81. Contingencies, Mending Hearts and Financial Literacy.

Results Of The Hidden Poll:- Thank you for participating guys, there was a hidden poll in the last chapter.

At the very beginning, where I posted a list of names of female celebrities who could be featured as Mark's secretaries. I wanted to choose 2 from the pile but I couldn't decide on them so I put the entire list of potential candidates.

But I didn't ask you guys to vote for it, the votes you guys gave regardless and the comments some you guys made about how one should be chosen now or over the other helped me decide which two should be chosen from the list.

Now, usually I would just reveal the results but I don't wanna spoil which two were chosen. So keep an eye out on the future chapters to see which two female celebrities were chosen.

There is a small poll at the end of the chapter please don't forget/hesitate to vote.

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Recap of the Previous Chapter —

Mark wakes up to a new and improved body, he finds many subtle differences about his looks and some groundbreaking things about his now peak human body and superhuman senses and stats like endurance, flexibility, dexterity and more.

Vani tells him how the tutorial has come to an end and now earning HP will be twice as hard as before. Mark doesn't think much of it and instead feels excited to see if he would finally feel challenged. He then has a press meet at the Union Chapel after which he performs a piece of music for the audience to join.

The chapter ends with a POV of Lisa Ann, a secretary of the PR Head of Disney. She hears her boss being chewed out by the tyrant and laments the fate of her boss and her team. They done all they could but nothing stuck as the "Spector's Call" kept driving people to the theater's. After watching the movie for herself, she found herself becoming a fan of the Spector as well.

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– Quote of the chapter –

Sometimes you must feel the..

hurt in order to understand,

fall down in order to grow,

lose dearly in order to gain,

because life's greatest lessons..

are learnt through enduring pain.

— TheRamenLord.

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~ Third Person's POV ~

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Date: Friday, 21th September, 1990

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Location: At the Union Chapel, where Mark is performing.

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Time: 05:03 pm.

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The melody was hauntingly beautiful, from the balcony where he was, he could see how the entire crowd was entranced by Mark's song.

"Experience" was its name if he recalled it right. A song Mark told that came to him when he was having an existential crisis.

The feeling of loneliness even when surrounded by a crowd, that empty feeling even after achieving victory, as if the whole world's weight was on your shoulders and yet as the song progressed that weight grew lighter.

From deep within him he felt an emotion that he had always held close to his heart in fear of ever losing his way. It was hope, hope for a better day, a better future, one where our loved ones might look at us and be proud of what we stand for.

"We work in the dark, to serve the light, we are the watch." he thought about the oath Mark had come up with.

It might sound corny at first but it perfectly encapsulated their existence. No one will ever know of the horrors they have stopped, they have helped bring these monsters to the light so that they may face justice for their crimes.

Another line that Mark had told him came to his mind as he reminisced about the past couple of years.

'A hero isn't someone who helps people for fame or recognition, they simply do it because they can because it is the right thing to do.'

It was a very simple thing to say at first but it made him understand that Mark truly understood what the people in his shoes went through or have sacrificed to keep the peace.

At least now, he didn't hate himself because he was forced into making a choice that went against his code. It felt good to be part of the change, of doing something meaningful for a change.

Suddenly he felt eyes on him, though he didn't feel any ill intent, neither were his instincts screaming for him to escape. 'Maybe an old friend?' he thought to himself as a middle-aged asian man quietly came up beside him.

"Hello, Dave. Fancy seeing you here." It was Mr. Kim, David's old friend and Mark's new head of security after being promoted from driven/bodyguard.

"Hey, Kim. Should have expected you to spot me." He replied back in a hushed tone but didn't turn his head away from the performance down below.

"Are you here on a job?" He asked leaning on the railing of the balcony screening the people below, checking to see if his team was in their positions.

"Yeah." The voice had grown colder when he replied, Dave recalled what he had found about yesterday from a few contacts.

"That bad.." he said, with sympathy for his friend.

"It's just.. work." He exhaled and relaxed his mind, closing his mind away from the dark thoughts and letting himself go to his happy place enjoying the music.

"Take care, old friend." Kim replied gently and decided to let his friend relax in his lonesome.

Dave just nodded at him and went back to his half meditation half aware state.

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~ Back at the Eidolon HQ ~

Evelyn had already opened the letters that Mark had left her last night, reading them really took off some of the pressure regarding the current circumstance she found herself in.

In those letters she found that he had already predicted most of these things to happen to them, so he had put together a list of contingencies for her to use. Some were even just things he wanted her to set while he was away.

The "Contingencies" were actions to be taken in case their enemies used any underhanded means to take down their film. She had already called Harry last night to put together a legal representative team for Johnny and River.

Mark's contingent for Nirvana Pictures was definitely weird, as she had read the entire thing and realized that Mark had used Nirvana Pictures as bait.

He deliberately created this small weakness that could be taken advantage of, which he had already even planned a counter for. Just like planned, Disney or some other enemy theirs had taken the bait.

*Knock* ×3

It was Harry, he called out to grab her attention and walked in with a smile, "Hey, Evelyn. How have you been?"

"I will be better, when this BS is behind us." she replied with a sigh and gestured for him to take a seat.

"The group is already assembled, I even called in a few experts from other firms to help out. After all, we absolutely can't afford to lose here?" he said, answering her unasked question.

"That's good, money isn't an issue here. The allegations against River and Johnny are way too extreme. Salma's we can just ignore for now." she rolled her eyes at the allegations against Salma.

As it was actually true but also because nobody cares if the heroine of a movie sleeps with the director or is even found dating him.

"But the other two? Absolutely. Not." she leaned as she said that stressing just how importantly she took this.

"It has come out of the boundaries of speculation and is just trying to spread lies about them." there was a genuine look of anger on her face as this was the first her clients were facing such problems.

But she reined in her temper as she knew such underhanded means would only grow more and more common as they became even bigger stars.

"As I've already told you last night. Mark wants us to file a defamation case against all of these big and small newspapers that participated in spreading this misinformation."

"The consequence of spreading lies against his friends must be paid. As per Nirvana he has some.. plans for it."

"What plans are we talking about here?" He was curious to know what Mark had in mind.

"He obviously wants to win the infringement case and keep the trademark of Nirvana pictures but he also doesn't want to give up a single dime to the accuser."

"But if somehow winning isn't looking possible then he wants to drag out the case for as long as possible. At least till the duration of the time the film is screened in the theaters for."

"Why though, won't it be worse if you guys have a good box office run and end up paying more in the end."

"Well Mark didn't go into the details but he wrote that even if you gave an intern to do this and just told exactly what to say. You guys would still win."

"Is this case so stacked in our favor?" He couldn't help but finding Marks

"Yes, it is, at least Mark thinks. But then it begs the question, why did they even bother filing the case then?" Evelyn looked puzzled as to what the enemy was thinking.

"Ms. Thorne, I think I know the answer to that," said a beautiful woman in her 20s as she brought them coffee on a tray.

"Oh, do tell and thanks for the coffee, you really didn't need to do this as it's not your job, my assistant is stuck in traffic." Evelyn thanked her for the help and for sticking around.

"LA traffic." Harry and the unnamed woman chimed and nodded in understanding.

"Well, I think the people behind this don't care if they win or lose. They only want to drop the box officea." She replied with confidence, a bit of her accent coming through, she after all was a native Italian.

Harry nodded and said, "sometimes the most simplest answer is the correct one."

"But if this case stays on the news, won't it negatively impact the box office in the long run?" Harry was puzzled as to why Mark wanted something like this to happen.

Eva just looked at her new hire, gesturing for her to answer.

"It could if not handled properly but if we give a press release that this might be nothing but just a mistake on their part as we already had the appropriate trademark registered. We could instead make them look stupid and incompetent."

"Also show our dominance by taking them to the court of law to solve this issue and prove our innocence in this matter."

"Though we need to be careful when making this press release as we don't want to come off as too overbearing but just enough to show that we mean business."

Harry just looked at her a bit stunned, "I am so sorry, I didn't introduce myself-a." she apologized as she stood up and introduced herself.

"I am Monica Bellucci. I have recently joined as Mr. Spector's personal secretary and legal aid-a. It's a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Clarke." She offered her hand politely for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you. I am Harry Clarke but you already know that." He said back slightly impressed that she already knew his name and stood up slightly to shake hands.

"I do, I might be new around here-a. But I have spent some time familiarizing myself with those Mr. Spector works with or might work with in the future." She smiled as she offered him his cup of coffee.

"You're quite diligent, color me, impressed. Where have you studied law?" He found himself intrigued to know more about this new hire, especially one that could instill such confidence in Evelyn to keep her in attendance for such an important talk.

"I studied law from the University of Perugia, in Italy." she replied with a smile as she sat down and took a sip of her own.

"You trust her?" he asked bluntly, not wanting to skirt around the subject.

"Her integrity to not be tempted by $100,000 no I don't know her well enough for that kind of trust. But I do know she is an intelligent woman, who knows just how badly she will be fucked over if she breaks our new and revamped confidential clause." Eva replied smoothly not wanting to beat around the bush as well.

"If I could jump in on this conversation?" she looked at Evelyn for approval, who just nodded and gave her the go ahead.

"I have dreams of becoming an actress actually and I have also begun to take acting classes in between my work schedule."

"So it would be really foolish of me to turn on my boss who is on his way to become a big influence in the very industry I want to work in." She tried to come at it logically as she knew talking about integrity and honesty is a fool's ploy here.

Only interests and profits are all that matter and her interests perfectly aligned her loyalty with Marc so she was trying her best to integrate herself with Mr. Spector and slowly gain his favor.

In the meantime she needed to work on her acting chops, as she had already auditioned for a few small roles but had been ruthlessly shot down in the first or second round due to her poor acting skills.

The people who took her audition were still professional about it and told her that her looks and body were good enough to be selected for a C or B tier movie but her acting skills left a lot to be desired.

So her current plan was to improve her acting skills and seduce her boss, maybe even become his girlfriend or mistress and then get a small role in a movie and then move up from there.

"Harry this contains the details of the new name and logo that will replace the Nirvana Pictures if we somehow lose out on that trademark."

"If we dominate the court case and win then it will be the face of the new studio that Mark will personally oversee leaving Nirvana Pictures in the capable hands of other directors." she said, passing him a sealed envelope.

"Mark wants this to be trademarked as soon as possible and discreetly." Harry nodded his head as he accepted the folder and put it in the bag.

"Moving on, these are other things he needs us to take care of by the time he is back from the tour." She pulled out a few more pages detailing Mark's plans for the future.

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~ Back at Anne's apartment in UK~

A few hours later..

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She still couldn't believe she had actually done it, she had finally swallowed ego and made up with her mum after not talking with her for the last couple of years.

It all started because of her pregnancy and bull headedness at wanting to go through with the delivery of her child. Her mum surprisingly didn't have much problem with it, as she also thought abortion was bad.

But her mum drew the line at her wanting to marry the man who got her pregnant. Looking back at it, she was right, but she would never admit it to her even if she was offered a million dollars.

The man whom she fought her mother for and even left her for, ended up divorcing her and leaving her in the end. Leaving her.. Alone.. Alone to somehow try to bring up her child, her Jess.

Looking back at it now, she realized just how foolish she had been to trust such a man. Mark, god bless his soul, had unknowingly pushed her to talk to her mom, to ask her if she could care for her daughter, her granddaughter.

And she told her about everything going on in her life, except for one small lie. She said that Mark was a well accomplished writer from Europe instead of the US. She did so because she knew of her mother's prejudice against the American people.

Her talk with her mother was awkward at first but it all worked out, as she thought that her daughter was only there to ask for money.

But after coming to know about how Anne was doing well for herself and making a good living and meeting her cute granddaughter in person for the first time.

Her cold persona melted like butter in a hot pan, she was happy to spend a week or two looking after her and spending time with her. Jess was excited to meet her as well, but dodging the question of why she hadn't met her grandmum before was hard.

But a promise to take her to her favorite Ice cream parlor did the trick. She was now listening to the radio as she dressed herself for Mark's arrival, the song he performed was about to be played on it.

He had called her to let her know of the same, when she asked, he told her that it wasn't planned but one of the people in attendance was actually a RJ of a local radio channel and he wanted to present the song on his show.

Mark told her how he wanted to decline at first but thought maybe she could tune in and listen to his song. As she had missed it because of her meeting with her mother. So he gave him a recording of it and gave her a call to tell her about the same.

It was this thoughtfulness of his that was truly endearing to her, she really wanted to know what was this so-called secret of his that he couldn't tell her, yet.

That he thought was so off putting that it might make her want to not get into a relationship with him. With a man who was so perfect at first glance and only got more dreamy the better you got to know him.

Well, as long as he wasn't a criminal or murdered babies, she didn't really care about whatever he was gonna throw her way. Now, she couldn't wait to tell how because of him, she finally had gotten an excuse to swallow her pride and talk to her mom.

And she was so glad that she did, it felt like an open wound that had been festering inside her for so long had finally begun to heal and close up.

She had finally gotten some closure and gotten back together with her family, it wasn't roses and butterflies though.

As she knew it would take more effort and some elbow grease to get to the kind of relationship she shared with her mother before.

As she was taking a trip down memory lane, the show came back on and the presenter finally announced what she had been eagerly waiting to hear.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Echo Harmonics with Harry Sterling, your favorite spot for the latest hits and symphonies that soothe the soul."

"Now, I've got something special lined up for you today – a track that I had the privilege of experiencing live at Union Chapel, and it absolutely blew me away."

"We're talking about a piece simply called "Experience" by the incredibly talented Marc Spector. Now, you might know Marc not as a sensational artist but instead as a renowned book author turned film director."

"With his latest movie Knives Out just hitting the local theaters yesterday, and trust me, it has created quite the buzz already in America. The man is truly a versatile superstar, a man of numerous talents."

"But let's dive into this piece of music that I had the pleasure of witnessing Marc perform "Experience" live, and it left me absolutely speechless."

"The atmosphere at Union Chapel was just incredible, and the kind of feeling his music instilled in me, in us, was something I have rarely ever felt before to be honest."

"I know, it might sound like me boasting but when you hear it. You guys will know what I'm talking about for yourselves. I didn't actually have any rights to this music before and still don't."

"What happened was that after listening to his performance, I just couldn't resist it. I knew I had to try to get a copy for the song."

"So, I sneaked backstage and looked for Marc, thankfully I was able to spot him immediately. After getting him alone, I begged him to let me share this gem with all of you, and thankfully, he agreed."

"So, without further ado, let's turn up the volume and lose ourselves in the soulful vibes of "Experience" by the multi-talented Marc Spector. Enjoy! ♪♪"

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As the song came to an end, she wiped the tears that she just couldn't hold back anymore. The song was beautiful, it perfectly encapsulated all the pain she went through in her life, that she experienced to get to a better place.

It made her realize the level Mark stood at, the kind of talent truly must feel lonely. And the man somehow thought she could match him with her penmanship.. It was heavy.

The expectations that he had of her, but it also felt nice to be believed in and supported by a kind man, who didn't ask for anything in return but her friendship.

But now she wanted to ask something even more of him this time. To walk this path with her, to share this experience and make it a beautiful one, one they could back on as their hair grew gray together with a smile on their faces about a life well lived.

She wiped the last few drops of tears from eyes and reapplied her makeup. Nothing too heavy, just a blush and eyeliner to bring more attention to her eyes.

After Mark had told her that it was his favorite feature about her after her intelligence, not that he didn't think her figure wasn't flattering.

Her early pregnancy and marriage hadn't done her any favors with the lifestyle or the relationships she broke because of it but it did give her one thing.

She glanced at her near perfect hourglass figure, working two jobs both of them being waitressing meaning she had to be on her feet more often. Leading her to gain quite the enviable figure, with full breasts, rounded bottom and toned thighs.

She wore comfortable clothes this time as they would be traveling, her bag was already packed with her essentials and warm clothes. Even though Mark told her to pack light as they would be shopping all over Europe.

But she couldn't help but want to feel better prepared for whatever came her way. Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring, she immediately got up from her dresser and went to see if Mark had arrived.

~ Insert sound for doorbell ~ ×2

Mark was in his casual T-shirt and jeans, he wanted to see if his enhanced looks have an effect on Anne. It did have an effect on Rose, as she was even more enamored with him.

But treated it like it had always been the case and that this was nothing new. The perk really did work as claimed, everyone that had seen his face before treated him like he was always this handsome before.

As he rang the doorbell twice, he heard Anne shout "coming!" from afar and had a dirty thought, 'oh you will be baby, very soon.'

Mark met up with her and they had a conversation about how their day went with Mark retelling her about receiving the news about all the shit his enemies were pulling to bring down the box office of his movie, to him holding a press meet and then performing a song at the Union Chapel.

She told how because of him, she had to swallow her pride and finally meet up with her mum, how happy she felt deep down inside that she got make up with her mum after so long and Jess got to meet her grandmum as well.

"Even if unknowingly Mark, you gave me the excuse to take the first step forward. To meet up with her and I am so glad that I did, it felt like there was an open wound that had been festering inside of me for so long and it had finally begun to heal and close up."

"I had finally gotten some closure and took the steps to get my family back together in my life. I know it won't be all roses and butterflies for me as I know how stubborn my mum can be."

"I get that from her actually." She said as she chuckled and wiped the tear that had been gathering in the corner of her eye.

"But at least I have taken the first step to mend my relationship with her and I believe you have some part in that as well. So thank you Mark..for being there, for being her. It means a lot to me."

They hugged and she wept a bit and Mark whispered in her ear. "And I will always be there for you."

After that conversation, Mark took her bags and carried them down to the rented car. Tom bodyguard's was behind the wheels, Steve was once again on Marc Spector duty.

That meant that he was disguised as Marc Spector and would be leaving in a very public way while he took a flight as Mark Spencer and got to travel with Anne like a normal person enjoying their blissful vacation together.

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~ Eidolon Entertainment Office ~

Rachel Hale, a newly hired employee, sat across from Bob, the HR staff assigned to her from Eidolon Entertainment. The office had a modern, vibrant feel to it, with large windows offering a view of the city skyline on one side and expansive forests to the other.

Bob, finally done with the documents in front of him, decided to address her. "I apologize for the wait. Getting more HR staff has been a real struggle with the requirements the boss introduced."

"But that isn't what we're here for now are we? So, let's see." He said looking at the paper to once again check what exactly she was here for.

"Rachel, today we're going to talk about your retirement benefits and investment options here at Eidolon Entertainment."

Her eyes brightened up on hearing that as she had heard from some of her friends how most companies tend fuck over their employees with this to save money. She wanted to see if the great Eidolon, her friends had praised so highly about, would live up to the hype.

"Great, I've been looking forward to learning more about this topic." She replied with a grateful nod.

Bob took out a packet of papers and began explaining the various retirement investment options that could be availed by her.

"Let's start with the 401(k) plan. It's a tax-advantaged retirement savings account that's sponsored by your employer. One of the great features of a 401(k) is that you can contribute a portion of your pre-tax income, which means you'll have to pay less taxes if you select this plan."

Rachel nodded her head as she took notes as Bob continued to explain all the pros and cons of the retirement saving plan.

Seeing that she was paying attention and even diligently jotting down notes, made Bob feel happy about how seriously Rachel was treating this.

"On the flip side, one of the downsides of the 401(k) is that there are penalties for early withdrawal, so it's important to consider your financial needs before tapping into your 401(k) funds."

Rachel listened intently, absorbing the valuable information she wished she had learned in school or college.

"In addition to the 401(k), we also offer employer-matched contributions, which is essentially free money to help you build your retirement savings."

"There are alternate retirement plans and investment options available, so it's important to weigh the different factors before making a decision."

With a genuine pride radiating off his face, he said, "At Eidolon we are proud to claim that we offer some of the best employer benefit matches that our employees can avail with a diversified portfolio of investment options to choose from to reduce the risk you might face."

"This is all really valuable information. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me. I wish I had learned about this in school." She replied gratefully putting down her pen after being done with the notes.

Her voice had some of her frustration in it as she lamented about her lack of knowledge.

"I hear that a lot, actually. Financial literacy is very important, but unfortunately, it's often not given the attention it deserves in traditional education." Bob had a look of pity in eyes for the young and old people struggling out there with no knowledge about how to improve their condition.

"Definitely. It's empowering to understand these options and make informed choices about my financial future. Now I know why most of my friends were recommending me to try out here."

She was genuinely expressing herself but also trying to butter up Bob, as he was from the HR dept. and would definitely have some say in her appraisal.

"Absolutely. Eidolon Entertainment is committed to supporting our employees in planning for their long-term financial security. We want to make sure you have the tools and resources to make the best decisions for your individual needs." Bob had a proud look on his face as he said that.

"I'm really grateful for that. It's comforting to know that I've joined a company that looks out for their employees' well-being."

"We take pride in fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment, and part of that is providing comprehensive benefits to help you thrive in all aspects of your life."

Rachel smiled, feeling reassured and appreciative of the company's commitment to its employees well-being.

"I made the right choice coming here. Thank you for walking me through all of this, Bob. I really appreciate it."

"It was a pleasure, Rachel. I'm just here to help with anything you need as you settle into your new role."

The two continue their discussion, Rachel feeling more confident and enthusiastic about her future at Eidolon Entertainment.

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POLL —

♦ What should be the result of the court case for the trademark infringement case for Nirvana Pictures?

Option 1. Win the case completely and retain ownership of the trademark. If this option wins then Nirvana Pictures will remain as a subsidiary studio of Eidolon Entertainment and Mark will just create a new studio to become the face of leaving Nirvana Pictures to other directors whom he will have on his payroll.

Option 2. Lose the case but drag it out and also not have to pay any compensation because of successfully proving that Knives Out's box office success had nothing to do with Nirvana band's brand name. If this option wins then Nirvana Pictures ™ will be lost and Mark will just create a studio to replace it as his premium studio.

Please vote with a +1 against the option you think is the best for the story.