One Man Band System

Three days quickly passed. Eric was currently at the office of Stone and Friend’s Law Firm, sitting on the couch directly across from Richard, with Katie by his side. Laid out on the coffee table were three thick bound contracts containing the partnership agreement between Eric and Trinity, structured to preserve Eric’s ownership stake. Richard and Katie reviewed the documents calmly, while Eric waited in silence, having already read through them the previous day before forwarding them to Katie.

"As far as I can tell, the terms outlined in this agreement look solid," Richard said as he read.

"However, a few points need adjusting. We can’t possibly allow them to hold a 10% stake in Eric’s company while Eric only holds 5% in theirs, right, sir?" Katie asked.

"Indeed... that’s too high. While they are supplying the personnel, the entire infrastructure belongs to Eric. We’ll invite their legal team for a discussion. Please send this back to them and let them know we’d like to meet," Richard said.

"Will do... I’ll draft an immediate response outlining the items we need to negotiate. We must iron those details out to reach a mutual agreement rather than a one-sided deal," Katie said.

"So the other clauses look fine to you, Mr. Richard?" Eric asked.

"No issues there. Although they are providing staff, all hiring decisions ultimately rest with you... or the CEO you appoint," Richard answered.

"Oh, okay. He should be arriving any minute," Eric replied, checking the time on his smartphone screen.

Right on cue, as Eric set his smartphone back down on the table, "knock... knock," a tap sounded on Richard’s door. Mike opened the door and peeked inside,

"Excuse me, sir. Mr. Caleb is here," Mike said.

"Send him in," Richard said.

"Yes, sir," Mike replied.

The door closed again, and Richard turned to look at Eric while holding the document,

"So your new company name is Elliot’s Production, huh?" Richard asked with a smile.

"Yes, sir, considering the building originally belonged to my grandfather anyway," Eric answered casually.

"Hmm... good, I’m glad to hear that. And the business won’t just be limited to recording and production, right?" Richard replied, smiling as he gave Eric a knowing look.

"It will also house ER Holdings, sir... though I’ll eventually set up a separate division, even if it operates out of the same building. There’s plenty of space in the new facility," Eric replied with a smile.

"Hahaha... excellent, excellent. I’m thrilled to hear that, which is precisely why Trinity shouldn’t hold too large of a stake in your company. Now, Katie," Richard said, turning to her.

"Yes, sir?" Katie asked.

"You will serve as the Director of Legal Affairs there, overseeing both Elliot’s Production and ER Holdings. How does that sound?" Richard asked.

"Huh... are you serious, sir? I was actually just about to apply for the position and tender my resignation here," Katie answered.

"I saw that coming from a mile away. Besides, you’re already used to handling all of Eric’s legal matters anyway. I have Mike, my new assistant," Richard replied, placing a reassuring hand on Katie’s shoulder.

"Understood, sir. Thank you," Katie replied with a respectful nod.

Shortly after, a tap sounded on the door again, and it swung open. Caleb stepped inside, escorted by Mike. Eric and Katie looked genuinely startled by Caleb’s appearance. He now sported short hair, a neatly trimmed beard that was practically nonexistent, and sharp, clean clothing, a far cry from his usual disheveled look. The only thing that hadn’t disappeared was the dark circles beneath his eyes.

"Wow," Eric muttered as Caleb took a seat beside him.

"What?" Caleb asked.

"You look... how do I put this... actually handsome," Eric answered.

"It’s all Avery’s doing. Drop it... no need to talk about it," Caleb replied, blushing.

"Alright, here is the contract agreement we prepared together. Feel free to take a look," Katie said, handing the document over to Caleb.

Caleb reviewed it thoroughly from the beginning, flipping through the pages to check the back section. But as he reached the third page, his eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. He then looked up at Richard across from him, then at Katie beside Richard, and finally turned his head to stare at Eric,

"You’re giving me a 10% stake?" Caleb asked.

"Yep... that’s totally fair," Eric answered.

"Isn’t it customary for a non-owner CEO to get just 5%?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah... but I’m giving you 10%," Eric answered.

Seeing Eric’s relaxed expression, Caleb could only remain quiet. On one hand, he was thrilled, but on the other, he felt as though Eric had backed him into a corner while he still doubted whether he had what it takes to be a good CEO. As Caleb sat in silence, Eric placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Come on, don’t overthink it. I’m going to be right there with you, plus Katie’s on board as our director of legal affairs, so what’s there to worry about?" Eric asked.

"Oh... okay," Caleb replied, resigning himself to the idea.

Caleb resumed reading through the contract, turning the pages to review the remaining clauses. Then Katie turned to look at Eric, who was watching Caleb read attentively beside him,

"For finance and accounting, do you have candidates in mind for director and his team?" Katie asked.

"Hmm... right, you can’t hand that department over to Trinity because that’s the core of your operation," Richard added, chiming in.

Eric paused to think for a moment before answering. He pulled out his smartphone and displayed an email he had sent to someone on the screen. Katie and Richard leaned in to take a look at Eric’s smartphone,

"I do have a candidate in mind," Eric said.

"Hmm... who is this? Looking at the email address, someone from CJR?" Katie asked.

"Mr. Oscar from CJR, though he hasn’t given an answer to my offer yet. I proposed he take on the role of chief financial officer, my reason being that he proved exceptionally competent when blowing the whistle on those executives over there back then, even though he was just a department head at the time," Eric said.

"Oh right, I know him because of that recent case... you recruited him?" Katie asked.

"On Chloe and Mr. Bryan’s recommendation," Eric answered.

"That’s great then. He’s easy to work with. Is he bringing his own team along?" Katie asked.

"Yep... that’s what I asked for. There’s no way I could hand financial matters over to a team from Trinity, given they won’t just be handling the finances for Elliot’s Production, right?" Eric asked.

"Hmm... true enough. You’re starting to think just like your father now," Richard said, staring at Eric.

"Didn’t you say you didn’t know my father?" Eric asked.

"Indeed, not on a personal level, but we collaborated quite often," Richard answered frankly.

"Alright, I’ll draft his contract and email him directly on your behalf, okay?" Katie asked.

"Sounds good, thanks," Eric replied.

"So Trinity is only going to be responsible for operations and recruitment then?" Caleb asked.

"Correct, plus I need a marketing team. I still need a competent IT department too, I already spoke with Aunt Layla, Priya’s mom, about this," Eric answered.

"Sigh... no wonder Ms. Layla was smirking at me in the office. So you actually know her, huh?" Caleb said.

"Not just knows her, he’s also one of the major hidden shareholders over there," Richard chimed in, pointing toward Eric.

Caleb whipped his head around to stare at Eric sitting beside him, who looked completely unfazed and turned back to face him with a puzzled look,

"What?" Eric asked.

"So I’ve been working for you this whole time too?" Caleb asked, staring at his cousin.

"Hmm... more or less... now hurry up, finish reading, and sign," Eric answered, pointing to the contract on the table in front of Caleb.

"As for the IT department, leave that to me. I’ve got plenty of contacts in that industry, and a few members of my team might end up making the move with me," Caleb replied.

"Perfect. I’ll leave that in your hands, bro," Eric replied, placing a hand on Caleb’s shoulder.

"Now, about what you whispered to me yesterday... are you sure you want to hand Melissa a shop space on the second floor?" Caleb asked.

"Yep... you deliver the news, not me. She did mention back in the day that she wanted to run her own pastry shop. Well... at least this way she won’t be nagging me for a job like she did yesterday, right? Just don’t tell her it came from me," Eric answered.

"Hmm... fair enough if you say so," Caleb replied.

"Oh right, Katie. Monica mentioned her dad is putting together a legal team for us. They’re already seasoned at handling celebrity contracts and entertainment industry cases, so they’re genuinely top-tier when it comes to that stuff," Eric said, turning to Katie.

"Oh, got it," Katie replied casually.

"Hmm... Marlowe, huh? Be careful with them... they can be a bit shady at times. I’m telling you this out of personal experience, not to talk trash," Richard said with a serious tone.

Eric, Katie, and Caleb went dead silent upon hearing Richard’s words. Then, Katie leaned forward and whispered, "Rivals," to Eric and Caleb, who immediately caught her drift. After that, they all burst out laughing and carried on with their discussion until everything was wrapped up.