Chapter 36: Between Laughter and Unease
Morning at the JTC headquarters (Julian Talent Center) usually resembled a perfectly oiled clockwork machine. Cold, fast, and highly efficient. However, over the past two weeks, the atmosphere on the executive floor had felt more like a funeral struck by collective confusion.
Laura sat in her executive chair, massaging her throbbing forehead in a rhythm almost synchronized with the ticking clock on the wall. In front of her, the monitor screen flickered, displaying Julian Caldwell's work calendar that looked utterly depressing. The rows of boxes that were usually filled with filming schedules in London, photoshoots in Milan, or board meetings in New York were now completely empty. As blank as fresh snow in Switzerland.
"He really did it," Laura muttered to herself, her voice carrying a mix of disbelief and pure frustration. "He really erased himself from the industry map."
