Goodbye, Mr. Regret

"All right, I'll talk to him again and see if we can work something out."

Yates hung up the phone.

Vince glanced over and asked, "So, which movie's got you so riled up?"

"It's the one I just mentioned to Timothy. They won't let me have the exclusive rights to invest, promote, and produce it."

When Yates set his sights on something, he always meant to get it—no exceptions.

But this had nothing to do with Vince, so he didn't dwell on it. He just said, "A friend of mine has a film about to hit theaters. When the time comes, could you help arrange some good showtimes?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I'll get you the best slots possible. But if it doesn't work out, there's only so much I can do. You know how this business is— everyone's gotta eat. If something bigger comes along, sometimes we have to make room."

"I get it. Just help out at the start."

"Done. Keep me posted when everything's ready."

Before they parted, Yates gave Vince one more piece of advice: he really should stop pursuing Jessica. If things blew up with Timothy, it'd just make life harder for everyone.

Friends shouldn't fall out over something like this.

Yates didn't know Jessica was actually Salome, so as far as he was concerned, his ties to Timothy were much closer. Timothy and Jessica were legally married, and Vince trying to get involved just didn't sit right.

After Vince got in his car, Yates' words echoed in his mind, leaving him conflicted.

If he was really interested in Jessica, it wasn't that he thought she'd be better off with Herbert than with Timothy; it was that he believed she'd be better off with him than with Timothy.

What was wrong with him?

His thoughts were a mess.

Still, he messaged Jessica back, assuring her the theater release wouldn't be a problem. Whenever she was ready, she could reach out to him.

Jessica was about to share the good news with Carlisle when Carlisle called her first.

Apparently, when she was searching

for distribution investors, Bryant Edge Films, wanted exclusive rights to invest and promote the film. they didn't get those rights, they threatened to block her from any major theater releases.

Jessica immediately looked up Bryant Edge Films online.

It turned out the company belonged to Yates.

Yates seemed to be friends with both Timothy and Vince, and Bryant Edge Films had its own theater chain—a real giant in the film industry.

Vince had promised to help her with the release. Could she have ended up talking to Yates after all?

Since she hadn't mentioned the film's name, Yates probably didn't realize Vince was helping her with this particular project.

Jessica quickly texted Carlisle:

Don't worry I'll handle this. The theater contact I have might actually be with Bryant Edge Films. Give me a moment to figure things out, and I'll call you as soon as I have an update.

Vince had just arrived at his office when Jessica's video call came in.

She sounded anxious-it was clear texting was too slow for her.

She logged into her messaging app on her laptop, started a video call, and used

her voice synthesizer ring to help her speak.

"Mr. Zimmerman, sorry to bother you again."

Vince remembered the last time he'd heard her use the voice software-at the

children's arts competition—so he wasn't surprised.

"It's fine. What's up?"

Jessica explained the whole situation to him.

Vince felt a tight ache in his chest.

"You're saying that for the past

seven years, Timothy never took you

to any public events, just handed you two million every time, and you managed to save sixty-six million? And you invested fifty million of that into a team of mute filmmakers?"

"Yes."

Vince pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, remembering that day in Jessica's cozy apartment when, after she shared a story, Herbert had suddenly lost his cool, refused to translate her signo language, and stormed off to confront Timothy. noveldrama