Playmaker

5

5 missed calls

James was supposed to be looking for wedding caterers with Nadine since Bret was out of the country for a branch opening in New York, but had to make a last minute detour.

11 missed calls

His company had called him for a special meeting. Supposedly, some people from Hollywood were in the Philippines for a project and wanted to meet with him.

As much as James wanted to spend time with Nadine, he didn't want to spend that time planning her and Bret's wedding. So he figured she'd understand if he wasn't there for one thing, especially since he had been there to find just about everything else.

He parked in front of the office and turned off his phone at 29 missed calls.

"James," Boss Vic's assistant greeted him as he entered the conference room.

"There he is," Boss Vic came up and led him to the table full of people. "Iho, this is Angeline Bernabe and her assistant, Timothy Burgess."

A pair of people had stood up to shake his hand. They both looked around his age and made him feel underdressed in their professional attire.

The woman stuck out her hand, "You can call me Ang."

"Tim," the man said, following in suit.

The group settled themselves across the two, everyone looking excitedly at James.

Angeline spoke up, "James Reid, you are a very wanted man. Not just here in the Philippines, but you're making a lot of noise over in the States as well."

James felt flattered and just thanked her for her kind words.

"Tim and I work for NBC Los Angeles," she continued. "More specifically, I'm a producer specializing in internal affairs of casting and TV personalities. Kind of like a position between HR and PR."

"Looking at the statistics," Tim chimed in, finally turning on the projector screen to a bunch of graphs. "You're the most searched international male personality among the teen and young adult demographic. Your recent album came in 2nd to Taylor Swift and your numerous endorsements have given nothing but praise towards your work ethic."

Angeline stood up and faced them as if they were a panel, "Not to mention your personal usage of social media. You're definitely one of the most artistic curators of their own Instagram."

Boss Vic eyed the pair at the front.

"Ms. Bernabe, Mr. Burgess. We're very well aware of James' statistics. But what does this mean for you and for us?"

"Mr. Del Rosario, Mrs. Corpus, Mr. Reid... we're on a talent search for a new TV personality for Hollywood to change American media, so people in the media are actually qualified to be in that position and don't rely on pretty looks, expensive clothes, and autotune."

James was trying to understand everything she was saying, but just had a confused look on his face. Tim was very perceptive of this and looked him straight in the eye.

"Being Filipino ourselves, we thought it would be a great idea to use someone from the Philippines as the new personality. Viva's known to be the best talent agency since they know how to train and take care of their clients. And fortunately for you, you are one of their talents."

"Basically, we want you to be Filipino representative in American media," Angeline said, turning to him. "We'd bring you in for hosting, some American endorsement deals, a few projects... and if they like you, we can create a dual contract with NBC."