Chapter 2813
Although Dahlia had dangled a cool million in front of him to take the risk of posting that photo on his homepage, nobody could have guessed that Nolan would fly off the handle and wipe out years of his hard work in one fell swoop.
It was just like that commenter had said on the forum, he was lucky that was all that happened. If this ever hit the courts, he’d be up the creek without a paddle.
A million bucks wouldn’t even cover the legal fees. The Harris Group had a fleet of shark-like lawyers at their disposal. What did Waller have? Nothing but a hot mess on his hands and a dwindling bank account.
Dahlia sure knew how to play the game, handing him this ticking time bomb and promising it’d be a gold mine. Waller spit on the ground in disgust.
Dahlia and her team were watching the fallout closely, too. She never expected Nolan to cut her off so completely, not even leaving her a shred of dignity.
“It’s got to be a PR stunt by her, right? How else could they pull that photo from the net so quickly?”
“Or maybe it’s a power play gone wrong? Talk about a public humiliation-her dance career hasn’t even taken off and she’s already lost face.”
Since Dahlia wasn’t their favorite personality, the online comment sections had a field day roasting her.
“Don’t listen to them, Dahlia. Those classless trolls wouldn’t know real art if it sla them in the face.”
Her colleagues tried to comfort her, “Right, Dahlia. You’re the queen of contempor dance, vetted by all the industry legends. These people don’t know squat!”
But what did being the queen of dance matter if Nolan wasn’t willing to play ball?
Dahlia was grinding her teeth when that useless waste of space Waller had the nerve call her again.
“What do you want? Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t contact me until the final payment?”
She hissed at the screen, teeth clenched. Waller was cursing up a storm on the other end you “Damn it, Dahlia, you’ve really screwed me over. And now you’re telling me not to call Do you have any idea that Nolan just had his lawyers call me up with a warning? They’re probably going to drag me to court over this mess you’ve made. So, what’s the plan now huh?”
“Oh, Waller, don’t tell me you’re losing your nerve? I warned you there were risks for big rewards. You hit one little snag and now you’re freaking out at me?”
Dahlia was so cavalier about it all, as if she wasn’t the one who’d be facing a judge. She was practically invisible in this debacle, while Waller was left holding the bag. She got all the glory; he got all the grief.
“What are you suggesting? That I take the fall alone? We’re in this together, like two peas in a pod, and don’t you forget it. Does Mr. Harris even know that you’re the one profiting off of my back, or that you’ve calculated your every move? If he finds out, do you think he’ll still want anything to do with you?”
There was a crackling sound over the phone; Waller had lit a cigarette, the picture of a tough guy. “So, what’s your big idea? I’ve already handed over half a mil. Once this blows over, you’ll get the other half. You’ve already taken a lion’s share; you should know whether your ‘talent’ is worth that much.”
Even if he knew his hastily snapped photo wasn’t worth the cash, what did it matter? The real issue was getting Nolan’s legal eagles off his back.
“Either you find me a top-notch lawyer, or we’ll see who comes out on top.”
