CHAPTER 403: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

After tucking the ring box safely away at home, Lucas checked Twitter and found it flooded with demands for his appearance on Comedy Central Roast. Following Justin Bieber’s roasting the previous year, fans and celebrities alike were pushing for Lucas to be next.

"After seeing him destroy Fallon, we need @LucasXKnight at the next roast 🔥"

"Put Lucas, Kevin Hart, and Jeff Ross in one room!"

"This man ended Jimmy’s whole career in 2 minutes"

Donald Trump himself tweeted: "Lucas Knight thinks he’s so clever with his SpongeBob comments. Would love to see him try his ’jokes’ face to face. #ComedyCentralRoast"

Lucas ignored the growing social media storm, but the next morning, Neil showed up at his door. After warm greetings and catching up over coffee, Neil got to the point.

"So," Neil said, taking a sip from his mug, "Comedy Central’s producers reached out. They want to do a roast dedicated to you. They’re offering full control over who gets to roast you."

Lucas let out a surprised laugh. "All this because I made fun of Jimmy’s fake laugh?"

"Apparently," Neil chuckled. "But what do you think? Are you game?"

Lucas drummed his fingers on his coffee mug, hesitant. "Will this affect my other project commitments?"

Neil chuckled. "Come on, man. Would I even bring this to you if it conflicted with anything? I’m just asking if you’re interested. Totally your call."

"Well..." Lucas considered it. "Why not? When are they thinking?"

"They’re looking at May," Neil’s eyes lit up. "They’re already talking merchandise, special mugs for the event, the works."

Lucas nodded, then shifted topics. "Enough business. How’ve you been?"

Neil shrugged, taking another sip of coffee. "Busy with other clients, but it’s been interesting. Every time producers or directors contact me, it’s always ’Is Lucas available?’ Gets almost comical at this point."

"Sorry about that," Lucas sighed. "Must make your job harder."

"Are you kidding?" Neil shook his head. "Having you as a client opened so many doors. These people might come asking for you, but they end up considering my other clients too. You’re basically my secret weapon."

Lucas smiled at his manager’s candor.

"Anyway," Neil set down his mug, "since you’re in for the roast, we should meet with Jeff Ross. He’s producing, and we need to discuss who you want on that dais with you."

Afternoon light filtered through the window as Lucas leaned back in his chair, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Actually, I’ve got some names in mind already."

Neil raised an eyebrow, coffee mug paused halfway to his mouth. "Oh yeah? Who’re you thinking?"

"How about Jennifer?"

Neil nearly choked on his coffee. "Are you serious? She’s your girlfriend - she knows all your dirt. You really want to give her that power?"

Lucas’s smile wavered slightly. "She wouldn’t roast me too badly..." Though his voice carried a hint of uncertainty that made Neil snort.

"Even you don’t sound convinced," Neil laughed, setting his mug down.

"Well," Lucas continued, running a finger along the rim of his cup, "I’m also thinking Kobe, definitely Paul Sterling, and I’m still working on the rest of the list."

Neil nodded thoughtfully, then his eyes lit up. "What about Eminem and Donald Trump?"

Lucas barely contained his laughter, nearly spilling his coffee. "Eminem I get, but Trump? Really?"

"What, scared of him?" Neil’s eyes glinted with mischief.

"Not exactly," Lucas shrugged. "I just don’t see us vibing well."

"That’s kind of the point," Neil chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

"About Eminem though," Lucas mused, "I’ve heard he usually turns these things down. Not really his scene."

"Yeah, Eminem’s pretty particular about his image," Neil explained. "He’s more comfortable being the one throwing shots than taking them. Plus, his humor’s more... targeted than the general roast format."

Lucas nodded understanding. "Makes sense. His battles are usually personal, not just for entertainment."

Their conversation drifted to other topics before they wrapped up their meeting, planning to reconvene the next day.

***

The following afternoon found Lucas and Neil at the Sunset Tower Hotel’s terrace restaurant, where Jeff Ross and Jonas Larsen from Comedy Central waited. Jeff immediately embraced Lucas with the enthusiasm of someone who’d just found his next perfect target.

"Lucas Knight!" Jeff beamed, the ’Roastmaster General’ already sizing up his potential material. "Man, what you did to Jimmy Fallon was beautiful. Amateur work though - wait till you see what we can do."

They settled into a corner table overlooking the Los Angeles skyline while Jeff and Jonas laid out the roast format, possible dates, and began discussing potential roasters.

The usual business meeting quickly evolved into an impromptu comedy session as Jeff couldn’t help testing out a few preliminary jabs at Lucas.

Jeff started off by tackling sensitive topics, taking jabs at Lucas’s relationship with his father. However, Lucas responded with effortless coolness, delivering sharp comebacks without missing a beat.

Neil and Jonas exchanged impressed glances while Jeff nodded appreciatively.

"Speaking of family," Jeff continued, "is it true your half-brother Melvin is the only one who gets your Christmas cards?"

"Only because he’s the only one who can read," Lucas shot back smoothly.

Jeff smiled, genuinely impressed by Lucas’s ability to handle sensitive topics with humor. "Well, Jonas, looks like we might have to step up our game. The guy can take a punch."

Jonas leaned back in his chair, sunlight glinting off his glasses. "Well, looks like we can skip the writer’s room prep for you. You’re definitely not going to need our help with comebacks."

"Thanks," Lucas chuckled, "but let’s be honest - I’m not Justin Bieber coming in completely unprepared."

Jeff and Jonas burst out laughing, their voices echoing across the terrace. Jeff said, "Man, we’ve got these amazing writers we were going to offer you, but clearly that would be insulting at this point."

Neil just shook his head, grinning into his water glass.

The conversation shifted to potential roasters, with everyone throwing out names of celebrities who’d love a shot at Lucas Knight.

***

Across town, Jennifer had just wrapped her final project when she checked her phone. Lucas’s message about wanting her to roast him left her confused until his follow-up explanation about the Comedy Central special came through.

"Wait, you actually want me to publicly roast you?" she texted back.

"Only if you’re up for it," Lucas replied.

Jennifer’s response was immediate: "Are you kidding? I’ve been saving material for YEARS. You just made my whole week"

Though Jennifer’s "YEARS" claim was obviously exaggerated, the gleam in her eye as she started drafting material was very real. She wouldn’t go too hard on him, but she definitely planned to have some fun.

"I’m starting to regret this decision," Lucas texted. "Can I rescind your invitation?"

"Too late!" she fired back. "No takebacks. I’m already making my list of everything you’ve ever done wrong 😈"

She wasn’t kidding either. Within hours, she had a notebook open, jotting down ideas and even reaching out to comedy writers for consultation. This was her chance to lovingly take Lucas down a peg, and she intended to make it count.

***

When Comedy Central officially announced Lucas Knight’s upcoming roast, social media exploded:

"FINALLY someone’s gonna call out this perfect specimen 😭"

"Who gets to roast him? I have a whole PowerPoint ready"

"Bet the nepo kid can’t handle real criticism"

"Man’s too handsome and successful, time to humble him"

"Already know this is gonna break viewing records"

The announcement created an unexpected divide - between celebrities eager for their shot at roasting Lucas, and envious commenters who wished they had the chance themselves. The fact that he’d voluntarily agreed to be roasted only added to his mystique.

As April drew to a close, anticipation for the roast reached fever pitch. Public tickets vanished instantly - selling out before the sun rose on release day. Comedy Central, which had been losing ground to Netflix and YouTube’s comedy specials, suddenly found itself back in the spotlight thanks to Lucas Knight.

Lucas’s tweet from the previous week had already hit astronomical numbers:

@LucasXKnight: "Agreed to get roasted on Comedy Central. Fair warning - I roast back. #RoastOfLucasKnight"

The tweet exploded past 100 million views, with responses flooding in:

"Man’s really choosing violence 🔥"

"Lucas Knight volunteering to get roasted is the most Lucas Knight thing ever"

"Plot twist: he destroys everyone who tries to roast him"

"Fallon was just the preview"

"Comedy Central’s been real quiet since they signed their own death warrant with this one"

For a network struggling to maintain relevance in the streaming era, landing Lucas Knight had become their biggest coup of the year.

His mere agreement to appear had generated more buzz than their last three specials combined.

The list of roasters was revealed a week ago, sparking even more excitement among the fans: Jonah Hill, Jeff Ross, Paul Sterling, Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, Kobe Bryant, Martha Stewart, Chris Rock, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, and most surprisingly, Jennifer Lawrence.

The inclusion of Jennifer’s added an extra layer of intrigue that had entertainment media buzzing for days.

***

On May 23rd, the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City hummed with excitement. Celebrities, industry figures, and lucky ticket holders filtered into the transformed Stage 27.

Kevin Hart took the stage with his signature energy, introducing each roaster with escalating enthusiasm. The crowd roared with each introduction, but the loudest reaction came for the man of the hour.

"And now, the reason we’re all here - the man who thinks being handsome, talented, and rich isn’t enough, he has to be funny too... Lucas Knight!"

Lucas made his way to the chair of honor amid thunderous applause.

Jennifer, seated beside him, gave him a mischievous smile.

Lucas leaned over, whispering, "Ready to get roasted by association?"

"I’ll manage," she whispered back, though her fingers fidgeted slightly with her dress. "You’re the one they’ve been writing material about for weeks."

Lucas chuckled, settling back in his chair as Kevin began the ceremony of destruction.

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