Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 119: A Tiny Mistake

"Mr. Kosonen!" Liisi shouted.

Her face contorted visibly, the vulnerable look from earlier completely gone.

"Where did you get this footage?" she growled. "You planted a camera in the dressing room? That is completely unacceptable! How could you do something so perverted?!"

Charles remained entirely unfazed. He leaned back casually in his chair, one leg crossing over the other. "You’re correct that planting a camera in a dressing room is a perverted thing to do. However, you’re wrong in thinking that I was the one who planted it."

"Then how the hell did you get this?!" she shouted, pointing sharply at the screen.

"From the pervert himself," Charles shrugged. "That night, an Outfit Crew member noticed a man from the Stage Prop crew lingering near the dressing room after the show had concluded.

"When she followed him inside, she saw him removing a camera he had planted there earlier in the day.

"She informed security, and the man was apprehended shortly afterward, along with the camera.

"After reviewing the footage, security concluded that he had planted it intentionally for perverted purposes.

"But what they didn’t expect to find," Charles continued evenly, "was that the camera had also recorded you sneaking into the dressing room during lunchtime to destroy Kaija Sepala’s performance outfit."

Liisi’s breath caught in her throat. At that moment, she could no longer feel her feet.

"I’m sure your memory is good enough to recall that she was one of the two finalists alongside you last night," Charles went on. "Is there anything you’d like to say for yourself, Ms. Grant?

"Or should I simply release this footage online, so everyone can see what a petty, despicable person you truly are?"

Liisi’s legs trembled violently, the thin heels barely supporting the weight of her body, as if her soul was pressing down along with it.

"No... no... you can’t..." she stammered, brown eyes going blank as visions of her future flashed before her.

Not only would she lose the career she had spent six years preparing for before her debut, she wouldn’t even be able to face the public again if this footage were released.

Given how ruthless the internet could be, how quickly fans’ love could turn into hatred, her life would be effectively over.

"You can’t do this to me!" she screamed at last. "I’ve spent the past nine years of my life working my ass off for this label, for your company, Mr. Kosonen!

"You’re supposed to delete this footage and protect me, not destroy me! I’m the one who worked the hardest in this entire label! I made Lipstick successful! I made KE famous!"

Charles’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

"Lipstick was a successful project, partly thanks to you," he said flatly. "But if you believe KE’s success rests on your shoulders, then I’m afraid you think far too highly of yourself, Ms. Grant.

"You have violated festival rules and tarnished the label’s name with your behavior. I trust you’re aware of what comes next.

"Return to your dorm and pack your belongings. Someone from legal will contact you within the next few days regarding your disqualification from the festival, and our decision to revoke both the prize and the winner’s title.

"You should also prepare to annul any contracts you’ve signed with KE as a member of Lipstick. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to let a single person destroy a project the label has invested heavily in.

"I’m sure your group members wouldn’t want to face backlash or risk disbandment because of your behavior, Ms. Grant."

The words struck Liisi’s ears like a death sentence.

She staggered forward, both hands slamming onto Charles’s desk.

Her bust, barely covered by the low neckline of her silk dress, dipped forward and became exposed to his view, her earlier rage completely gone as her features softened into regret.

"Mr... Mr. Kosonen," her voice trembled as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I’m terribly sorry! I didn’t mean to do it! It was just a momentary mistake! I wasn’t thinking straight!

"I was wrong, Mr. Kosonen, I was wrong! Please don’t do this to me! Please, I beg you. Think of how well I’ve behaved over the past three years and forgive this tiny mistake of mine!

"If you release this footage, my life will be over. I wouldn’t have the face to meet anyone anymore. I might as well just end my life! Please... please... please..."

Charles did spare a single glance at the soft, pale skin exposed before him.

His face remained perfectly expressionless as Liisi’s sobs and whimpers spilled toward him, though inside, nausea churned in his stomach.

Here it was again, those same words, the same excuses.

She called this a tiny mistake? A moment of weakness?

If he brought up how she had stolen Kaija’s song, he wondered what kind of brilliant excuse her deceitful mind would come up with then.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and his gaze dropped to the screen as he checked it instead of paying the pink-haired girl before him another bit of his attention.

A message had arrived.

My Baby: "I’m back. Your tea is in the fridge. Leave right after you collect it. Don’t linger around. I’ll be asleep. I’m very tired. Don’t disturb me."

A faint smile finally appeared on his ever-expressionless face, leaving Liisi stunned for a moment, before the smile slipped away as his gaze lifted to her again.

"I’ve said everything I need to say to you, Ms. Grant," he replied coldly. "If you want any further discussion, contact your manager. We’re done here today. Now please leave. I haven’t even had dinner, and it’s already nine."

With that, he rose from his chair and reached for his jacket.

But Liisi couldn’t let him leave so easily. She seized the moment and dropped to the floor at his feet, large tear-filled eyes staring up at him.

"No, please, Mr. Kosonen, just hear me out!" she begged, her voice small and shaking. "There has to be a way for me to make up for my mistake!

"Think about it! Even if you expel me from Lipstick, if you release the footage, you’ll damage Lipstick’s reputation too!

"You think getting rid of me from Lipstick will solve everything? No! The public will tear my poor group mates apart in every press conference and interview!

"Then every investment you’ve made in Lipstick will be gone for good, Mr. Kosonen! Please don’t let that happen! Have mercy on my girls and our group!"

Charles’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked down at her fingers clutching the cuff of his pants with desperation.

He stepped back, yanking the fabric free, folding his arms as he asked, "What do you suggest, then? That I turn a blind eye to all the dirty things you’ve done right under my watch?"

"The festival, Mr. Kosonen!" Liisi exclaimed, her voice rising with both desperation and hope. "I made my mistake during the festival, so please punish me within the scope of the festival only.

"I violated the festival rules, and I feel terribly ashamed of myself. I’ll willingly give up the prize and the winner’s title as punishment, Mr. Kosonen, and let Kaija Sepala have it!

"That way, I can make up for my mistakes to her as well. Wouldn’t that satisfy your true intention? Isn’t that what you want?

"Please don’t release the footage! Please let me stay in Lipstick, and I swear I’ll never do anything bad again for the rest of my contract, or do anything to Kaija Sepala ever again.

"Please, Mr. Kosonen, I beg you!"

Charles’s eyes narrowed slightly.

As irritating as her sobs were to his ears, the logic behind them struck a few chords in his mind.

Liisi might be a sobbing mess now, her mascara smeared horribly beneath her eyes, but thanks to her cunning, deceitful mind, she had managed to propose something that fit neatly into his larger plans.

With her proposal, he could keep the label intact, while returning to his songbird what rightfully belonged to her.

The corner of his lips lifted faintly as he shrugged into his jacket.

"Very well, then," he said, his voice low and satisfied. "I hope you remember every word you’ve spoken today and learn your lesson for good.

"There will be a press meeting tomorrow to announce Kaija Sepala’s debut, and it seems like a perfect opportunity to also announce to the entire country how you will willingly give up your title and prize to Kaija Sepala.

"You want me not to release the footage? Then you’d better read every single word of the speech the PR department will prepare for you tomorrow, explaining why you are relinquishing the title and prize.

"You will read it in front of everyone, every fan, every journalist, every camera in the room, and in front of the girl you wronged.

"If you fail to do this one simple thing, then consider your career with KE over, and say goodbye to your dear group mates, Ms. Grant."