Chapter 9

Standing by the window, Andy watched Karl's car slowly disappear. He was a bit speechless at Karl's heightened enthusiasm. As Karl had said, he would definitely make CCA regret it, and he would definitely use his "dick" to shoot that little bitch in the face!

Mike Miller hurried into the meeting room, sat down at his seat, and then scanned all his colleagues. Although most of them had expressionless faces, the schadenfreude in their eyes was unmistakable. He couldn't help but sigh; no wonder, after all, he had always mocked and ridiculed that lecherous fat man.

Thinking about it, Mike Miller felt a bit gloomy. The client he was responsible for had a problem, and he was about to be fired.

With the sound of footsteps, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties walked into the meeting room with a stern expression.

"Who can tell me what's going on here?" The middle-aged man sat at the head of the table and slammed a stack of manuscripts on the conference table. "We have such a fantastic story, and we can only publish the first volume? Are you kidding me?"

Elton Bull roared like an angry bull. As the head of Scholastic's Los Angeles office, the pressure was immense. Scholastic was a world-renowned children's book publisher and distributor. The American version of the globally popular Harry Potter series was published and distributed by Scholastic. The "Dark Fairy Tales" series in front of Elton was definitely the first volume of a new big IP.

But now, someone was telling him that their publishing house could only publish the first volume, and the rest had nothing to do with them. It was like a bolt from the blue, and he couldn't help but be furious.

Mike Miller hesitated for a long time before standing up with a pale face and cautiously saying, "I'm sorry, I failed to maintain the client relationship."

Bang!

Elton slammed the table and stood up, roaring, "I don't want to hear 'I'm sorry.' Today, just today, I don't care what methods you use, but you must sign Andy Smith back! You stay, the rest of you, please leave."

Soon, only two people were left in the meeting room. The angry Elton gradually calmed down, his eyes fixed on the nervous and sweating Mike. "I don't care what caused this, but you must bring back good news! ... Tell Andy Smith's agent that we can pay an advance and raise the royalty to the highest 15%. As long as his book is published by us, everything can be negotiated."

"15%? But Andy Smith's agent is extremely greedy. What if he makes unreasonable demands?" Mike was very surprised. A 15% royalty was a treatment only the top-tier authors enjoyed. Thinking of the despicable expression of that fat man, he cautiously asked.

"FUCK! As long as there are demands, we can negotiate! Can't you think long-term? Have you read the manuscript? Idiot, where are we? This is Hollywood, the movie factory! Such an excellent story will make Hollywood studios fight for it. Once the movie is released, our books will sell like hotcakes!"

"Yes, I'll go find Andy Smith's agent right away!" Mike bowed his head, not daring to look at the furious Elton, who was cursing again. He nervously picked up the folder on the table and ran out of the meeting room.

Elton, left in the meeting room, stared at the manuscript on the table for a long time. "I hope everything goes smoothly!"

Andy shook his head with a smile, looking at the smug Karl and the almost tearful Scholastic representative, Mike Miller.

"Alright, the conditions you offered are quite generous. We can talk. Karl, you handle it."

Ignoring Mike Miller's gratitude, he gave Karl a subtle look and then stood up and walked upstairs. He didn't want to waste more energy; he just wanted a result. The process could be left to the professionals.

An hour later, the fat Karl walked into the study with a satisfied and lecherous look.

"From the look on your face, it seems the negotiation went well." Andy took off his decorative glasses and pretended to pinch the bridge of his nose to relieve non-existent fatigue.

"Haha, who am I? I'm Vampire Karl. That guy looked down on me before; I have to give him a good lesson!" Karl sat on the sofa, looking very pleased.

Andy took a cigarette from the pack and threw it to Karl, lighting one for himself and gesturing for him to continue.

"15% royalty, a $1 million advance, hehe, of course, after tax. They promised to do their best to promote your work, write soft articles in the newspapers, and expand your influence."

Andy couldn't help but laugh, a proud smile on his face. After taking a puff of the cigarette and exhaling, he thought to himself, "I'm short on money right now. This million can ease the financial pressure."

Most of Andy's money was invested in Apple stocks. He had only $400,000 left in the bank and $300,000 from the "Seventeen" magazine. He gave Karl $100,000 to register the company and rent an office, leaving him with $600,000. The salaries of his nanny and personal trainer, legal fees, private doctor, and various living expenses were not small amounts.

In the United States, any service involving people was not cheap. Andy raised an eyebrow, pretending to be angry, "How's the company registration going? And why did you bring people to my house?"

Karl completely ignored Andy's act, rolling his eyes. "Of course, the company should be registered in Bermuda; the taxes in California are too high! Didn't you see him? He looked like he was about to die. He said if he didn't see you today, he would stick to me. I couldn't stand his nagging, so I brought him to see you."

Andy pointed at Karl seriously, "Don't bring strangers to my house in the future. Get the office set up as soon as possible. From now on, we'll meet at the company."

Karl nodded, indicating he understood, and glanced at the clock, seemingly ready to leave.

"Stay for dinner. Neilson will be here soon, and there are some things that need your help." Andy extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray and said to him.

"OK, that's great. I can enjoy delicious Chinese food again." Karl, hearing about food, naturally wouldn't miss it.

In the United States, the relationship between a private lawyer and a wealthy client could last a lifetime, a unique and extraordinary existence.

"Hi, Neilson, it's great to see you." Karl greeted him like an old friend, showing great respect for Andy's private lawyer.

"Hello, Karl, you've gained some weight. Take care of your health and eat less!" Neilson shook hands with Karl and joked.

"Hey, man, I'm as strong as a dragon and a tiger, very healthy!" Karl called out, as if he would take off his clothes to show him.

"Alright, alright, let's get to business. Neilson, these are some TV show ideas I had while writing the novel. I want to register the global copyright. Is there any problem with that?" Andy handed a few printed documents to Neilson.

Neilson quickly scanned them, his eyes widening in surprise. The papers contained three TV show ideas and detailed processes, with "America's Got Talent" being the most detailed.

"Boss, I have to say, you are a genius!" Neilson, while organizing the documents, looked at Andy across the table and praised him. "Actually, there's no need to register global copyright. The simplest way is to file them with the Writers Guild, which provides worldwide copyright protection."

"No, no, I know the guild's function, but these are just ideas and haven't been produced into shows yet. We don't have the resources to produce them, and I'm afraid that if similar shows appear in other countries, it will be too time-consuming to sue."

Andy knew that the Writers Guild's copyright protection could protect his interests, but he remembered that the production of "Britain's Got Talent" and "America's Got Talent" was roughly around this summer. Although he had filed the script and ideas with the Writers Guild in early May, if there was a collision, both sides would suffer losses. He was seeking wealth, not to harm others.

Neilson, after hearing Andy's explanation, seemed to understand his concern, but registering globally wouldn't be a quick process.

Just as both were lost in thought, Karl shouted excitedly, "Wow, what a genius idea, Andy! Your brain is amazing, I love you so much."

"Quiet! I know I'm a genius, but can you be a bit quieter?" Andy looked at the loud Karl, a bit annoyed, as he had been startled.

"Oh, God, why register country by country? We just need to find two TV stations in the U.S. and the U.K. to cooperate. They will definitely see the value, and we can sell them the copyright. With the efficiency of TV stations, they can air it quickly, and it will become a fait accompli, no need for such trouble." Karl couldn't help but say excitedly.

"Rubbish, I've thought of this method before, but I want to maximize my interests. The idea of 'America's Got Talent' has some similarities to 'American Idol.' FOX paid $67 million for the copyright, which turned out to be a very successful deal. But my idea is still on paper, and it's unknown how much it can sell for." Andy gave Karl a troubled look.

"It's just a business negotiation. The most important thing now is to establish our copyright. We can invite several major TV stations to bid. Once they know about this idea, there won't be any collisions." Karl's fat face glowed with excitement, and he kept rubbing his hands and pacing around the study. "We should do it simultaneously in the U.S. and the U.K., first capturing the English-speaking market, and then the highest bidder will win."