Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 41: There’s Nothing I Need to Tell Him
Reluctantly, Kaija turned back. "Camille," she greeted Camille with a slight nod.
Camille quickly tucked her loose strands of hair behind her ears, her usual composure returning as she walked toward Kaija. "I was informed that you’ve signed up for the KE Annual Festival competition," she said.
"I have," Kaija confirmed flatly, though she was already wary of why Camille’d bring it up, and how she even learned of it. Of all the people at KE, only Dani and Esko knew that I was gonna compete so far.
Camille’s voice remained as stern. "Perhaps it’s beyond my duty, but I strongly advise you against it."
Kaija raised a brow. "May I know why?"
Camille folded her arms tightly across her chest and looked at Kaija like she’d just asked something stupid, tone sharp with contempt. "Perhaps you aren’t aware yet, but here at KE, we only value artists who are serious about their careers."
"Which part of me participating in the competition shows that I’m not serious about my career?" Kaija shot back evenly, keeping her tone polite.
Camille voice grew even tighter. "You’re getting yourself distracted with something clearly out of your league. Though the competition is open to everyone, most trainees know their place and leave it to the seasoned artists. You’ve barely completed your basic training, Miss Sepala. Mr. Kosonen wouldn’t be pleased if he heard about this. He’s invested in you, and your future, you see."
Kaija took Camille’s words in silence. So Camille already knew, yet hadn’t told Charles.
She got where Camille was coming from, but from her point of view, beyond the prize money, joining the competition would also teach her more about the music production process than any training class ever could.
Still, there was no point arguing with this woman. And if Charles had a problem with it, he’d tell her himself.
Kaija nodded toward Room 2. "Is he in there?"
Camille tilted her head slightly, her brown eyes narrowing. "Yes, but I suggest you don’t bother him. His schedule’s been tight, and he’s been up all night lately. Anything you need to tell him, you can tell me now."
Kaija gave her a faint, polite smile. "There’s nothing I need to tell him."
Camilled nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Then I’ll excuse myself. I have other matters to attend to." The elevator doors closed behind her.
Alone in the corridor, Kaija’s footsteps drifted toward Room 2. She raised her hand, ready to knock. But just as her knuckles were inches from the door, Camille’s words echoed in her mind.
"His schedule’s been tight, and he’s been up all night lately."
Her hand fell back down.
Hmm. Up all night.
Judging by how Camille looked when she left this room, with her lipstick smeared and her cheeks flushed, Kaija could already see vivid images in her mind of what might’ve happened before Camille walked out this door.
"You’re getting yourself distracted with something clearly out of your league."
Maybe Camille was right, in a way. Charles Kosonen was definitely out of her league, and she needed to stop getting distracted. She turned on her heel and walked toward Room 1. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The next day, during her modeling session with Juho, he actually brought her back her phone and her wallet. He kept assuring her that no one would find out, so she had no choice but to take his words as they were, with a frown and a sincere thanks.
The phone had died, as expected. She only got to check it after returning to her room. The moment it powered back on, notifications exploded across the screen.
Seventy-nine missed calls from her mom since last Friday. Her hands started shaking as she checked the calendar.
Just as she thought, Friday was the day she was supposed to send money to her mom. She wiped the sweat trickling down her face and dialed her mom back. The other end picked up immediately.
"Have you forgotten about this old woman who raised you?" her mom’s voice came through, sweet and calm as always, but edged with barely concealed disdain.
Kaija’s throat tightened, keeping her voice low and composed. "No, Mom. I’m very sorry. I got really busy these last few days. I’ll send yo—"
"Seventy nine times, Kaija," her mom cut in cold. "Your mom called you seventy-nine times. You didn’t pick up once. Did you forget you have a mom? Or did you already spend all your salary?
"Even animals are grateful when they’re fed, Kaija. I didn’t just feed you. I gave you a place to live, bought you birthday presents every year without fail, worked three jobs to send you to the best elementary school in this country, to give you a good start.
"Just how ungrateful can you be, huh? You know what, just keep those little pennies to yourself. I should’ve raised animals instead of such an ungrateful daughter."
Clack.
Her mom was gone.
"Wow," Kaija muttered, staring at the screen, "That one was shorter than usual." She was no stranger to her mom’s speeches by now.
Despite all those words, the real translation of what she meant was, "You better send me the money immediately, you ungrateful daughter."
She checked the bank app. Her first month’s stipend from KE had come in.
Just seeing the S$10,000 amount still shocked her. She’d been kidnapped for most of that month and still got paid this much. Who would’ve thought?
She swiped across the screen and sent her mom double what she used to send her. Hopefully that would calm her down a bit.
If she sent too much, she’d start getting suspicious about how she was making so much money. She still didn’t feel like telling her mom anything about this whole becoming a KE artist situation, and she also needed to save part of that stipend to put toward her airline debt.
She let out a long and weary sigh. The song was waiting, and it was the perfect place to pour out everything sitting heavy in her chest right now.
While she worked on the song, Esko helped her reach out to the Production Department.
Apparently, getting an appointment with them was no easy task. She already had her lyrics done and ready within ten days after signing up. Her first appointment with a producer? A month later.
