Page 29 of Collateral Damage
“Don’t worry,” Perry adds. “You won’t regret this.”
Somehow, I doubt that.
It only took one meeting with Mom and another with the board and Vale to convince them to agree to Cooper’s proposition. One week for both teams of lawyers to draw up the contracts Cooper and I signed.
Mom didn’t like the idea at first. She wanted to find another way, but I didn’t see another opportunity like this coming along, and she agreed to let me try.
I’ll make sure Perry’s show is successful. While I don’t necessarily trust Cooper, I know he won’t do anything to sabotage one of his best friends.
Deep breaths. It’s going to be okay.
Perry hands me a menu, but I don’t feel even the slightest bit hungry. I’ve been too nervous about this lunch since we put it on the calendar. “In the end, this will be a win for me, a win for King Media, and a win for Laurence.”
I nod, perusing the offerings but not really seeing them.
There’s more on the line I’m not telling Cooper or Perry. If I’m successful in getting that five percent, then the board has agreed to promote me to president of the Laurence Foundation. This is my dream, and I’m so close I can taste it.
“By the way, I know about Arden’s shares,” Cooper says, and I peek over the menu to level him with a hard stare. “She let you guys buy out her inheritance? Typical. Love the girl, but she needs to grow a spine.”
“She didn’t want ownership,” I bite.
He shrugs. “Maybe, but she should’ve kept it, anyway.”
“Not everybody is out to play the games your father taught you.”
Perry holds up his hands. “That’s enough. We have to work together, and I can’t deal with constant bickering. Let’s talk about the show, shall we?”
I sigh but nod. We need to make this showthebreakout success of the year. It needs to go viral on social media, and to do that, the drama needs to be hot enough to spark debate online without being so hot that famous people end up suing us for defamation.
According to the contract, both Laurence and King contribute three hundred million to the project. If the show makes enough to earn out more than what was put into it—and if it hits a high benchmark of viewership—then the show will be green-lit for a second season by King’s television network, and we’ll get Cooper’s five percent back.
If we fail? Coop gets to keep his stake in Laurence, and we can never negotiate it away from him again. He’ll get to beincluded in our board meetings and tied to Laurence for as long as he’d like. And really, that meansConradwill be tied to us.
“Tell us where we’re starting from.” Cooper turns on Perry, and for the next hour, Perry explains in meticulous detail everything he’s accomplished so far. He’s got a penthouse rented for filming, most of the crew lined up, and has been recruiting an impressive cast. It’s almost like the royal family agreed to let cameras inside their homes and film everything—that would take a great deal of convincing and loads of money.
“We’ll call itTop of the World,” Perry says with a devilish grin. That sounds perfect. I’m not someone who watches this kind of stuff and even I’m intrigued. “I’ve got the cast lined up, except for one key person… if we’re going to pull this off.”
“And who’s that?” I question.
“We lost our star athlete. He checked himself into drug rehab two days ago and wants nothing to do with the show. That means we’ve got a gap in casting. Any ideas?”
I look up to the ceiling, thinking through the professional athletes in Manhattan. One name immediately pops into mind. He’sperfect.
“It needs to be a local who won’t be traded within the year and isn’t prone to injuries,” I say, leveling the guys with a grin. “A man. Someone popular. Someone with influence in this city. Single and attractive. And with a playboy reputation.”
Perry and Cooper look at each other with blank expressions, clearly at a loss, and I want to kick my legs gleefully.
“Benton Beal.”
Cooper narrows his eyes, skepticism flashing across his face. “Doesn’t he have a horrible reputation? He gets into fights and sleeps around.”
“He’s a hockey player; fighting is part of the appeal. And who cares if he sleeps around? You do the same thing.”
Cooper shakes his head. “He sounds like a liability.”
Or Cooper doesn’t want me to have a win. “I see it as a positive. He’s incredibly popular with his fans and has about a zillion fan-edits on social media. People are obsessed with Benton.” I hold up my phone. “And lucky for you guys, I have his phone number.”
“Do I even want to know?” Perry laughs.
