫♪ I know, you know, we know, you weren’t down for forever and it’s fine ♫♪"

Their lips inches closer with each other, until it met.

"♫♪ I know, you know, we know, we weren’t meant for each other and it’s fine ♫♪"

As they moved away, they locked eyes again and giggled.

"♫♪ But if the world was ending, you’d come over, right?

You’d come over and you’d stay the night♫♪"

Then, the scene turned into Edward sitting on the couch alone, its dreamy filter turned into a harsh blue tint, showing the mood change.

"♫♪Would you love me for the hell of it?

All our fears would be irrelevant ♫♪"

Taylor was sitting in another house, holding her phone and seemed to trying to make a decision whether or not to call.

"♫♪If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?

The sky’d be falling and I’d hold you tight♫♪"

"♫♪And there wouldn’t be a reason why

We would even have to say goodbye♫♪"

Edward sang alone, facing the camera.

"♫♪If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?

Right?"

He sang again, as if asking for confirmation, "If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?

Right? ♫♪

Taylor began singing after Edward, her voice carried strong emotions.

"♫♪ I tried to imagine your reaction. It didn’t scare me when the pandemic happened♫♪"

"♫♪But it really got me thinkin’, that night we went drinkin’

Stumbled in the house and didn’t make it past the kitchen ♫♪"

The scene turned dreamy again, as if reenacting the past. Edward and Taylor feeding each other fruits, and playing by the pool together.

"♫♪Ah, it’s been a year now, think I’ve figured out how

How to think about you without it rippin’ my heart out♫♪"

Edward joined her in the song, a harmonious duet followed.

"♫♪And I know, you know, we know, you weren’t down for forever and it’s fine♫♪"

"♫♪I know, you know, we know, we weren’t meant for each other and it’s fine♫♪"

The screen split into two– Edward and Taylor were facing the opposite direction while they sang.

♫♪But if the world was ending, you’d come over, right?♫♪

♫♪You’d come over and you’d stay the night♫♪

♫♪Would you love me for the hell of it?♫♪

♫♪All our fears would be irrelevant♫♪

Finally, one of them decided to text the other.

♫♪If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?♫♪

♫♪The sky’d be falling while I’d hold you tight♫♪

♫♪No, there wouldn’t be a reason why♫♪

♫♪We would even have to say goodbye♫♪

Edward broke the lockdown restriction as he drove to her house.

♫♪If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?

You’d come over, right?♫♪

♫♪You’d come over, you’d come over, you’d come over, right?♫♪

The song invoked strong emotions to the listeners, especially those who had suffered through a breakup.

Lily, Cam, Mitch, Phil, and even Alex cried as they listened to the song.

Edward and Taylor’s harmony was mesmerizing that it already had a billion streams on Spotify.

Edward sang alone while he was in the car.

♫♪ I know, you know, we know, you weren’t down for forever and it’s fine

I know, you know, we know, we weren’t meant for each other and it’s fine♫♪

Taylor and Edward finally met each other again, both with the stress of the pandemic evident on their faces. Edward looked a little haggard, Taylor looked a little disheveled.

The music paused for a few seconds, just to let them stare into each other.

Then, they harmonized again, "♫♪ But if the world was ending, you’d come over, right?

You’d come over and you’d stay the night

Would you love me for the hell of it?

All our fears would be irrelevant♫♪"

The Taylor and Edward’s shippers were crying as they saw the honest expression between the two people.

Taylor and Edward sat in front of each other crossed legged, talking awkwardly as they stared into each other.

♫♪

If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?

The sky’d be falling while I’d hold you tight

No, there wouldn’t be a reason why

We would even have to say goodbye♫♪

Finally, they hugged each other and Taylor began to cry.

♫♪ If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?

You’d come over, you’d come over, you’d come over, right?

Hmm

If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?♫♪

As the outro played, almost all of Edward’s die-hard fans were crying.

"The song hits hard in the lockdown. Especially since we were alone a lot," Alex muttered as she called Enid.

Enid asked her, "So, did Finneas pop into your mind when you heard the song?"

"Surprisingly, no," Alex replied casually.

Enid was taken aback. "Wait. Surprisingly. You wouldn’t use surprisingly to describe it... unless."

"Sto—Enid! No." Alex was flabbergasted when Enid saw through her.

"You bitch!" Enid cursed at Alex.

"It’s not what you think! I actually thought of you," Alex replied nervously.

"WHAT?!" Enid was weirded out and asked in a high-pitched voice.

"ALL OF MY FRIENDS! Not only you!" Alex replied hurriedly.

"Oh." Enid exclaimed flatly. Alex finally breathed in relief.

–Canvas Studio Set–

"Um, Edward. Mrs. Johansson is here to see you," Annie informed me with a nervous expression.

I replied before drinking my coffee, "Just let her come in."

"Should—should I remove everyone from your trailer, to make sure no one can eavesdrop? Do..." Annie went to the window and pulled down the blinds. "Should we give you some privacy?"

I scrunched my face and said, "We’re not going to screw, Annie. I asked her to come talk about her movie."

"Oh! Right!" Annie blushed and then ran away hurriedly. A minute later, the voluptuous actress entered my trailer.

"This reminds me of my earlier acting days," she said with a grin as she sat on my bed.

"You slept in the trailer a lot?" I asked.

"No, I slept with other actors in the trailer a lot," she replied. I paused for a bit and then stared at her.

She laughed and changed the topic. "So, are you here to tell me my movie’s cursed?"

"Well, it might seem that way, since it’s had trouble since the beginning of production," I said as I took out the newly revised script.

"I talked with Feige, and we’re going to upgrade your character a bit. Honestly, Feige doesn’t care about what I do at this point, so this is just me."

"I see." She took the script from me and asked, "We’re keeping Mr. Immortal in?"

"Yeah, but we’re adding Madam Hydra, since the plot is going to continue in Captain America: The Winter Soldier."

"And also, I’m going to be very busy with this show. So, I’m going to let someone else become my co-director."

"Huh? Who?" She was confused.

Then, someone knocked on the trailer door. "Come in," I told him.

A tall man in his early thirties, with a sculpted jawline, a muscular body, and a handsome face, entered the trailer.

"Hello. My name is Christen Forger," the man introduced himself to Scarlett, who stood up to shake hands with him.

Scarlett widened her eyes slightly at the sight of the man—the way he carried himself was attractive to her.

It was actually my duplicate in disguise. I needed him to be able to shoot both projects at once.

"We’re going to alternate filming days for the Canvas studio schedule, and Mr. Forger will help me when I can’t be there on shooting days, especially at real-life location settings."

Scarlett asked warily, "Sorry to ask this, but what are his qualifications? Do you—do you have a filmography with you? What are some things you’ve done?"

I already expected that, so Christen replied, "I do have a film I’ve finished, however, the distribution was postponed since the lockdown happened. Would you like to see it?"

"Sorry to be difficult, but this project means a lot to me," Scarlett said apologetically to the director. I was called to the set, so I left them to talk while they watched the film I had made in a hurry a few days ago.

"Oh, you actually worked with Eddy," Scarlett was surprised when she saw I was the main character of the film.

It was a psychological action movie, full of gunfights and hand-to-hand combat. It was very stylistic, like the John Wick movie.

Scarlett thought it was too bad the movie was bought by Netflix instead of going to theaters.

It was something I just cooked up anyway, so I didn’t have many distribution plans for it.

Jenna was also in the movie as the seductive card dealer. Jin was the bad guy, but he fought under a mask so no one knew the identity of the antagonist.

It wasn’t something blockbuster-level. I had the idea of turning the casino game I played with the Afterlife bunny before into an action movie, where the poker game’s aftermath would affect the outcome of the story.

If I won, I could take someone’s life, not literally, but his identity, his family, wife and all else, basically turning into him.

It was a deeply psychological story, shot in the way of the 90s movies were shot, with creative lighting and riveting dialogue exchange.

Scarlett had wide eyes as she watched the entire movie.

By the time she finished it, she was already confident in Christen’s help with the production of her movie.

The movie did blow up on the Netflix rank after it was posted. It received a lot of good reviews from critics and a solid 8.3 on IMDB.

When my duplicate dissipated after Scarlett left, I was a bit confused as I saw her asking the director about his background.

She asked whether he was married or had a child, what he did before he became a director, whether his family is still alive, does he have a good relationship with his parents, and more.

"Is this a blind date or a business meeting?"

But again, I guess it was my fault for making him look really handsome. In my defense, he wasn’t really at my level in terms of looks.