America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 182 The Customer Decides Everything

When Thomas arrived at work today, all his colleagues in the open-plan office looked at him differently. In just a few months, his client Martin Davis had twice topped the North American box office charts!

"How many years ago was the last time a real estate agent in the lobby experienced something like this?" someone asked in a low voice.

Another person said, "It seems like it was the second year after Ali-Emanuel left the mailroom."

The first person was both envious and jealous: "Where does an agent's value lie? In his clients! Thomas now has Martin as a client, and as long as Martin doesn't fire him, he's bound to make it big."

The other person fell silent, a thought nagging at him: Martin Davis's next movie is doomed to fail.

At this moment, countless agents in the hall were having similar thoughts.

In particular, Thomas was called away to meet with senior management.

These people who have been trained in the mailroom may appear perfectly normal on the surface, but their feelings are extremely complicated.

Everyone wants to be Thomas, but no one wants anyone else to be Thomas.

Leaving the lobby, Thomas walked past a dozen or so individual offices.

The door to one of the offices opened, and Pinto leaned against the doorframe, watching Thomas turn into the elevator.

He turned his head and looked at the private office diagonally opposite, where four or five workers were doing the final touches, and computers had already been installed at the individual workstations outside the door.

A sign was pasted on the frosted glass door—Thomas Lane.

A private office, complete with an assistant!

Martin Davis alone made Thomas a player who surpassed him.

Pinto deeply regretted not having worked harder to win over Martin Davis, as he had several female clients whose looks were no less than Anne Hathaway's.

Is there still an opportunity to poach Martin Davis? Pinto is carefully considering it, unless he leaves.

Thomas went upstairs to Ali Emmanuel's office.

Whitesell, who was in charge of administration, was also there.

Whitesell got straight to the point: "You've done a great job over the past six months, cultivating clients like Martin. An office has been prepared for you; assistant, go to the mailroom to choose one."

Thomas had already seen the office, but he was still very happy that the dust had settled, and said, suppressing his excitement, "I want to choose Natasha at the front desk."

Whitesell replied, "Go to the mailroom to complete the formalities later."

Ali chimed in, "Martin is a good actor. His acting skills, emotional intelligence, social skills, and network are outstanding. He has the potential to continue to rise."

Thomas smiled and replied, "Yes, although Martin sometimes does things..."

He originally wanted to say that Martin had no bottom line, but Martin was his client, and he had to protect Martin: "Sometimes he does things in a rather unconventional way, but he is absolutely trustworthy when it comes to work. Martin doesn't handle work like a 20-something-year-old kid, he's like a 50- or 60-year-old actor."

Ali emphasized, "Many people are very clear-headed before they become famous and successful, but they are blinded by success. You need to observe carefully. For the company, Martin's value and profits can be even greater. We cannot let him fall quickly."

The people themselves aren't the key factor; the key factor is the profit they can generate.

Thomas said, "I'll keep an eye on Martin."

Ali asked, "I heard Martin is working on a new project?"

"Yes, Martin has set up a studio and is working with Louise Meyer of Pacific Films, who is mainly responsible for assembling, producing, and planning," Thomas said. "The project is called 'Wanted,' based on the Top Bull comic book. The production team is currently in the process of being assembled, and Martin and Julie will star as the male and female leads."

Alibaba asked, "What about the investment amount?"

Thomas said, "The expected amount is around $5000 million. Martin has several female investors in Atlanta who support him, including Louise Mayer."

"Sure!" Ali exclaimed with some curiosity, "He's making a fuss about getting engaged to Anne Hathaway here, and he's also managing to hook up with a few female investors over there. Martin's biggest strength is in this!"

Whitesell said, "I suggested that Martin's internal level be changed from Level 5 client to Level 4. Although his salary is not at the $5 million level, his situation is very special, and he has a lot of financial backers."

Thomas then added, "There's one more thing. I haven't had a chance to report to the company yet, but Martin and I are preparing to compete for the second lead role in Scorsese and Leonardo's new project, the gangster thriller 'The Departed.'"

"You guys?" Ali frowned. He had just told them to stay calm, but these two had already been blinded by the box office champion?

Thomas quickly explained, "Pacific Films has basically reached an agreement with Warner Bros. on the project, and Louise will have Martin bring his own investment to the project, which will be around $2000 million."

Ali and Whitesell exchanged a glance, and the same thought arose in their minds at the same time: Just how powerful is Martin Davis's strength that he has achieved such a level!

This guy got to his position entirely because of women!

To be able to live off a woman to this extent, you're definitely a genius!

"Martin has two things he needs the company's support on." Thomas was used to these gigolos and wasn't surprised: "Louise will be discussing collaborations with Warner Bros. and director Scorsese, focusing on promoting Martin. As for the company..."

Ali nodded: "I will have further discussions with Scorsese and Warner Bros."

Thomas added, "Wanted is currently lacking a suitable action director."

Alibaba is a man of great things, and he didn't hesitate at all: "I will help him find a suitable director, but for all the supporting roles in the project, we must prioritize using the company's clients."

Thomas said, "That's what Martin meant too."

Ali looked at Whitesell and said, "The company's fourth-level resources will be prioritized for Martin."

Martin has two movies to shoot in a row, so he won't be using the roles recommended by the company for a while, but the company's attitude of valuing him needs to be shown.

There's been too much poaching between the major Hollywood talent agencies.

…………

Around noon, Martin arrived at WMA, and many people looked at him strangely.

Some people even came over to greet him: "Hi, Martin, congratulations!"

"Our box office champion has arrived."

"What's your next project? How about mentoring one of my clients?"

At the agency, Martin always appeared very kind and harmless to everyone, like a lucky, naive girl.

Upon entering Thomas's office cubicle, Thomas was sitting in a chair with his desk completely empty.

Martin understood immediately and went over to bump fists with him: "Buddy, you have your own office now."

Thomas chuckled and waved, "Come with me."

The two entered the private office area, and Martin could see the private office with the "Thomas Lane" sign from a distance. There was a short blonde woman sitting at the assistant's desk by the door.

Upon seeing Martin approach, the blonde woman stood up to greet him, "Good morning, Martin."

Martin remembered her: "Hello, Natasha."

Thomas pushed open the frosted glass door and invited, "Come on in and have a look."

Martin followed him inside. The office wasn't large, only about 15 square meters. Besides the desk and filing cabinet, there was a long sofa for guests.

Thomas exclaimed excitedly, "How about it? Not bad, right?"

Martin knew he had to offer encouragement at this point: "This is a fantastic office; I'd love to stay and work here."

After offering encouragement, it was time to add some more responsibility: "However, this place is still a bit small; the large office upstairs would be more suitable for you."

Thomas nodded: "I'd like to go upstairs too, but those are offices only for senior brokers and partners."

"Do you lack confidence in me, or in yourself?" Martin needed Thomas to lead the charge and wouldn't allow him to rest: "Who was number one at the North American box office last week? Ah? It was us! We're the golden duo, we're on a winning streak, we have a bright future ahead of us."

He emphasized, "We still have many goals to achieve; we can reach even greater heights!"

Thomas, brimming with enthusiasm, declared, "Yes, I'm going to be a partner in the company!"

Martin said, "Above the partners are senior partners, and above that are joint partners. Like me, I'm a minor celebrity now, but there are many levels above me..."

"You're now a Level 4 client in the company, which is equivalent to a celebrity client," Thomas said. "Your salary isn't high enough, but your situation is special."

Martin understood: "Because I can bring my own funding to the production?"

"Yes." Thomas selectively described the relevant information that Ali had mentioned, mainly about Martin's client level upgrade, as well as the two projects: the wanted poster and the Undercover Agent.

Martin pulled out his office chair, sat down at Thomas's desk, and said, "With a successful movie, it feels like there are more good people around me."

Thomas pulled back the blinds and said, "A lot of connections and resources come from a series of successes."

Martin asked, "If I fail, will everyone around me turn into bad guys?"

Thomas considered for a moment and said, "When a movie starring a star has a high box office, everyone from the producers to the distributors, from the theaters to the audience, will remember him. All his actions, no matter how vulgar, will be considered right and good."

His tone suddenly shifted: "If the film fails, do you think these people will let him off the hook? Will they simply forget about the failure? Won't they label him a box office poison?"

Martin couldn't help but laugh: "Thomas, you could be my life mentor."

Thomas said, "Because I want to succeed with you!"

Time flew by and it was noon.

Thomas invited Martin to a nearby restaurant for dinner, and also invited Bruce, with the agent generously paying the bill.

"Old Bruce, we haven't interacted much before, but we should keep in touch more often." Thomas made a point of having a drink with Bruce, and said very nicely, "We need to do a good job serving Martin."

Bruce grinned like a freak: "No problem."

Martin then gave Thomas Jessica's contact information: "She's my personal assistant, who handles fans, the blog, and some miscellaneous tasks. If you can't reach me or Old Brooks, you can contact her."

Thomas wrote down the contact number immediately.

After finishing lunch, Bruce asked Martin, "Where are we going?"

Martin said, "Go see Vincent and Sophia."

Bruce, still shaken, asked, "You're going by yourself?"

Martin didn't want to go alone either: "Hey buddy, you have no professional ethics!"

(End of this chapter)