Chapter 185: Bee Shaffer

[Chapter 185: Bee Shaffer]

In a corner of the stadium, a special party venue was set up, fully organized by Taylor's mother. She decorated the space to resemble a cozy bedroom, filled with various items related to Taylor and snapshots of her with fans.

"She'll be here soon. You can hug her and take pictures, but it's best not to take anything here," Taylor's mother cheerfully explained the rules to the group of fans gathered.

During the concert, Taylor's mother personally selected a small group of fans to invite to the T-party, making it a sort of exclusive meet-and-greet.

...

Sure enough, Taylor arrived shortly after. She not only shook hands and hugged the fans but also asked them questions, engaging with them warmly without any traces of celebrity snobbery. Ryan, who accompanied Taylor, also attracted a round of excited screams from the fans.

Ryan noticed that several of Taylor's friends had also shown up, and they discussed going out together the next day. However, Ryan didn't want to intrude on their girls' outing.

...

Later that night, Taylor chatted with Ryan about the T-party.

"You should host something similar! You need to connect more with your fans," Taylor encouraged.

Hosting a small fan party wouldn't be difficult for Ryan. A simple announcement on the fan forum would bring in plenty of eager participants; he'd just need to select the most photogenic ones.

"Maybe another time," Ryan shrugged.

He wasn't fooled by Taylor's little tricks.

"If you really dare to do this... hmph," Taylor huffed playfully.

"By the way, should we consider another show? The stage doesn't need to be taken down immediately, and a few more days of venue rental wouldn't hurt. I think a second show could still pull in a solid crowd," Ryan pondered.

He could manage the venue arrangements; Taylor had a full five days of free time ahead.

Why waste time? They should jump at the chance to make some money.

"Wait, you mean another performance?" Taylor looked mildly panicked. But then she remembered that she had no idea what her next album might bring, and this was an opportunity to make some quick cash, after all.

"Alright, let's add another show," Taylor nodded, unaware that agreeing might lead to more commitments.

"Then I'll coordinate with the ticketing website and set up offline sales at the stadium," Ryan confirmed.

"You're heading to New York, right?" Taylor asked next, already aware of Ryan's plans.

"Yeah, just a week at most, then I'll work on a new song release," Ryan replied. He had already announced that he would be collaborating with Leona Lewis on a new single.

"Great! Make sure to come by when we're in Jacksonville. I need to see you," Taylor said firmly, choosing Jacksonville since it was a city in Florida.

"I'll probably be in Paris at that time for Fashion Week," Ryan declined her request.

"When am I going to see you then?" Taylor pouted.

"You'll have to wait until I'm free," Ryan responded.

"And how's the guest lineup looking for the concert? I have a limited number of contacts," Taylor mused, realizing her networking capacity was quite small.

"I'll take care of it," Ryan assured her.

At the moment, he had two signed musicians under his management, and while Leona was a big name, he could manage.

During the original concert lineup, John Mayer had made several appearances, but given the situation, he'd likely think twice about seeing Taylor again, so he wouldn't be there.

...

The next day, Taylor went out with her friends to explore the city, while Ryan flew to New York for a Vogue photoshoot for their American issue.

With experience from a GQ shoot under his belt, everything felt familiar to Ryan. In the interview, he mentioned how smartphones were becoming increasingly commonplace. He intended to focus on the further integration of the music industry with the internet and was also eager to explore the fashion world.

Everything went smoothly, except for one downside: he wouldn't make it to the March issue and had to settle for the April issue since the March lineup was already decided -- the First Lady.

After finishing the interview, Ryan exited the meeting room. This was Vogue's American headquarters, and it didn't look at all like the glitzy setting from movies. Instead, the hallway was narrow, with several racks holding various garments lined up.

...

"Should we go visit Anna Wintour? I just checked, and she's in her office," whispered Fizz.

"If she's willing to meet us, of course, we should," Ryan nodded. Securing Anna's attendance at his upcoming collection launch during Paris Fashion Week would be a major benefit.

The two arrived at Anna's office and inquired with her secretary, who told them to wait outside for a moment.

Ryan and Fizz sat in the waiting area.

"I'll be right back; I need to use the restroom," Fizz said as she stood up.

As Ryan sat there feeling a bit bored, a figure walked by the door.

"Is she in there?"

Ryan vaguely heard the question.

Before long, a reasonably attractive white girl entered the waiting room, sitting not far from Ryan. Her demeanor seemed too casual to be an editorial staff member or someone there for a business meeting with Anna Wintour.

A few seconds passed before she turned her head and stared at Ryan, her expression shifting to one of surprise.

"Ryan Rivers?" she recognized him immediately and got up to walk over.

Before Ryan could speak, she seemed to remember something and asked, "What are you doing here to see Anna Wintour?"

"Nothing much; don't all people in fashion have to come here with respect? I can't escape it either," Ryan quipped.

"Right? That old woman is so annoying," she nodded in agreement.

"Looks like you didn't have to deal with her," Ryan realized something.

"I... I'm fine," she replied with an embarrassed smile.

...

Just then, Fizz returned from the restroom and immediately beamed, noticing the girl beside Ryan. "Bee Shaffer, how's school going?"

"I graduated already; I'm just here to see what Mom thinks," the young girl replied.

'Your mom?' Ryan's heart dropped.

"Don't worry, I won't spread those bad things you just said," Bee Shaffer assured him.

At that moment, the secretary walked in and motioned for the three to come in.

...

When Anna Wintour glanced up and noticed Bee Shaffer, she looked somewhat startled.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Uh, I pushed back my internship. A friend referred me to an assistant screenwriter position in Los Angeles. I'm planning to work on the West Coast," Bee Shaffer explained, essentially saying goodbye to her mother.

"No, you can't do that," Anna said, her brows knitting tightly.

"Mom, what's so great about this fashion magazine anyway? I'm not a fan of this environment; my goal is to become a writer for SNL," Bee Shaffer stated firmly.

SNL? You wish to write comedy? Ryan stifled a laugh internally, thinking Anna's daughter seemed pretty entertaining.

Hold on, comedy... isn't that the same as the show 2 Broke Girls?

"This is non-negotiable; I won't allow you to do this," Anna Wintour said coldly.

"Look, I'm not here to seek your approval," Bee Shaffer insisted, sounding resolute.

"By the way, I actually have an internship for a writer's assistant position available," Ryan suddenly interjected.

"Available?" Both mother and daughter turned to Ryan.

"Yeah, it's also a comedy, a sitcom, and CW has already agreed to pick it up to air during the pilot season this year," Ryan continued.

April is the pilot season; by May, the network would showcase its fall lineup to advertisers to determine which shows would get the green light. However, Ryan's show 2 Broke Girls and The Vampire Diaries had already been secured directly by CW, so they wouldn't be affected. The premiere for 2 Broke Girls was only a short time away.

"That's the show you invested in?" Bee Shaffer seemed to recognize the title. During her school years, she had been a fashion blogger for the Columbia Observer and Britain's Daily Telegraph while now wanting to break into comedy, which she had previously heard about.

"That's correct," Ryan nodded, as CW hadn't started promoting the show yet, so not many knew the details.

"When can I start?"

"If everything goes well, you could start in the script department tomorrow," Ryan replied.

"Deal," Bee Shaffer agreed immediately.

"This... what is this?" Anna Wintour looked in dilemma.

"Don't worry; I'll have someone there to look after her," Ryan reassured Anna Wintour.

He understood the old queen's concerns; she was worried about her daughter venturing into unfamiliar territory so far away. It was natural for Anna to feel uneasy given that her daughter was now all grown up and couldn't always follow her parents' expectations. Plus, Anna had divorced her husband years back, and having been busy with work, she felt guilty about not being around.

After giving it some thought, Anna finally nodded.

"Then thank you," Anna Wintour acknowledged.

"But just to be clear, you can't give her any special treatment just because of me; you understand what I'm saying, right?" Anna looked at Ryan.

"Of course, I understand. She'll have to start as a regular writer," Ryan affirmed.

...

After leaving the office building, Ryan immediately called Trey and instructed her to make arrangements for Bee Shaffer.

"I can't believe Anna Wintour's daughter is working under you! You know how many brands wish they could have that?" Fizz exclaimed excitedly.

Invisibly, Anna Wintour now owed Ryan a favor.

"Did we forget the main reason for our visit?" Ryan suddenly remembered that they initially came to ask Anna to attend his upcoming collection show.

"Want to go back up?" Fizz suggested.

"Forget it; if she doesn't want to come, no point in pushing it. If she's interested, she'll show up," Ryan knew some things couldn't be forced.

...

Then Ryan flew straight to Paris, where he met up with the Olsen sisters. The preliminary preparations for the show were completed. As for the models, besides Karlie Kloss, he also invited Anne Vyalitsyna and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who agreed to attend, except they weren't modeling but rather watching the show.

As a favor, Anne Vyalitsyna took Ryan on a tour of the latest Russian trends, and Rosie filled him in on the latest news regarding Candice.

"I asked a few models who are close to her, and more than one mentioned Candice had visited a certain Palm Beach club in Florida multiple times last year..."

"Trump?" Upon hearing that name, Ryan immediately thought of him.

He then called the real estate agent to inquire about Trump's whereabouts.

"...But just to clarify, Trump spent all of 2008 in New York recording a show and didn't set foot in Mar-a-Lago, to my knowledge," the agent informed him over the phone.

Who could it be? Ryan hung up, lost in thought.

*****

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