Rumors 

….

1 Month Later - March 4th, 2010.

.

"Maggie, do you think I am not pretty?" Gwendolyn tilted her phone, examining her reflection like it held the answer to life itself.

"...." Maggie stared at her, face blank, her expression screaming - what is wrong with you?

"Come on, just say it!" Gwendolyn whined, her voice dipping into a childish pitch.

Maggie sighed. She wasn't in the mood for Gwendolyn's theatrics today.

Instead of indulging her, she decided to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Before I answer that, can we talk about how you keep calling Regal 'junior' or 'dear junior'?"

Gwendolyn blinked, confused. "Huh? What is wrong with that?"

"It's spreading rumors." Maggie replied, her tone matter-of-fact.

"Rumors? What kind of rumors?" Gwendolyn leaned frowned, her curiosity piqued.

Maggie set the file down, locking eyes with her. "I overheard some staff gossiping. Apparently, they think you both shared some history back in college. They are assuming Regal dumped you."

"What?! Are you kidding me?" Gwendolyn shot up from her chair so fast it nearly tipped over.

Her voice was loud enough to rattle the office.

Before Maggie could reply, the door creaked open. A junior employee stepped in, holding a stack of papers. His face froze mid-sentence.

"Boss, I need you to–!"

"D-DUMPED! By Regal?!" Gwendolyn's outburst echoed through the room, her voice practically rattling the office walls.

The poor guy hesitated, his survival instincts kicking in. "Uh, I will come back later."

He mumbled something and carefully backed out, shutting the door as if trying to trap the chaos inside.

Gwendolyn barely noticed.

She was pacing across the room, her arms flailing as she worked through this supposed scandal.

"Why would anyone think that? Just because I called him 'junior'? Seriously?" She spun on her heel, glaring at Maggie. "Who in their right mind would dump me?!"

"...apparently it was enough." Maggie said slowly, trying to inject some logic into the chaos.

"It doesn't make sense!" Gwendolyn threw her arms up. "Even if it was enough. Shouldn't it be the other way around? I would be the one dumping him! Not that I am saying I would actually do it… Or maybe I would. I don't know!"

Maggie raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Gwendolyn… Did I hear that right?"

Gwendolyn slumped back into her chair and shot Maggie a glare. "Yeah, you did. So what of it?"

Maggie deadpanned.

"Nothing." But her tone was the verbal equivalent of a shrug.

"Ugh. Do you think Regal's heard about this gossip too?" Gwendolyn groaned, glaring at her phone as if it were somehow responsible for all this.

Maggie didn't even bother responding this time.

The silence stretched between them, thick and awkward, until Gwendolyn broke it with a sudden burst of determination.

"But, Maggie…. I am pretty, right?"

Maggie groaned. "You are exhausting, Gwen."

…..

Meanwhile, Regal had just entered the office, his casual outfit giving him an air of effortless charm.

By now, he was familiar enough with the staff to exchange quick nods and greetings as he walked through.

Passing by a pair of employees chatting near the break area, one of them was the same person who just a second ago interrupted Gwendolyn.

Regal couldn't help but overhear the hushed conversation as he passed by.

"Wait, so it's true? Our boss really got dumped down by him?" one whispered, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"Yeah, dude. For real." the other replied, nodding.

"But I also heard something else - that Regal dropped out of college because of her."

Hearing his name, Regal paused for the briefest of moments, his stride faltering as the words registered.

What the hell?

He didn't turn around, though.

Instead, he kept walking, maintaining an air of indifference, even as his mind raced. The absurdity of the rumor was enough to throw him off, but as he approached the Everleaf CEO's office, one thought took hold -

Did Gwendolyn hear these rumors too?

Huh, she didn't, right? He wondered as he stooped in for her office.

….

Back in Gwendolyn's office.

After their little exchange, Gwendolyn and Maggie focused on their tasks, slipping effortlessly into their roles as CEO and assistant.

The office fell into a steady rhythm of typing that filled the air, accompanied by the occasional shuffle of papers.

Knock–! Knock!

The sound interrupted their flow.

Gwendolyn glanced at the door, then straightened in her chair.

"Come in." She called out, her voice calm but authoritative.

The door swung open, revealing Regal.

His gaze swept over the room before settling on Gwendolyn, who unconsciously adjusted her posture, as if caught off guard.

"Hello, you two." Regal said casually, striding in and dropping into a chair across from her desk.

"Hello, Regal. I assume you are here for your check?" Gwendolyn asked, sliding an envelope across the desk.

"Yeah." He replied, walking over to the chair.

It had been exactly a month since his debut book hit the shelves, and today he had been called to collect his first paycheck from his royalties.

To call the book successful was an understatement.

The sales had been climbing steadily, with demand only increasing with time.

Thirty days since its release, the book had become a hit, a very huge one at that.

In the first week, it sold 19,500 copies - a figure that already exceeded Everleaf's marketing projections.

Then something remarkable happened.

Readers began finishing the book, and word-of-mouth started to spread. At first, it was a few enthusiastic reviews from niche bloggers, Goodreads influencers, and early adopters.

They praised the book's imaginative world-building and its relatable, multi-dimensional characters. What began as whispers turned into a roar.

By the second week, sales didn't just climb, they soared.

From 19,500, they surged to nearly 100,000 copies.

A fourfold increase.

By now, for many, this was already the dream, proof Regal had hit the jackpot.

Yet, only Everleaf Press's inner circle knew the real game wasn't the first 100,000 copies.

The contract Regal negotiated had been unconventional. While his royalty rate was cut from 12% to 3% for the first 100,000 copies, a standard deal most debut authors would take without question - he had taken a risk.

A massive gamble.

He negotiated a 20% royalty rate for every copy sold beyond that initial milestone.

It was a bold move, one many considered a long shot.

By week two, the gamble started paying off.

The book gained traction with mainstream media.

A glowing feature in The New York Times propelled its reputation further.

Retail giants like Barnes & Noble placed bulk orders, cementing its status as a must-read.

Then came week three.

That's when everything changed.

Sales doubled almost overnight, rocketing to 200,000 copies.

The momentum became unstoppable, an avalanche no one could predict.

By the end of the month, the final tally was - 201,709 copies sold.

And Regal's cut?

A staggering $396,870.94.

Nearly $400,000.

As Regal glanced at the check, Gwendolyn leaned back in her chair, her tone casual. "I didn't ask before, but… what are you planning to do with the money?"

Regal's eyes flicked up to meet hers, his expression sharpening with purpose. "I am going to make a movie."

For a moment, silence hung in the air, thick and disbelieving.

Gwendolyn's composure cracked, her face paling slightly as the implications of his words sank in.

Beside her, Maggie froze mid-motion, her wide eyes fixed on Regal as though he had just suggested they build a time machine.

The check, which Regal was just about to pick up, his fingers mere inches away, slid back across the desk as Gwendolyn placed her hand firmly on it. Her eyes narrowed.

"Hold on." She said, leaning forward. "Are you seriously telling me your first thought is that? A movie?"

"Do I look like I am joking?" He countered, leaning back with a faint smile. "The whole reason I wrote the book was to fund the movie."

Both women stared at him, stunned.

Gwendolyn blinked, trying to process what she had just heard.

Maggie, however, was quicker to recover. "Wait… so you are not planning to keep writing? Like, at all?"

"I never said that." Regal replied calmly. "I enjoy writing, but the goal was always filmmaking. The book was just the first step."

Gwendolyn exchanged a look with Maggie, her mind racing.

For all the success Regal had achieved with his debut, she hadn't anticipated this.

Gwendolyn exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Let me get this straight. You spent months writing a book, debuted it, marketed it, hit a level of success most authors can only dream of, and now you are just... what? Switching lanes entirely?"

"Not switching." Regal corrected, his tone calm but resolute. "Expanding."

Gwendolyn crossed her arms, clearly unconvinced. "And do you even have a script? A team? What about funds?"

Regal nodded. "I have got the script. The team will come. As for the funds… this check will do."

.

….

[To be continued…]

★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★

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