Chapter 233: Chapter 233: The Grand Gamble
The phone buzzed with two consecutive messages.
Both were from Warren Prescott.
[Did you watch the live broadcast?]
[Five minutes into the broadcast, Leon Zeller lost over two hundred thousand followers.]
Ashley Shaw looked at these two messages, her eyebrows knitting slightly.
Is he blaming her and Ariana?
But it wasn’t them who made Leon say those things.
However, losing two hundred thousand followers must be quite a loss for Warren Prescott as Leon’s boss, right?
Ashley Shaw didn’t know what to reply for a moment.
Should she apologize? Or say again that it wasn’t them who had Leon say these things.
Not apologize? Losing two hundred thousand followers...
She remembered that during dinner at the Prescott Family’s home, Grandpa Prescott had said this show was very important to Warren Prescott.
It could almost determine whether he could gain respect when he returned to the headquarters, and silence those who had other thoughts.
But! What does that have to do with her?
After some inner conflict, Ashley Shaw finally typed a line in frustration and sent it.
[What do you mean by telling me this? Are you blaming us for how things turned out?]
Almost as soon as the message was sent, another message from Warren Prescott popped up.
[Tell your friend not to feel pressured. I’ll find a way to guide public opinion, but to ensure Ariana Grant’s safety, ask her not to claim the title of Leon’s girlfriend for now.]
After reading this message from Warren Prescott, Ashley Shaw’s eyes suddenly widened, and a feeling called "awkwardness" spread through her body.
So that’s what he meant...
He mentioned losing two hundred thousand followers to say that these emotionally invested fans might do something crazy, so he wanted her and Ariana to keep a low profile.
But she... misunderstood.
The next moment, she quickly long-pressed her sent message and clicked to withdraw it.
As the message "You withdrew a message" popped up, Ashley Shaw prayed that Warren Prescott hadn’t seen what she sent.
But soon she realized that she was just deceiving herself.
Warren Prescott: [In your eyes, am I that kind of person?]
On the other end of the phone, Warren Prescott was so angry that his heart and lungs ached.
If he disapproved of their relationship, he wouldn’t have told her Leon’s identity from the start.
He would have found a way to break up Ariana Grant and Leon from the beginning.
Two people in an online relationship without knowing each other’s identities are almost effortless to separate.
But she thought he was complaining, blaming?
On Warren Prescott’s seemingly flawless face, it was as if a large rift appeared.
He stared at the phone screen, waiting for an apology from Ashley Shaw.
However, it was unclear how much time passed—"Survivor in the Wild" had already officially started—and he still hadn’t received even a word or an emoji from Ashley Shaw.
He laughed out of anger.
When Assistant Lowell entered, he saw Warren Prescott with a very eerie smile on his face.
Assistant Lowell felt a sudden chill down his back.
This is bad news...
Although he didn’t know the reason, the best thing to do now was to leave.
Assistant Lowell turned to leave, but Warren Prescott called him back.
"Where are you going?"
Assistant Lowell stiffly turned around, almost mechanically moving his steps, and walked to Warren Prescott’s desk.
"M-Mr. Prescott Jr..."
Warren Prescott expressionlessly placed his phone facedown.
"Speak."
"I’m here to report... the initial broadcast data is good, the livestream reached over a million viewers, but since Leon revealed his relationship, the online opinion is not very good..."
Warren Prescott’s face darkened slightly.
"I know about that. Have the PR department hire some people to lead the narrative back."
"Yes!" Assistant Lowell responded, then timidly asked, "Besides that, the people downstairs wanted me to ask if you’d like to have a late-night snack with them in the meeting room. Everyone worked hard to prepare for the broadcast, so we ordered some food..."
"You guys eat. I’ll monitor the livestream."
"There are dedicated people watching the livestream. You’ve worked hard all night too, won’t you have a bite to eat?"
"No need."
"Alright, then I’m leaving."
Assistant Lowell dared not say another word, turned around to leave, when suddenly Warren Prescott asked, "Do you know how to make someone who dislikes you dislike you less?"
Assistant Lowell stopped in his tracks, quickly associating it with Ashley Shaw.
He turned back, thought for several seconds, and then answered, "Maybe... it’s better to explain face-to-face? If someone dislikes you, there must be a reason for it. As long as you get to the bottom of that reason, won’t the misunderstanding be resolved?"
"Explain face-to-face?"
"Yes, communication is the best way to resolve any conflict."
As soon as he finished speaking, Assistant Lowell saw Warren Prescott stand up, grab his coat, and head for the exit.
"I’m stepping out for a bit, back in an hour. If anything comes up, call me."
With those words, Warren Prescott disappeared from the office doorway.
Assistant Lowell took a moment to regain composure, scratching his head. Could it be that Mr. Prescott Jr. went to see Miss Shaw?
But going to see a girl at this time of night, is that appropriate?
He did say to explain things face-to-face, not to bother someone at midnight and disturb their sleep.
Damn! He’d better not make things worse, and complicate their relationship further.
The phone rang at this moment.
It was a call from the Spectator Live staff.
"What’s up?" Assistant Lowell asked.
"Is Mr. Prescott Jr. coming?"
"He’s not."
"Oh, then come on down, the Xiaolongxia you specially requested has arrived."
"I’m not eating," Assistant Lowell said, sounding deflated. "Not in the mood."
"Not in the mood? Why? Isn’t it just that the Wolves revealed a relationship? And after the relationship news broke, the livestream data improved, just a bit of guidance on public opinion, and it’s entirely a net positive, so don’t stress yourself out."
"My stress isn’t coming from the livestream."
"Then, it’s...?"
"Never mind, it’s too complicated to explain to you. I have to get back to work, it’s the only way to forget my troubles!"
Maybe when Mr. Prescott Jr. comes back and sees him working so hard, he won’t consider firing him.
With that thought, Assistant Lowell hung up the phone and walked out.
Although the obstacles before the broadcast were cleared, they still had to constantly monitor the livestream.
This isn’t like a TV-produced variety show, which can rely on post-editing to mitigate public opinion risks, but their variety show isn’t like that.
It’s a 24-hour nonstop broadcast, except for some "participant privacy" shots, everything else will be recorded.
This means that at any moment, there could be a broadcast accident.
This month will be grueling for the contestants and for every staff member at Spectator Live.
You could say it’s a massive gamble; if they win, Spectator’s reputation skyrockets. If they lose, the price paid will be enormous.
The top management of the organizers might even face jail time...
Even Warren Prescott isn’t exempt.
If something really goes wrong, he’d be the first to bear the brunt.