Vanya's POV
I looked at the manager and asked, "Seems like you have high hopes for Neville."
"Neville brings in a lot of revenue for the company every year, so of course I'm more optimistic about him..."
"Last year, almost all the resources Neville had were bought by the company at a high price, yet even so, his achievements were nothing special. He didn't bring much benefit or fame to the company. How much did he pay you to promote him so vigorously in front of me?"
Perhaps not expecting my sudden sharpness, the manager nervously swallowed and started sweating on his back. "Miss Dalton, you've misunderstood, I..."
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not will be clear once we check the accounts."
Hearing this, the manager's expression became even more tense.
To promote Neville, the company had spent a lot of money, but he still couldn't break into the top tier. The benefits he brought to the company were nowhere near proportional to the resources invested.
Seeing the manager's silence, I leaned back in my chair.
It seemed there were indeed many issues with Dalton Media.
At that moment, an employee cautiously walked in. "Miss Dalton, we've contacted Calvert, but he..."
"What about him?"
"He... refuses to come over."
"Refuses?" This was unexpected.
The employee nervously said, "Calvert said that unless Dalton Media terminates his contract, he won't come..."
I was amused by this.
"Doesn't he know that this is a breach of contract?"
The employee kept his head down and didn't dare to speak.
I stood up and said, "If he won't come to see me, then I'll go see him."
The manager looked up in surprise. "Miss Dalton, you're the boss. It's not appropriate for you to personally visit an employee. It's giving him too much respect."
Normally, they would just threaten Calvert with a breach of contract, and he would obediently listen.
But this time, the kid seemed to have some backbone and even dared to defy the boss.
I picked up my bag and walked out of the office. Following the address on Calvert's file, I arrived at his home.
Calvert's family seemed to be in a tough situation. Driving a luxury car into a small and old neighborhood drew quite a few curious onlookers.
The manager opened the car door for me and ingratiatingly said, "Miss Dalton, let me escort you upstairs."
"No, I'll go up by myself," I replied. This old apartment building didn't even have an elevator, so I had to climb the stairs.
I reached the third floor and knocked on a rusty door.
It was quickly opened.
A man in casual home clothes stood before me.
He was tall, with pale skin and deep, clear eyes. At nearly six feet three inches, he towered over me by a good two heads.
His cool looks were clearly a notch above Neville's.
The man seemed stunned for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"
"Kal, who is it?" an elderly voice came from inside.
"Grandma..." Calvert began, but I stepped in and smiled, "Hello. I'm Vanya."
Hearing the name "Vanya," Calvert's brows furrowed.
The old lady, bent with age and with poor eyesight, squinted at me and said, "Vanya, are you Kal's girlfriend? Come in, come in!"
Mrs. Sutton warmly pulled me inside.
My smile froze.
I had intended to get on Grandma Sutton's good side, but I didn't expect to be mistaken for Calvert's girlfriend as soon as I walked in.
"Grandma, she's not..." Calvert tried to explain, but Grandma Sutton interrupted, "Kal, what are you standing there for? Don't you hurry up and make coffee for Vanya?"
I reluctantly let Grandma Sutton pull me to the sofa.
Seeing Grandma Sutton's beaming face, Calvert had no choice but to go make coffee.
I kept my eyes on Calvert. I remembered from my past life that after Calvert became famous, Grandma Sutton passed away.
In a popular talk show, Calvert had tearfully shared how he couldn't provide a better life for his beloved grandma before he became famous.
All of this stemmed from Dalton Media's semi-hiding of Calvert back then.
Calvert placed the coffee in front of me, but his expression clearly didn't welcome my presence.
"Vanya, have you eaten? I will make you a burger. Wait here for me. I'm using Angus beef today!" Grandma Sutton happily went to the kitchen.
Calvert looked at me coldly and asked, "What do you want?"
"If I say I'm here to promote you, would you believe me?"
Calvert frowned, clearly not buying it.
"Dalton Media would be that nice?" Calvert's voice grew colder. "You can see my family situation. I don't have time to waste with you guys."
"I'm serious," I said, taking out a bank card and two contracts from my bag and placing them in front of Calvert. "This card has $500,000 on it, given to you personally by me. The other two contracts, one is a new private contract I want to sign with you, and the other is your old contract."
With that, I took Calvert's old contract and tore it in half right in front of him.
Calvert was stunned.