Chapter 18 Two Sides of the Coin

In the office on the second floor of the club, Vincent sat on the sofa, flipping through channels on the TV with a remote.

The TV screen repeatedly showed large close-ups of the Beast House club.

Vincent switched through several channels and saw frequent images of the Beast House club in real-time news reports.

There was quite a commotion downstairs, but Vincent did not check it out. For about half an hour, he saw close-up shots of the Beast House on programs from five different TV stations.

Tomorrow, it would undoubtedly be the focus of social news in the newspapers.

Not to mention how much money it would take to achieve such media coverage, according to Georgia's regulations, Beast House didn't even have a chance to advertise directly.

Martin Davis, that idiot, really is something special!

Vincent poured himself a glass of whiskey and slowly savored it.

There was a knock on the door. He responded, and Martin came in from the outside. "Boss, we have a situation."

Vincent pointed to the sofa. "Have a seat and tell me."

"We just rescued Kelly Gray..." Martin quickly recounted the earlier events.

Vincent asked, "What's your take on it?"

Martin replied, "They could become our largest potential customer group."

"Do as you think." The previous operations had given Vincent confidence in Martin.

Martin mentioned one last thing, "There will soon be media reporters coming for interviews. Boss, will you greet them?"

Vincent hesitated, "I'm not suited to appear before the media."

"Should I handle it?" Receiving a clear answer from Vincent, Martin went downstairs to meet with a public relations person sent by Kelly, quickly exchanged views, and prepared to open the club doors.

...

Meanwhile, the back door of the club opened. Including Bruce and Ivan, a group of eight people took different alleys to West Street, holding their phones to find their respective targets.

TV reporter Mia had just finished her busy task and went to the interview van to get a bottle of water when she noticed a man with a silly smile walking over with a phone.

She said, "The TV station is working, please don't come any closer."

Bruce raised his phone, "I called the news hotline. I'm here to get my reward."

Mia said, "Go to the TV station tomorrow, or leave your email address."

Bruce knew a bit about the process and said, "Can you not waste time? I know you have bonuses for urgent news tips."

Mia didn't want to argue, "That's against protocol."

Before coming out, Bruce had been briefed by Martin and said in a lowered voice, "Today's incident was caused by Beast House. I can help you contact the people from Beast House."

Mia suddenly became interested. Beast House, the focal point, had its doors closed all this time. After tonight, this Beast House club would undoubtedly be the social news focus of Atlanta.

She took out a $50 check from her purse and placed it in front of Bruce, "Are you sure?"

Bruce took the check, glanced at the amount, pocketed it, and said, "That was for the previous tip. For this news, you will pay me $100."

Mia hesitated briefly, took out a $100 check, but pulled it back as Bruce reached for it, "You contact them first."

Bruce called Martin, but Hart answered. He handed the phone to Mia, "The people from Beast House."

Martin, that jerk, even let someone else take the blame for this.

Mia spoke with the person on the phone briefly, then handed the check to Bruce and called her assistant, "Move the satellite truck to the front of Beast House!"

Bruce pocketed the check and quickly turned into a dark alley.

When Mia arrived at the entrance of Beast House, she heard noises from behind the doors, as if locks were being opened.

Colleagues scattered around for interviews gradually gathered.

Mia saw Dyke from The Atlanta Constitution and asked, "Why are you here?"

Dyke, initially hesitant, noticed many colleagues arriving and said straightforwardly, "A source contacted the people from Beast House for me."

Mia looked frustrated, "For $100?"

"You too?"

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

All the arriving reporters had similar experiences, each one looking aggrieved.

Mia remarked, "What a bunch of jerks!"

Without a doubt, it was done by people inside the club, but they had to brace themselves for interviews. None of them wanted to leave.

The club doors opened, and Martin led the way out.

The cameras immediately turned toward him, and the reporters were all exceptionally excited.

After the interview, Martin returned to the club.

The public relations expert sent by Kelly said, "You did very well. Contact me first if there are any follow-up issues."

After the person left, Bruce approached and reminded Martin, "Buddy, you're still a man!"

Martin responded, "As long as it's beneficial to us, I wouldn't mind sending you to Thailand."

Bruce gave him the middle finger, pulled out the check, and asked, "Will those reporters curse us for this?"

Dismissing the concern, Martin said, "Buddy, you're too used to being a civilized person and haven't dealt with the media. Let me tell you, once you face the media, don't be afraid of criticism. Do you think if we curry favor with them, they won't trash us? You're overestimating them! Let them say what they want. Even bad publicity is publicity, and Beast House needs to be known."

He inquired, "Does the club have a legal advisor? When the news dies down in a few days, let's hold a press conference and send a legal notice to The Methodist Church. This story can be hyped several more times."

Ivan and others returned with their checks and asked, "How should we handle the bonuses?"

Without looking up, Martin sensed Vincent had come to the second-floor railing and said, "Give it to the boss."

"Everyone involved tonight gets a share." Vincent was generous since it wasn't the club's money, "Martin takes thirty percent, the rest you guys split."

Martin tallied the checks, scornfully saying, "You shameless bunch actually brought back $1200!"

A bunch of middle fingers rose in front of Martin.

*****

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