Chapter 79: Too Late

Karma often had a way of always finding its way back to people.

Maybe not as swiftly as one might expect it, but eventually, it did.

One way or another.

Callow’s, unfortunately, seemed to have just started.

All as a result of a few words from a talent that once worked under him.

-

"Niall... a lot of the songs in the movie feels deeply personal. Which of those did you resonate the most with?"

"Well, if I had to say, I’d definitely go with... [I’ll Keep Rising]. I resonate with [I’ll Keep Rising] the most."

"And why is that?" the veteran reporter curiously asked.

"I think that goes without saying. I think we’ve all had... moments... in our lives where we just want to stick it to those who looked down on us." Niall’s smile remained reserved as he replied.

"I for one, just like Owen in the movie, had to work under a rather overbearing man who seemed to get a kick out of making my life already harder than it was." he continued vaguely.

"So, in an effort to make a defiant anthem about it and also, grow out of the mold he wanted to fit me into, I made the song." Niall expatiated briefly.

"But of course, I wrote it for [Silver Comets] first before any of that. It just so happened to be fantastic song that fits extremely well into the framework of how I equally felt at the time." he concluded.

-

The clip wasn’t even up to a minute.

In fact, it had been barely over thirty seconds.

Yet, it was the trigger to the first dominoes that came crashing down.

No sooner had the video hit the web, Niall’s growing fanbase immediately began scouring the internet for anything that could shed more light on everything he had said.

Naturally, this pulled them towards the agency he was formerly affiliated with. Goldleaf Talent Agency.

From there... well, the agency began facing some criticism here and there for their dated structure when compared to the newer, less predatory structures other agencies had adopted.

But even then, it had remained rather mild, almost like a pint in the ocean.

Unfortunately for the talent agency, its bottom feeders couldn’t have had a better opportunity to absolutely drag them down after several years of being ignored.

Slowly, they began leaking their receipts to the public.

From claims of being involved in several manipulative schemes to get innocent, aspiring young talents to join their agency and sign their predatory contract, to unsavory claims of rampant workplace ’favors’ and molestation, to agents who outright refused to pay their talents their dues, all of it was revealed to the public.

Soon enough, the wave of backlashes began and the internet went to town with all of it. Effectively, Goldleaf Talent Agency became everyone’s newest punching bags.

Naturally, the agency tried to manage it as best as they could by releasing press statements in an effort to control the narrative and clarify as much ’misinformation’ as they could.

At the same time, they also bought out several journalists from several publications, all in an effort to sway the public’s perception of them to an acceptable degree.

Not that it stopped several other media companies from equally hopping onto the bandwagon, each and every one of the outlets dead-set on making a quick buck or two off of the controversy.

Still, the agency’s swift response did a good job of suppressing the backlash, and gradually, things began mellowing out.

Just as it seemed the controversy was about to be forgotten though, Starlight Magazine published an article.

An article with a rather bold title that read;

-

Niall Parker, Goldleaf Talent Agency’s Biggest Fumble? Sources Claim, It Was His Agent All Along.

└ By Tom Jiggs | Starlight Magazine

Hollywood has no shortage of multi-talented artists.

Sadly, very few actually get to make it to the spotlight, despite being very deserving of it.

Enter Niall Parker, the risingstar whose screenplay birthed not just a box-office hit, but a soundtrack so popular, many of its songs remain chart toppers with hundreds of millions of streams in its first two weeks alone.

His success may have come as a silver comet to many, much like that emotionally rich scene in the movie, but he wasn’t always the break out artist that you see today.

Not because he hadn’t always been talented, but rather because his former agent, refused to offer him any roles that afforded him his artistic freedom.

His interview at the AFI Fest also sheds more light on this, as does the little feature we managed to get with him.

At the moment, we hadn’t thought much of it. It was just another artist trying to push themselves to a higher standard.

However, rewatching that interview, especially with this context in mind, gives his words a whole new meaning while putting a whole lot into perspective.

Thankfully, Niall, with the smash-hit success of his first book, [The Token of Fate], managed to escape not just his former agent’s grasp, butGoldleaf Talent Agency altogether.

An agency that has proven itself to be rather controversial, as evidenced by the recent, unsavory claims surrounding them.

Currently, Niall is now working at Hellion Talent Agency, an environment that seems to be fostering his growth, and we at Starlight Magazine can’t wait to see what the future has in store for him.

-

No sooner had that article dropped, it became an instant hit.

For so many of Niall’s fans, all of whom had been wondering whom their favorite artist had been referring to in the clips that had equally gone viral, they finally had a face to attach to the man in question.

From thereon, things just seemed to get worse for Goldleaf Talent Agency, and even worser for Callow.

Asides from being flamed on all their social media handles, ’someone’ had managed to not just find, but also leak the messages between the agent and the ’Hank Bush’ from Spotlight Weekly.

In it, were long screenshots of their messages, all of it detailing how the hit piece published last year on Niall Parker was to be done.

Like a criminal caught red-handed, the media company had the post deleted from their pages as swiftly as they could, hoping it would mitigate some of the inevitable bad press coming their way.

But unfortunately, they should’ve known better.

Without mercy, Spotlight Weekly and the ’Hank Bush’ who wrote the article were equally dragged through the mud for their decadence--the very same word they had used in the title of the hit piece.

Still, what they were facing, paled in comparison to the sheer weariness that consumed Callow as he watched his phone constantly blow up with calls and messages.

Honestly, it almost looked like the man had aged by five more years when in fact, it had only been a week.

Soon enough though, the inevitable call from the higher-ups came.

Currently in his condo and seated on a sofa, his bloodshot eyes from the lack of sleep stared down at the details of the contact on his phone as it kept buzzing.

This was to be expected.

With everything that was going on, it was only natural that the executives would need someone to take the fall for all of this.

Someone they could toss out to the public as a sacrifice to placate the backlash they were facing.

And who better to have fill those shoes, if not the very man whom had been the root cause of it all.

Refusing to pick up the device as it vibrated on the glass table which was already littered with several empty bottles of alcohol, seemingly in false hopes that they might just let him off the hook, he watched the phone ring away.

However, when the call came a second time, and this time, through his personal line, he knew he was absolutely fucked.

Warily, he reached out to pick up the phone, an involuntary gulp escaping him as he swiped to receive the call.

Yet, without so much as a flourish, two words came from the other end of the line;

"You’re fired."

Immediately after, the line went dead.

For a hot second, Callow was unsure of what to do.

Not only had he lost his job, his reputation and credibility were now tarnished beyond measure.

Naturally, that came with the inevitable resignation that it would be nigh impossible for him to get another job as an agent or anything else for that matter in the industry.

Yet, when all was said and done, he more than anyone also knew that this was all as a result of his handiwork.

Which was why, as he buried his hands into his head, one singular thought kept ringing in his mind;

’I should’ve just left him alone. I should’ve just let Niall be.’

Unfortunately for Callow, it was too late for regrets.

He had laid his bed.

Now, for better or worse, he had to lie on it.

Advance Chapters are available on Patreon!

/Caer07