Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 334

Carrol knew that Egbert was coming over that night. He had a whole bunch of grievances to air out, so he made a special run to the store for a couple of cases of beer and some snacks to munch on, planning to have a good old chinwag with Egbert when he got there.

One in the morning came and went, but Egbert didn’t show up.

One-thirty rolled around, still no Egbert.

Two o'clock hit, and that's when the stage manager rang up Carrol, "Boss, Mr. Reed's here. The night crew spotted him heading over to the set."

Carrol sat up from his slump on the couch and asked, "Why isn't he coming to the hotel? What's he doing at the set?"

The stage manager replied, "Ms. Lopez had a couple of night scenes that needed reshooting. They've just wrapped up. He's probably here to pick up Ms. Lopez. Hold on, where's Ms. Lopez gone? I just saw her a second ago, and now she's vanished."

Eileen was actually being whisked away by Egbert in her own car, usually driven by Janice. But it was late, and Eileen told her to head back and get some sleep. Eileen planned to drive herself after the shoot.

Now, inside the spacious car, Egbert was seated in the driver's seat, turning to help her with her seatbelt.

Eileen, her head bowed, muttered, "I can do it myself." As she reached for the seatbelt, Egbert caught her hand with a swift move. His deep eyes seemed heavy as he looked at her and said, "You've had a long day. Let me."

Eileen blinked, a bit startled. Egbert seemed off today.

Once he fastened her seatbelt, Egbert started the car and they were on the road.

Eileen kept stealing glances at Egbert, pretty sure she knew why he'd come in the dead of night.

It was painfully obvious. It had to be because of what Paulina said!

Eileen scratched her ear, and after a long pause, she finally asked, "Why... did you come back?"

Egbert took a turn and said in a flat voice, "Doing some environmental research for Barton."

Eileen was taken aback. "Huh?"

He looked at her. "What's up?"

Eileen shook her head, confused for a moment, but then asked, "So when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow," Egbert replied.

Eileen was speechless.

Arriving tonight and leaving tomorrow? You might as well have not come at all!

Suddenly, Egbert asked, "What's the deal with Chester?"

Eileen frowned. "You mean about me hitting him?"

Egbert looked at her. "No, I mean him as a person."

Eileen snorted and relayed the dirt Gentry had dug up on Chester.

Egbert’s brow furrowing slightly before he said, "Yeah, there's a business of that sort."

Eileen looked puzzled. "business?"

"It's like a grey industry within the industry. Using an asset you don't need to secure one you do need. They call these under-the-table deals a win-win."

Egbert had been around the block long enough to have seen all sorts of shady deals, but Eileen was relatively new to the scene and had been well-guarded by Ophelia at EchoWave Media Group. She likely wasn't aware of these murky practices.

But as soon as Egbert finished explaining, Eileen had a flash of realization. "Are you talking about resource brokering?"

Egbert was taken aback. "You know about it?"

Eileen did know, but only by hearsay, never having witnessed it firsthand. And that was something she remembered from her past life.

Resource brokering, that's what Chester was doing.

For instance, take the production of "Feathers of Fate." At the outset, some big players wanted the leading lady and the supporting lady roles for their own starlets.

But Carrol was a stickler and wouldn't let investors influence casting decisions. When the big players couldn't push their choices through, they turned to more cunning tactics.

Once they discovered Chester was open to deals, they made a deal with him to make Carrol recast. Whether through temptation or other means, they didn't care about the how – just the outcome.

In return, they promised Chester a handsome "commission" upon success – maybe a lead role in another project, a wad of cash, or even a property.

Chester had risen through the ranks by playing the game, no stranger to the unsavory side of the business.