Take My Breath Away

Smiling at Tammy, Debbie tucked a few strands of her loose hair behind her ear and said, "The news reported that I had plagiarized one of your songs. This affects my career in the music industry, so I need to sort this out with you as all our fans watch. Let them see for themselves if I've plagiarized your work or not." She shifted her gaze to Ruby. "Ruby, show Tammy to everyone. She wants to say hi to our audience."

Ruby then aimed the phone camera at Tammy, who was flustered by the sudden attack. But she was a trained on-stage performer. She quickly collected herself and faced the camera. "Hi, everyone! This is Tammy, a singer under Star Empire. Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for your attention on this issue. This might be just a misunderstanding. We'll get a clear picture soon."

The three of them then walked into Tammy's studio. Shortly, Tammy's assistant came in with a pile of documents.

Debbie smiled towards the camera and told her fans who were watching the online live video, "Okay, now that Tammy's assistant is here, I think we can start the discussion."

Ruby kept the camera aimed at them. Tammy's assistant brought the original copy of the lyrics which they had already posted on the Internet as evidence. "Everyone, please look at this. Tammy wrote this song about two and a half months ago all by herself. We also have an electronic copy stored in the laptop. Please wait for a minute."

The assistant then turned on her laptop and showed a copy of the lyrics.

Debbie didn't think that it was convincing enough, so she asked, "Do you have any other solid proof?"

At that moment, the assistant general manager of the company knocked on the door and walked in. "Debbie, Tammy, what are you doing here together?" he asked anxiously.

Noticing the obvious anxiety on his face, Debbie knew that he must have seen the live video. It was no use hiding anything now. "She accused me of plagiarism. So, I have come to confront her."

"But Debbie, I told you that we could solve this in private. I have already asked someone to look into it," the assistant general manager said in a low voice as the camera was still rolling. Besides, he didn't want to offend Debbie. She was the cash cow of the company. Her popularity was boosting and her new album was a hit.

Debbie shook her head. "All that round-about investigation takes a long time. The most efficient way is to solve this face-to-f

ing her entire career.

James kept his cool and suggested, "If she does trot out solid proof, then you must admit that you lied and take the blame."

"What?! If I do that, my career is finished!" Tammy shouted, her eyes wide in shock.

James sneered, "You should have thought about the consequences earlier. It's too late now. You've already accepted my money and promised to do this job. You can't chicken out now. Rest assured, I'll give you thirty million after this is done. You can take the money and start a new life in some other country." An unknown singer like Tammy could hardly earn a million annually at most. So, she couldn't resist the temptation of thirty million dollars.

Meanwhile, Debbie had calmed down a little. Indeed, she was being too impulsive.

She wasn't feeling guilty about confronting Tammy, but she did feel bad because this would get Carlos involved.

He was her witness. When she had written the lyrics of the said song, Carlos was sitting by her side at her apartment. She had read the lyrics to him that day. If she told everyone this and he acknowledged it, then the public would doubt their current relationship.

But on second thoughts, Debbie wasn't worried much. That was what she wanted. She wanted to put their names together.

While Tammy was in the ladies' room, Debbie quickly came up with the solution to the issue at hand.

When the rumor monger came back to the room, Debbie put aside the proof they had given and stared at her coldly. "Tammy, are you going to tell the truth now?"

Pretending to be confused, Tammy retorted, "I should be asking you that."