Twisted Ties of Love

She asked a few staff members and found out that Brad had been suffering from insomnia these past few days and was currently in the rest area trying to get his mojo back.

Izabella, with her bag in hand, headed for the director's lounge. Brad was a classic workaholic who treated every script like his own baby. Sometimes he was so busy that he didn't even have time to go back to his hotel to rest, so he just crashed on the couch in the makeshift rest area of the set.

This was Izabella's first time visiting the director's lounge. The door was closed, and she knocked a couple of times.

The room was not soundproofed. After waiting for a while, Izabella finally heard some movement inside. Brad opened the door, and just as the staff had described, he looked beat. She could tell his insomnia

was severe.

Seeing Izabella, Brad perked up a bit, but just a smidge.

"You're here."

Izabella nodded. "Mr. York, can I come in and sit for a while?"

"Sure." Brad turned around and poured a cup of water for Izabella. "No coffee, just water."

"That's fine." Izabella put the paper cup aside and said, "I heard from the staff that you've been having insomnia these past few days."

"I didn't think Kristin would be such a pain in the ass. She called me, and I didn't pick up, so she leaked my phone number. I've been receiving all sorts of threatening calls since yesterday. I can't even turn off my phone since I might miss important work calls. This situation is tricky. On the surface, it seems like we have the upper hand in terminating the contract with Kristin, but the real problem is huge. According to the contract we signed with your agency, we can't terminate unless there's a major breach. If this goes to court and drags on, the production can't continue."

After a long speech, Brad's throat hurt. He'd been having inflammation for these past few days. Last night, he suddenly had a bunch of mouth ulcers that were so painful he couldn't sleep. He took a few sips of the cold water with mint to sooth his throat and continued.

"You said you had a solution before. What is it? Izabella, I have a lot of faith in you. Please don't tell me you have no way to solve this. Also, I heard that your agency was recently acquired by the Maple Group. I heard there was a lot of chaos internally, and a third of the employees were laid off. Even your previous agent is no longer there. Have you met the new boss? Is he easy to get along with? Will he give you a hard time like Mr. Dewitt did and make you take the fall?"

As he spoke, Brad sighed heavily. Not wanting Izabella to see his worried expression, he turned his back to her.

"I have a feeling this issue won't be easy to resolve. Your agency just changed bosses, and which boss doesn't want to make money? There aren't many profitable artists in the entire company. Kristin is currently the most profitable artist in your company. What if your new boss sides with her? If you don't take action, there will be bad consequences in the future. Izabella, I've been thinking a lot these days. The best solution is for you to go find Nathaniel or Brett. Both of them have a thing for you, right?"

"Mr. York, come sign this." Izabella coolly interrupted him.

"Sign what?"

Brad turned to see a stamped document on the table and asked, "What is this?"

Izabella took a few sips from her water cup.

Brad picked up the document, and after reading the words, his spirit lifted. It was a termination contract from the Maple Group, clearly stating that Kristin and the "Blood Ties crew had mutually agreed to terminate the contract without any legal liabilities or compensation.

Brad was extremely excited. He took a deep breath and read through the contract several times before his excitement turned to disbelief.

"Izabella, where did you get this

contract? How could your boss let Kristin terminate the contract with us so easily?" This morning, Kristin's fans swore that the Maple Group valued Kristin highly and would never terminate a contract with someone who could make money for the company. They would definitely support Kristin and even pay for her lawsuit.

This was also what Brad thought. But now the fact was right in front of him. The termination had been so easy that he found it hard to believe. It felt like a dream and didn't seem real at all.

Brad was in the habit of anticipating the worst.

"This isn't a fake, is it?" Brad pointed at the stamp with a trembling hand.

"Mr. York, forging a stamp is illegal."

True.

"Just sign it. The sooner you sign, the sooner you can resolve this and get a good night's sleep." Izabella handed him a pen.NôvelDrama.Org content rights.

In a daze, Brad took the pen and signed. Apart from the director's signature, the production side also needed to stamp and sign.

Brad looked at the signature column and asked, "Your boss only stamped it and didn't sign. Will he go back on his word?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Izabella take the pen from his hand and beautifully write down "Izabella" in the signature column.

This was beyond surprising. Brad's mouth was agape, as if he could swallow an egg whole. Looking at Izabella's calm face and her practiced signature, a horrifying thought crossed his mind.

"Izabella."

Izabella put down the pen and turned the contract to face Brad for confirmation.

Then she stood up and extended her right hand, saying, "Let's get reacquainted, Mr. York. Izabella, current Executive Director of the Maple Group."