Chapter 160: Corporate Battlefield (G•T Bonus Chapter)

Around them, cameras subtly shifted position. A pair of paparazzi adjusted their angles while one of the streamers lowered his voice into excited commentary for his audience. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The Reeves sisters. Same event. Rival companies.

Exactly the kind of industry moment the media loved.

Lily appeared entirely unbothered by the attention. If anything, she seemed mildly entertained by it.

"I also heard," she continued lightly, "that my younger sister made your life unusually difficult over the past few weeks."

Her eyes moved toward Vivian with surgical calm.

"Dormitory inspections, I believe. Expulsion attempts. And apparently a rather theatrical demand involving kneeling."

Vivian maintained her composure with visible discipline.

"And now," Lily said, turning back to Stan, "for you two to attend this place together there have to be something going on."

A slight pause.

"I have to admit," she said thoughtfully, "there’s a certain symmetry to that outcome I find deeply satisfying."

Vivian said nothing. Which, Stan noticed, only seemed to amuse Lily further.

"I assume," Lily continued smoothly, "that she’s been significantly more cooperative lately."

Stan offered no response. He knew that while she was acting casual, she was actually trying to draw out important info from him, she was yet to know he’s a shareholder of Star entertainment and he isn’t about to reveal that himself

But the silence was okay. After all, that, too, functioned as an answer.

Lily’s gaze sharpened slightly, not aggressively, but with the focus of someone moving toward the part of the conversation she actually cared about.

"What interests me," she said, lowering her voice just enough to separate the words from the surrounding noise, "is whether the man who financed, performed in, and effectively carried an entire student production, one an industry reviewer described as the most impressive unsolicited creative submission Star Entertainment has received in five years..."

She let the statement settle deliberately.

"...has any intention of involving himself in what gets discovered tonight."

Her eyes drifted briefly toward the arena interior beyond the corridor.

Inside, executives and acquisition teams were already taking their places. Netflix representatives near the center tables. HBO’s delegation close to the front. Disney’s talent division gathered near stage access. Assistants moved between rows carrying tablets and contract folders while event staff coordinated final lighting checks near the stage entrance.

The atmosphere inside the arena had already begun to sharpen into competition.

"The people in that room," Lily said, "are going to compete very aggressively for emerging talent tonight."

Her gaze returned to Stan.

"And the companies that arrive prepared usually leave with more than the companies that come merely to observe, with me here it’s not going to be easy for you two to get recruits."

A faint smile touched her mouth.

"I came prepared," she said simply. "I always do."

Then, after the smallest pause:

"I thought it was worth you knowing that."

Only then did she finally release his hand.

Stan realized she had maintained the handshake throughout the entire exchange, not accidentally, but as a deliberate anchor that allowed her to control the rhythm of the conversation without ever appearing forceful.

"It was genuinely a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Harrison."

Her eyes shifted once more toward Vivian.

"Little sister."

"Lily," Vivian replied evenly, with the compressed restraint of someone choosing dignity over reaction by conscious effort.

But Lily didn’t move immediately.

Instead, her gaze traveled slowly over Vivian for a brief second, taking in the midnight-blue dress, the Star Entertainment identification badge attached near her waist, the composed posture she was maintaining with obvious effort.

Then Lily smiled. It was elegant, polished and still felt sharp.

"I have to say," she said softly, "I’m genuinely impressed."

Vivian’s fingers tightened almost invisibly at her side.

"For Star Entertainment to leave something this important in your hands dearest sister..." Lily tilted her head slightly. "You must have been working very hard lately."

The words sounded complimentary. The tone was not.

"Handling an event like this. Coordinating with international studios. Representing one of the largest entertainment companies in the world at a gathering filled with executives who could buy smaller agencies outright without noticing the expense..."

A faint pause.

"You’ve come quite far from campus disciplinary committees and dormitory inspections."

Nearby, one of the streamers nearly stopped breathing as he tried to quietly narrate the exchange for his viewers. Revealing Vivian’s past when she antagonised Stan and how strange it was that they’d be this close after all she’ve done...

Meanwhile, Vivian held her silence.

Lily’s smile deepened by the slightest fraction.

"Of course," she continued gently, "in the end, a branch manager is still a branch manager."

The sentence landed with terrifying precision.No raised voice. No visible hostility.

Just a perfectly measured reminder of hierarchy delivered in front of cameras, executives, and half the entertainment industry.

"And industries like this," Lily added calmly, "have a habit of reminding people where they stand."

For the first time since arriving, Vivian’s heartbeat visibly faltered beneath her composure.

Stan noticed the slight tightening of her jaw.

The way her nails pressed harder into her palm.

The tiny shift in her breathing she was trying to suppress.

Lily noticed it too.

Which was exactly why she stopped there.

Because going any further would make it look emotional.

This was cleaner. Professional. Public.

Cruel in a way that could never be directly challenged.

Then Lily finally stepped back.

Her associates immediately fell into motion behind her as though responding to an invisible signal.

Nearby, flashes exploded from multiple cameras in rapid succession.

One of the streamers lowered his voice dramatically toward his audience.

"for everyone joining late, what you just witnessed was Lily Reeves from Netflix introducing herself to Stan Harrison, the same university student tied to Ghost Signal and Unfinished Business, complimenting him, very obviously testing the waters for future cooperation, professionally dismantling her younger sister in public, and somehow managing to do all three at the same time."

His chat feed was moving too quickly for individual comments to remain visible.

Another streamer nearby was already speaking into his microphone with barely concealed excitement.

"this is unreal. The Reeves sisters are actually turning the arrival corridor into a corporate battlefield right now."

Stan watched Lily vanish into the flow of executives and performers before turning slightly toward Vivian.

***

AN:

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