Leo Vance stood in front of the large windows of his Beverly Hills office. He looked down at the city and smiled. He felt like a king.
Everything was going exactly according to his plan. For five years, ever since they were kids at Oakridge Academy, Leo had hated Donovan Blackwood. He hated how Donovan was always calm. He hated how Donovan always won without even trying.
But not today.
Leo walked back to his desk and picked up a copy of *People Magazine*. He looked at the picture of Scarlett Johansson and Josh Hartnett holding hands. Scarlett looked sad if you looked closely, but to the rest of the world, she was Hollywood's newest star.
"You should have read the fine print, Donovan," Leo whispered to the empty room.
Leo was incredibly proud of his trap. He knew that Donovan was a billionaire, and he knew that Donovan's money could usually fix any problem. But money couldn't beat the federal courts.
By tricking Scarlett's mother into signing the contract, Leo had completely tied Donovan's hands. If Donovan tried to use his expensive lawyers to break the fake romance, Leo would simply ask a judge for a federal injunction. A judge would legally freeze Scarlett's career for years. *Teen Wolf* Season Two would be ruined. Donovan would lose his television show.
Donovan had to choose: lose the girl he liked, or lose his TV empire in a courtroom.
Suddenly, Leo's cell phone began to ring loudly. It was Scarlett's manager—the greedy idiot Leo had used to set the trap.
Leo answered the phone with a proud smile and put it on speaker. "What is it? Are you calling to tell me the paparazzi photos look good?"
"Leo! Leo, you have to help me!" The man's voice was high and terrified. He sounded like he was crying.
Leo's smile vanished. "Calm down. What are you talking about?"
"I'm at the movie studio!" the manager screamed. "The security guards didn't let me in! They threw me out into the street! They said my contract was canceled!"
"Canceled? That's impossible," Leo snapped, frowning deeply. "We control the production of that movie."
"We don't control it anymore!" the manager cried. "The independent studio sold the movie this morning! A shadow company from Japan just bought the 51% majority stake! The new owners sent an email to everyone. I am fired! The PR romance clause was legally voided! My career is over!"
Leo felt a cold chill run down his spine. "A Japanese company? Who bought it? Who has enough cash to buy a massive movie in just a few hours without anyone knowing?"
"It's him, Leo!" the manager yelled. "The name at the bottom of the email... the new boss who bought the movie... is Donovan Blackwood!"
The phone slipped from Leo's hand. It hit the desk with a heavy *thud*.
The office became completely silent.
"Japan..." Leo whispered, his hands shaking.
He didn't understand. Donovan's money came from his Hollywood studio. If Donovan had moved fifty million dollars from Blackwood Studios, Leo would have known. It would have made the news. How did Donovan have a secret Japanese holding company?
Suddenly, the private phone on Leo's desk began to ring.
Leo stared at it. His heart was beating so fast it hurt. He knew exactly who was calling. With a shaking hand, Leo picked up the phone and placed it against his ear. He didn't say a word.
***
Miles away, in the massive living room of the Blackwood Mansion, Donovan was lying comfortably on a long, white leather sofa.
He wasn't wearing a suit. He was wearing comfortable sweatpants and a loose black t-shirt. He had the phone pressed between his ear and his shoulder. In his right hand, he was holding a bowl of nacho chips, casually eating one as he listened to the dead silence on the other end of the line.
He looked completely relaxed. He didn't look like a teenager fighting a corporate war. He looked like a boy enjoying a lazy Monday afternoon.
"Hello, Leo," Donovan said smoothly, taking another bite of a chip.
He could hear Leo's shaky breathing through the phone.
"I heard you tried to use the federal courts to threaten my television show," Donovan continued, his voice calm and completely bored. "You tried to use Scarlett's mother to back me into a corner."
"How..." Leo's voice finally cracked through the speaker. It sounded weak. "How did you buy the movie? You didn't use Blackwood Studios' money. Nobody in Hollywood knew you had Japanese investors."
Donovan chuckled softly. He reached for another nacho.
"I don't have Japanese investors, Leo. I *am* the investor," Donovan explained simply. "You see, you spent all your time studying my Hollywood studio. But you don't know anything about my publishing company, Rogue Entertainment."
Donovan sat up slightly, his eyes turning cold, even though his body remained relaxed.
"Did you really think the biggest manga in the world, *One Piece*, was written by some random guy in Tokyo? Did you think the *Pokémon* video games just magically appeared? I own them, Leo. I am the author. I just use a fake name so the press leaves me alone."
On the other end of the line, Leo let out a quiet gasp.
"Nobody in the world knows that I own the rights to the biggest entertainment properties in Asia," Donovan said, stating the facts without bragging. "That money doesn't go through Hollywood. It goes directly into my private, secret accounts. It prints millions of dollars every single week while I sleep."
Donovan ate another chip, chewing it slowly as the crushing reality hit Leo Vance.
"You tried to play a legal game with Scarlett's mother," Donovan said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy whisper. "You thought you could freeze the movie in court. But you made a mistake, Leo. You can't freeze a movie when I simply *buy* the entire board you are playing on."
"Donovan..." Leo tried to speak, sounding completely defeated.
"The fake romance contract is dead. The manager is fired. Scarlett will keep her lead role because she earned it with her talent," Donovan stated with absolute authority.
Donovan leaned his head back against the sofa. He wasn't angry anymore. He was just tired of dealing with insects.
"And just so we are completely clear, Leo," Donovan finished, his voice slicing through the phone like a knife. "If you ever try to threaten Scarlett's mother, or anyone else in my pack ever again... I won't just buy your movies. I will use my hidden money to buy the entire Vance Agency. I will fire everyone, and I will tear your building down to the ground. Do you understand me?"
Leo didn't answer. The silence on the phone was the sound of total surrender.
Donovan hung up the phone.
He tossed the device onto the glass coffee table. He didn't celebrate. He didn't cheer. He just picked up his bowl of nachos, turned on the massive television in his living room, and started looking for a movie to watch.
The King of Hollywood had just destroyed his biggest rival, and he hadn't even bothered to get off the couch to do it.