Chapter 253

Sophia Laurent gave Adrian Valdemar no chance to back out.

At dawn the next day, Melanie Vance marched straight into Adrian's agent's office with the contract. His agent happened to be his college roommate—a blunt engineering graduate who knew nothing about the entertainment industry's underbelly.

Their PR strategy was shockingly simple: attack back.

Melanie nearly choked when she heard their approach.

Strangely enough, this crude method had earned Adrian a notorious reputation. Though most were haters, in an era where attention was currency, being talked about—even negatively—was better than obscurity.

At least it landed him some low-tier gigs.

After signing, Melanie tentatively asked Sophia, "Should we draft a career plan first?"

Sophia shook her head, her gaze fixed on Adrian. "Put him through eight-hour daily training for a week. Then send him to audition for Lucas Sheridan's 'Young Marquis.' I've already arranged it."

"Eight hours?" Melanie gasped but nodded.

Even Scarlett Ashcroft had only trained four hours a day at her peak.

Could this pampered young master endure it?

As Melanie hesitated, Sophia added coldly, "Assign someone to monitor him. If he slacks off, notify me immediately."

Adrian's eyes widened.

He was standing right there! Did she think he was invisible?

First training morning.

After two hours of facial expressions practice, Adrian collapsed onto the couch, playing dead.

Melanie immediately called Sophia.

Sophia was chairing an executive meeting at Valdemar Holdings. Since dealing with Director Huang, dissent had temporarily quieted.

"Make him continue," Sophia said icily. "If he doesn't complete eight hours, he's not leaving the company."

On her turf, her rules applied.

When Melanie relayed the message, Adrian exploded. "I quit!"

When had he ever suffered like this?

Two hours of exaggerated expressions left his face twitching.

"Ms. Laurent's orders," Melanie said flatly. "No eight hours, no going home."

Adrian froze. "Is Sophia insane?"

Eight hours? This was torture!

No matter how he raged, Melanie remained unmoved.

"Get Sophia here now!" Adrian roared, kicking over a chair. "Is she deliberately tormenting me?"

Melanie smiled. "Ms. Laurent is busy."

"Now! Immediately!" Adrian hurled the script across the room. "Or I'm terminating the contract!"