She Becomes A Hot Sensation After A Scandalous Affair
Chapter 139

Chapter 139: Chapter 139

Madeline was astonished by the lengths to which Lance would go just to ensure that she wouldn’t appear in the same frame as Zane.

And it was very tempting and ’sounded’ safe. But Madeline noticed one glaring weakness that she couldn’t ignore.

"What do I think?" Madeline hummed and said, "It sounds really safe and secure, especially with Valerie. I won’t need to worry about people thinking I refused to work with Zane."

"Good, then I will call Valerie and—"

"But there is one glaring issue about this, Lance," Madeline interrupted. "What about you?"

"What about... me?" Lance frowned.

"I know that I will be safe and secure. But how about you? Since you said that your brother is trying to sabotage you," Madeline said. "I don’t think he will just let you off after you transfer my official contract to Valerie."

"So what will happen to you if I leave?"

Lance found the question astonishing.

Naturally, he knew what would happen to him.

By the time Madeline was transferred to Valerie’s indie company, Lance would be deemed a failure of a CEO because how could he just let off a gold mine?

Madeline Rose and Zane Eastwood would be the hot topic for a while. It was the perfect opportunity to pair them up on a TV show for maximum profit.

Naturally, Theodore would get all the support from the shareholders and board of directors to finally acquire Empress Entertainment and turn it into a mere subsidiary.

Lance would be reduced to nothing, solely relying on his parents’ trust fund to live comfortably.

Theodore would probably assign him the Duke of York, an old title owned by their family, though this title was mostly irrelevant at this era.

Lance knew the risk very well, but he couldn’t let Madeline cry again.

...

There was a long silence on the other side, and Madeline got impatient. "Lance, answer me!"

"You don’t need to care about something irrelevant. Just focus on yourself, okay?" Lance said.

"You will get a severe consequence if I leave your company, right?"

"...Maddy, I’m trying to help you here. Don’t make it difficult," Lance insisted. "I will continue to be rich for the rest of my life anyway. No need to bother about it."

"Lancelot Grant!" Madeline raised her voice frustratedly. "Please tell me what will happen if I leave!"

...

"I will be fired as the CEO, and then my big brother’s company will acquire Empress Entertainment," Lance sighed. "Don’t mind it. I don’t care about that company anyway."

"Yeah, I can’t do that," Madeline said. "I will stay."

"Maddy," Lance’s tone got serious. "Don’t be willful. I’m doing this for your sake."

"And I’m staying for your sake," Madeline insisted. "I am the one who messed up in the first place, so I will take responsibility."

"This is your only chance to escape. Don’t be stubborn," Lance scolded.

But Madeline refused to listen. "I will stay."

"You—"Lance was on edge, knowing Madeline would have to kiss another man. He had meticulously planned Madeline’s swift escape, but now that she had become stubborn, he felt that everything he did would be in vain. "Why do you care so much about what will happen to me? I’ll be just fine, Maddy. This is all about your safety!"

"Because I don’t want to abandon you!" Madeline raised her voice even more as she felt that Lance refused to listen to her stance. "I may be a screw-up. I made many mistakes, but I am not a coward!"

Both Lance and Madeline were frustrated because neither refused to listen.

Thus, after their yelling contest on the phone, there was a long silence between them as they cooled down.

Lance was the first to break the ice. "I just want to protect you, Maddy."

"And I want to protect you too, Lance," Madeline insisted. "So, how about we find a way to help each other?"

"And how would that be?" Lance asked.

Madeline hummed for a second and inquired further, "If I did great in this TV show with Zane, would that give you an advantage over your brother? I want to give you an opening so you will win against him."

The fire in Lance’s heart began to burn as he realized that Madeline was trying to help him.

It was surprising because Lance never expected Madeline to care for his safety or actively help him.

"Madeline, you don’t need—"

"Shut up and give me an answer, Lance," Madeline interrupted. "I don’t want to argue when we’re in a dire situation like this."

Lance zipped his lips for a few seconds. He took a deep breath and said, "One season of the show should be enough for me to whittle down the board of directors. I can slowly replace them with my people."

"And about the shareholders... I can purchase their stock individually until I own at least 75% of the company’s stock," Lance added. "And by the time I own that much stock in Empress Entertainment, my brother won’t be able to do anything."

Honestly, it would be better if Madeline and Zane’s TV show had a bad rating. The company’s stock will fall, and it’d be cheaper to purchase them.

But he didn’t want Madeline to get hated even more, so he’d rather dig deeper into his trust fund to ensure he could finally kick Theodore out of his company.

"Wouldn’t it be better if I kick up a fuss, maybe a scandal, right before the show airs, so the company’s stock will plummet, and it’d be cheaper for you to buy it?" Madeline suggested. "I can do that."

"NO!" Lance rejected immediately. "I don’t want you to get hated anymore."

"Oh, Lance, honey," Madeline chuckled as she realized that her infamy would finally be useful for the first time. "I signed a contract with you because you want to make me so infamous. This is just part of the job I signed for, right?"

"I changed my mind. This isn’t right," Lance said. "I don’t want you to get hate comments anymore."

"Well, too bad, because I will be doing just that," Madeline said lightly. "I will kick up a fuss right before the TV show airs, so it’ll get hate-bombed, and your company’s stock will plummet—a perfect moment to buy out the shareholders’ stock, right?"