The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

ASTRID looked at the middle-aged looking man sitting in front of him and Ellis. If this was his past life, he would have guessed the other's age as late 40s to early 50s. But since it's this era we're talking about, the other would probably between 150 to 200 years of age. And he's quite fit for his age too.

The man was the president of EMMA. Astrid was actually quite surprised when the AI robot led him and Ellis to this man's office. He thought that the VP for marketing or some other would be the one to sign the contract with them. He didn't expect that it would be the president himself.

Considering Astrid's current position as a newcomer, having the president of EMMA entertain him himself was a bit, well, over the top.

"Please, look through the contract," the president – Mr. Glen Cook – said.

He pushed a button on the table between them and a virtual screen appeared in front Astrid and Ellis each. The two of them started reading the contract. The first page of the contract was all well and good. It just talked about some formalities and what-not. But when they turned to the next page, that's when both Astrid and Ellis stopped.

Both their eyes were on a particular entry on the contract.

[If party B didn't double the expected sales of the product in its first month, the contract shall be nulled and void.]

Astrid raised a brow when he read that. So, if the sales of the perfume didn't double to what they were expecting, he would basically be fired. Then, wouldn't that make him the fastest ambassador to be kicked out of the job?

"Mr. Cook, can you explain this clause more clearly?" Ellis asked, she was smiling but it didn't reach her eyes.

Astrid could clearly see that the other was very angry right now. If he was an agent and he was presented this kind of unfair contract for his artist, he would be angry too.

As if he didn't notice Ellis' mood shift, Mr. Cook responded calmly, "It is as you have read. We require for Mr. Townsend to double our expected sale for the first month after the perfume is released to the market. Not accomplishing that will make the contract null and void. But you don't have to worry because you will still be paid handsomely."

[As if I care about the pay.] – Ellis almost shouted in gritted teeth. It took everything in her just to remain civil. "Mr. Cook do know that your company will also lose money by doing this, right?"

She meant all the advertisements and photoshoots that came with this contract. Since those would be released the same day that the new perfume line would be available to purchase.

If Astrid didn't achieve that ridiculous quota after a month, wouldn't those ads all be for naught? Would they just throw all of it just because of their stubbornness? Yes, Ellis could see that this clause came about because there were still people in EMMA who didn't like the idea of Astrid being an ambassador.

And this was the brilliant idea they thought about. They didn't even care if the company lost money just to prove their point that Astrid was not the right person for this job. But the funny thing was, the fact that Astrid was even offered this contract in the first place meant that he passed the screen test. And yet they were still doing this.

How f*cking hypocritical!

"Miss Payne don't need to worry about that," Mr. Cook said, as if saying that the money wasn't a problem.

It's EMMA, so the money they would possibly lose for this contract was probably just a spare change for them. And this fact annoyed Ellis even further.

She truly wanted to just decline this nonsensical contract. After all, if Astrid didn't reach this quota, the moniker 'one-month long ambassador' would definitely stick to him for the rest of his career. He would be a laughingstock. Instead of benefiting Astrid, it would just affect him negatively.

And here she thought Lord Cassius would at least prevent something like this happening. Surely, he knew about that clause. Was his confidence towards Astrid's ability this much that he allowed such a clause?

Although Ellis was also confident of Astrid's talent, there were still things that could not be solved by that. Like things beyond one's control, for example. An unexpected accident could easily affect the final result.

While she was pondering what to do next, Astrid had already spoken first.

"It's alright, Sister Ellis. Let's agree with this clause."

Ellis turned to Astrid. Although the other was smiling, she could see the fire burning in his eyes. It's not the expression of someone who was angry, rather, it was that of someone who's determined to prove what he's capable of.

Seeing that, Ellis suddenly felt like the heavy feeling enveloping her whole body was finally starting to lighten. It's like Astrid's confident appearance relieved that heavy burden.

Just like that, she no longer felt worried. Truly, what an outstanding kid.

"Well, if you say so. Then, let us sign it now," she said.

Astrid smiled and turned to Mr. Cook. "Then, shall we, Mr. Cook?"

Now, it was Glen's turn to be surprise. Because he didn't think that the kid wouldn't even be afraid and would fearlessly accept the clause without question.

That aside, he thought that Miss Payne was about to back out. It's such an unfair clause after all. Anyone with a cautious mind would know how risky this was. It could easily make or break the career of the artist she's handling. But just one word from Astrid Townsend and she immediately changed her mind.

Such trust might be good for their relationship as an agent and their artist. But excessive trust could also easily lead to ruin. Well, not that it's any of his concern.

And so, after another round of discussion, explaining the rest of the remaining clauses, the three finally signed an official contract.