America 1982-Chapter 297 - 15: Reveal miracles among the enemies, manifest special abilities in the land of Han, so that the elect may praise the name of God_3
Ramon turned around and looked at Vanessa, who tried to give a brilliant smile, but her eyes were already filled with tears. Struggling to maintain her smile, she asked her agent,
"Could you at least tell me how much commission I owe you? I will work hard to earn the money and pay you back."
"Forget it, Vanessa. Let’s just say I was out of my mind and dreamt with you for a few years. But every dream must come to an end. You can continue to dream, but I need to face reality," Ramon slightly bowed to Vanessa and said,
"Goodbye, Miss Vanessa Williams."
"Ramon, there’s one more thing, could you leave me the contact information for that makeup artist job before we say goodbye?" Vanessa wiped away her tears and smiled at Ramon.
Ramon nodded, took a business card out of his suit pocket, and placed it on the cabinet by the door, "I once... thought about saving you, bringing you back into the limelight, but..."
"Goodbye, Ramon," Vanessa interrupted Ramon, took a few steps forward, and closed the door. Just before the door shut, she smiled and said.
With the door closed, she leaned against it, slumped to the floor, and began to cry.
She had finally lost her last friend, and from then on, she was alone, continuing her fight against this damned country.
"I won’t let those people win. I won’t become who they want me to be... You’re right, Vanessa Williams, and you must believe that."
She stopped crying, went to the restroom to touch up her makeup, and prepared to leave for her makeup artist job that paid three hundred and fifty dollars a week. Just then, the telephone rang.
The answering machine engaged with a soft voice saying, "Hello? This is Vanessa Williams, professional makeup artist, sound technician, model, actress, and singer. How can I assist you? Please leave a message after the beep, and I will call you back promptly."
"This is BT Television. I’m the Vice President, Sean Lei. Miss Vanessa Williams, we would like to sign you up and have you star in a medium-budget black television series. If your schedule allows and you’re interested in the show, please have your agent call me, and we can discuss the cooperation details in person in Los Angeles," a gentle male voice emanated from the phone.
Vanessa, who was retouching her makeup, first looked stunned, then burst into tears again, ruining the makeup she had just applied.
...
In Los Angeles, the headquarters of BT Television.
"Have you talked with Sean, Rick? What do you think?" Tommy reached out to Vanessa and greeted her with a smile, "Tommy Hawk, the puppet boss of BT Television."
Tommy thought there was a reason Vanessa could win the title of Miss America. Apart from her tall and slender figure, she also had delicate features and a pair of eyes as clear as the waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Her skin color wasn’t purely black; it was more like an enticing honey tone. Obviously, she was the biracial product of a white and black couple.
She wasn’t like those uneducated black people from the lower classes. This stunning woman came from a middle-class black family, with parents who were music teachers at a private elementary school in New York. Having received an elite education from a young age, her behavior and speech displayed her good upbringing.
"Vanessa Williams, thank you for the valuable job opportunity offered by your television station." Vanessa took off her sunglasses, shook hands with Tommy Hawk, and then smilingly said to him, "Actually, Mr. Hawk, I had seen your face and heard your name countless times before today."
"Really?" Tommy looked puzzled at the tall black woman and curiously asked, "I... I only started in the television industry this year, we shouldn’t have had any prior interaction."
"The winter of ’83, back then... the newspapers said that year, two young people achieved the American dream, a man and a woman. The woman was named Vanessa Williams, and she became the first black Miss America. The man was named Tommy Hawk, and he won a victory against big companies in the software industry to help many low-income earners," Vanessa, seated across from Tommy, shared her impression of him.
Tommy stared at Vanessa for a few seconds and then laughed with a touch of nostalgia, "That was several years ago, and I don’t really read social digests in the papers, so I might not have noticed, but anyway, it’s a wonderful twist of fate, and I am pleased to meet you, Miss Williams."
"You can call me Vanessa, friend... that’s what everyone calls me," Vanessa said to Tommy.
"Sean told me you came all the way to Los Angeles personally, even without an agent, which took me by surprise."
"I received Mr. Sean Lei’s call just five minutes after I had parted ways with my friend and agent," Vanessa said with a sigh, but then she tossed her hair and looked up at Tommy again, "Do I need to hire an agent before we can start discussions on work, or...?"
"No, no, no. When Sean and I discussed your lack of an agent, we thought about it internally. This is a black television company; we’re here to help blacks, not to exploit them. Honestly speaking, negotiating directly with us is more advantageous for us. We have specialized legal and public relations personnel for negotiations; you wouldn’t be able to take advantage of them, but we’re not planning to do that. So, you really do need an agent. This is California, and there are talent agencies everywhere. Having an agent to fight for your best interests is the best solution," Tommy picked up a stack of documents from the table:
