Chapter 293: New Employees Join

Chapter 293: Chapter 293: New Employees Join

When the taxi stopped in front of an unremarkable residential building, Taylor El’s fingers gripped the straps of her backpack until they turned slightly white, her heart still racing at the thought of "working for Irene Coppola."

She turned her head to look at Marcus Gray beside her. Usually a picture of calm and self-restraint, the tips of his ears now showed an imperceptible flush of red.

"Is this the place?" Marcus confirmed in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over the mottled exterior walls of the residential building, which was a far cry from the glittering headquarters of a film company he had imagined.

Taylor nodded, suppressing a hint of surprise in her heart, her tone unable to hide her excitement:

"Echo Pictures was founded by Irene in her early years, and I heard they’ve never moved. To be able to work for her, I’d be willing to come even if it were a basement."

The two walked into the stairwell side by side. The sound-activated lights flickered on with their footsteps, illuminating the somewhat aged peeling paint on the walls.

Climbing to the third floor, they finally saw the "Echo Pictures" sign.

Taylor took a deep breath and reached out to knock on the door.

The door was quickly pulled open, and Vera’s capable face, which they had seen during the interview, appeared before them: "Taylor, Marcus, welcome aboard! Come on in."

Following Vera inside, the two finally got a clear look at the office. Calling it a company was a stretch; it looked more like a temporarily converted residence.

The living room served as the work area, with several old desks placed against the walls. An old-fashioned printer was "clack-clacking" out paper, and next to it was a pile of document boxes half a person tall, nearly blocking the aisle.

Near the window were several cardboard boxes labeled "Office Supplies." Sunlight streamed through the dust-covered glass windows, casting mottled light and shadows on the floor. The air carried a faint scent of paper ink and a trace of dust.

Irene hadn’t had her own team before; the entire company consisted only of her and Vera.

When discussing work, they basically only used the meeting room, and sometimes in urgent situations, they would even meet at her home, so the office was essentially for show.

Since she made up her mind to grow bigger and stronger, she had not only tidied up the vacant office area but also hired a receptionist who doubled as a clerk specifically to help her handle external calls and document printing, but there were still few people working there.

And now, this simple office had welcomed two new members.

"The place is a bit simple, sorry for making you two make do for a while," Vera explained with a smile, leading them toward a corner of the living room without stopping.

"Irene said that once we acquire a distribution company, we’ll move to a spacious and bright new office."

Marcus was a bit surprised by what Vera said. He only had a general understanding of Irene Coppola before, but after learning he was hired yesterday, he spent the whole night catching up on his future boss’s history.

He only knew that Irene’s latest film was making a run for the Oscars, but he didn’t know she was also quietly acquiring a distribution company. This was a major move; if the media found out, it would surely cause a stir.

But this way, Echo Pictures, with its distribution qualifications, would have an even brighter future.

His gaze swept across several movie posters on the wall, all of Irene’s previous works, and his expression gradually softened.

Taylor, on the other hand, didn’t care about the simplicity of the environment at all. Her attention was completely captured by the laptop on the desk, her heart full of the joy of "starting to create."

When signing the contract and non-disclosure agreement, Taylor’s fingertips were trembling.

Looking at the clause in the document stating "must not disclose the core setting of the story to anyone," she suddenly realized that working here might truly be a stroke of luck.

"This is the story outline Irene prepared for you," Vera said, handing over two printed documents.

"It details character personalities, plot conflicts, and the direction of development. She requires you to submit it to her for review every time you finish 20,000 words."

Taylor and Marcus respectively took the core settings for Twilight and Taken.

"Follow me, I’ll set up your workstations." Vera dragged over two cardboard boxes containing some standard office supplies.

She pointed to two empty desks on the inner side: "The one on the left is Taylor’s, and the one on the right is Marcus’s. You can switch if you want."

"Additionally, the system is activated. The password is echo123; you can change it later. The printer is over there; it jams occasionally, just try a couple more times. The pantry converted from the balcony has coffee and tea. Let me know if you run out."

After seeing Vera off, the two sat down almost simultaneously and opened the detailed setting documents sent by Irene.

Taylor placed her fingertips on the keyboard, took a deep breath, and began to sketch in her mind the scene of Bella transferring to Forks High School.

A town with continuous rain, a depressing classroom, and that boy sitting in the corner with a distant gaze yet his own radiance.

She took a deep breath and typed the first line, the sound of the keyboard clicking exceptionally clear in the quiet office.

Marcus took out a pen and started drawing on paper, first outlining the rescue timeline: receiving the call about his daughter’s kidnapping, pinpointing the location in Paris, contacting old comrades for clues, and infiltrating the den of a prostitution ring.

He marked possible conflict points for every link, the rustling sound of the pen gliding across the paper intertwining with the sound of Taylor’s keyboard.

Before Irene left, she made a special point to come and take a look.

Taylor was focused on typing on the keyboard, her brow slightly furrowed as if pondering character dialogue; Marcus was writing and drawing on paper with a pen, pausing occasionally to think, the sunlight falling on his profile, outlining a serious silhouette.

In the office, there was only the sound of typing and the occasional clack of the printer. Those messy wires and yellowed walls seemed to have become the backdrop for creation.

Irene gently closed the door, her desire to change office locations never having been so strong.

After all, she had previously only treated this place as a transit station, so she hadn’t cared much about its appearance. Although it looked a bit old, the transportation was convenient and the neighborhood security was decent.

But since she wanted to make the company bigger and stronger, a luxuriously decorated office was also a way to demonstrate strength.

Look at the office buildings of Fox and Warner Bros.; those were truly grand.

Fortunately, Saw and Little Miss Sunshine were discussed in Facebook’s office. Otherwise, if people came here to talk business, they might worry about Irene’s financial strength and run away before even meeting her.

Irene made a secret resolution: after officially acquiring the distribution company, she must move to a spacious and bright office.

Now that the ghostwriters had been found, her IP plan had officially begun. While putting the books on the market next year, she would acquire a distribution company.

The year after that, she could start filming and then distribute the movies herself—a one-stop service. Mom would never have to worry about money being taken by other capitalists again.

So the next focus was to select a distribution company that wasn’t too expensive but had a certain amount of strength for acquisition.

Robert Smith had already prepared several candidates for her to investigate, just waiting for her to finish her work with the Oscars before making a move.