The silence in the virtual conference room was so complete I could almost hear the hum of the servers back in my physical bedroom. Every single person was looking at me, waiting for the hammer to fall. I could feel the anxiety radiating off them like heat. They'd just watched one of their own challenge the boss on his most cherished project, and now the boss had gone quiet for a full thirty seconds. Not great for the blood pressure.
I finally moved, breaking the statue impression. I leaned forward, the motion making a few people flinch. I didn't raise my voice. I didn't get angry. I just pointed a single, gloved finger directly at Sabine, who looked like she was mentally drafting her resignation letter.
"You," I said, my modulated voice calm but utterly decisive.
"Effective immediately, you're no longer just on the legal team for this…. You're the new Legal Director of Meteor Creative… Full stop."
Sabine's jaw actually dropped. Like, literally. Her eyes went so wide I thought they might pop out of her head. "I… quoi? Sir, I—"
I cut her off, not unkindly, but with the momentum of the idea.
"Your first task isn't legal paperwork…. It's creative, I want you to go through every single comic, every manga, every novel in our library. I want you to revise them. Not a full rewrite," I added quickly, seeing the panic return to her eyes.
"But I want you to find the seams…. Find where we can weave in the… maturity, The relationships…. The life. The stuff you talked about. You have full creative consultant authority. Work with Sunday; she'll handle the actual art and text integration…. You're the vision. Make it perfect for this world."
I paused, letting the sheer scale of the responsibility sink in. I was handing her the keys to my entire creative kingdom.
"You do this right," I continued, my tone making it a promise, "and you prove you understand not just the law but the heart of what we're building here? That position of COO for Meteor Creative? It's yours…. You'll be running the whole division."
The stunned silence broke. Sabine made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a squeak. "Mon Dieu… I… I do not know what to say… I accept! Of course, I accept! But… are you certain? The responsibility… it is…"
"I'm certain," I said, a smile in my voice.
"In this company, we don't just chase profits. We chase perfection. And you…" I gestured to her with my hand.
"You just proved you have a better eye for what that means in this market than I do…. That's not a mistake; that's a superpower. I'm putting the superpower in charge."
The room erupted. Not in chaos, but in a wave of excited chatter and genuine congratulations. Amanda clapped Sabine on the back, a huge grin on her face. Saiko gave a respectful, smiling nod. The assistants were beaming. Kate looked at me, her expression a mix of pride and sheer amusement. I'd just turned a potential mutiny into the best promotion party ever.
"Alright, alright, settle down," I said, though I was enjoying the vibe.
"We've got a company to run…. So, new assignments are clear. Sabine—Meteor Creative. Make it sing. Saiko—you're on the property acquisition. Get us that mall for a song. Amanda—factories. I want us making our own merch yesterday. Kate oversees all of it."
I turned to Kate. "The comic house idea is gold, but let's be smart…. If word gets out that Meteor Studio is sniffing around failing publishers, the prices will quadruple. Sabine, you're on stealth mode for that. Quiet, discreet acquisitions. No big announcements until the ink is dry."
Kate nodded, already making a note on her virtual tablet. "Agreed. We'll operate through shell companies. Slow and quiet."
A final thought occurred to me. "Sunday, budget update. What's our war chest looking like after today's… spending spree?"
Sunday's voice chimed pleasantly in the room. "Of the nine hundred million dollars in accessible capital, today's approved allocations for the property acquisition fund, the factory acquisition budget, and the Meteor Creative development fund total five hundred million dollars. Four hundred million remains in liquid reserves for ongoing operations and unforeseen opportunities."
Five hundred million. Just like that. I'd just committed more money than most people see in a thousand lifetimes because a French comic nerd had a really good idea. And it felt absolutely right.
"Perfect," I said, clapping my hands together once. The sound echoed in the spacious virtual office. "Meeting adjourned. Everyone knows what they're doing. Let's go build an empire."
I logged out, leaving them to their excited planning. The avatar of Sael VT vanished from the chair, but the energy in the room, the sense of purpose and excitement, remained. The machine was now fully staffed, funded, and in motion. And for the first time, I wasn't the only one driving it. getting a feedback is very nice and helpful.