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Chapter 93: Stark Quill

"Boss Arthur will be here any minute now," the CEO assured.

Mark nodded. "Yeah, I heard he just wrapped up a film?"

"That\'s right. It\'s why I contacted you immediately. The boss finally has time to meet."

As they chatted, the office door swung open, revealing the man himself: Arthur Morningstar.

"Boss, you\'re here," the demon CEO said, relief evident in his voice.

Arthur nodded, patting his employee\'s shoulder. "I\'ll take it from here."

Once alone, Mark extended his hand. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Morningstar. I\'m Mark Stark. I\'ve seen \'The Demonfather\' - learned a lot from it, actually."

Arthur chuckled, shaking Mark\'s hand. "Learned a lot? How so?"

"It inspired me to lead my family and company like Don Corleone," Mark admitted with a grin. "Though I\'ll skip the, uh, crueler aspects."

"Yeah, because if you didn\'t, we\'d be trading blows in a cell, not shaking hands in an office," Arthur quipped.

Mark laughed. "Too right."

Arthur smoothly changed gears. "So, I hear you\'re interested in acquiring the licensing rights to my book?"

"Your book?" Mark echoed, catching the emphasis.

Arthur gestured to himself. "Isn\'t it obvious? I wrote it."

Mark\'s eyebrows shot up. "For real? You wrote \'Harry Potter\'?"

"You doubting me?" Arthur asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No- no, of course not," Mark backpedaled. "Just... surprised, is all."

Mark couldn\'t hide his surprise. The book he\'d grown to love was written by the demon standing before him.

Unable to contain himself, he blurted out, "I\'m thrilled to meet the author of Harry Potter. I\'ve been dying to ask - when\'s the next book coming? I\'ve been imagining plots since I finished the first one."

Arthur chuckled, gently steering the conversation back on track. "Maybe we should tackle those licensing rights first?"

"Ah, right, of course," Mark said, a bit flustered. "I\'d love to acquire distribution rights for the Leaf Kingdom, Wales, and Empirica."

Arthur\'s eyebrows rose, impressed. "That\'s quite a reach. What\'s your company called?"

"Stark Quill Publishing," Mark replied with a hint of pride. "Based in my hometown in the Leaf Kingdom."

Recognition flashed across Arthur\'s face. "Stark Quill? You own that? Well, no wonder."

Mark nodded, eager to move forward. "Shall we discuss the licensing rights?"

"By all means," Arthur agreed.

Mark couldn\'t help but gush a bit more. "I read the book a few weeks back, and I haven\'t been able to stop thinking about it. The secret magic school, privileged kids from magical families slipping through walls to catch a train - it\'s just... fascinating. I\'m not even sure I have the words to describe how it made me feel."

Arthur smiled, clearly pleased by Mark\'s enthusiasm. "I can see the book really resonated with you."

***

(Arthur POV)

I never expected "Harry Potter" to catch the eye of someone owning a major publishing house with reach across both Evros and Empirican Continents. Talk about a pleasant surprise.

As Mark laid out his initial offer, I couldn\'t help but chuckle. "I thought you liked the book? This offer seems... average at best."

Mark\'s smile didn\'t waver. "It\'s business, Mr. Morningstar. I do like the book, but liking something and betting money on its success are two different things. Everyone\'s taste differs, after all."

"Fair point," I conceded. "But if it impressed you, a man I assume has read hundreds of books, you must know it\'s something special. Doesn\'t it deserve a better offer?"

Mark proved a tough nut to crack. I even tried using {Heartstrings} to sway him, but the man\'s will was stronger than I anticipated. He kept pushing that average offer.

But two can play at that game. I dug in my heels, ready to negotiate for days or weeks if necessary. I wasn\'t about to let "Harry Potter" go for anything less than it deserved.

Two days of back-and-forth later, Mark finally caved. His new offer was music to my ears.

He proposed a 15% royalty on all book sales, along with a hefty upfront advance of 80,000 dollars. The deal included exclusive distribution rights for Leaf Kingdom, Wales, and Empirica for 5 years, with a commitment to publish at least 100,000 copies in the first print run. As a cherry on top, he threw in an option for first refusal on future books in the series.

Now that\'s more like it. Seeing Mark\'s resigned but respectful nod as he laid out these terms, I knew I\'d won this round.

Thinking about it, I can see why Mark was willing to put that kind of offer on the table. After all, "Harry Potter" had already raked in tens of thousands of dollars in the Morningstar Kingdom alone, and that\'s just in a few months.

Truth is, there\'s no official sales data out there. I\'ve been so caught up in filming that I never got around to announcing exact figures. I\'m the only one who really knows how well the book\'s doing. Because of that, "Harry Potter" hasn\'t made it into those magazines or newspapers that list bestsellers.

But word\'s getting around. Some magazines have started making estimates based on the book\'s growing popularity. It\'s all word-of-mouth at this point, but that kind of buzz? It\'s priceless.

I\'ve got a feeling Mark\'s done his homework. He must have sniffed out the potential, which explains why he\'s willing to put up that kind of money. He\'s not just buying a book; he\'s investing in a phenomenon.

It\'s funny, really. Here I am, sitting on what could be the next big thing in publishing, and most people don\'t even know it yet. But Mark? He sees it. And that\'s why he\'s ready to bet big.

***

A few days after Arthur wrapped up his film project, word of its completion spread like wildfire through the restless media outlets.

Headlines began popping up everywhere, not just about Arthur\'s film, but also about major studios trying to compete:

"Arthur Morningstar Completes His Film—Titan Pictures Announces Simultaneous Completion of Their Ambitious Project"

"Titan Pictures\' Ambitious Movie, Filmed at Their Dwarven-Built VFX Studio—A Copy of Ex-Prince Arthur\'s Hellfire Studio Using Advanced Mechanics and Technologies—Officially Completed"

"Titan Pictures Asserts Their Upcoming Film Will Surpass The Lord of the Rings, With Rumors Suggesting Executives Are Planning to Set the Release Date to Coincide with Ex-Prince Arthur\'s Third Film."

Arthur\'s eyes caught these headlines. Reading further, he learned that Titan Pictures\' movie was supposedly an epic tale, also revolving around ancient artifacts and drawing inspiration from elven history.

"Don\'t tell me they\'re following in \'Lord of the Rings\' footsteps," Arthur muttered to himself, skimming the premise. But even if that was the case, it didn\'t faze him.

Klein approached, curiosity evident in his voice. "Boss, have you heard about Titan Pictures?"

Arthur shrugged dismissively. "Don\'t care about them."

"Word is, they\'re aiming to compete directly with our film."

Arthur sighed, "Guess they\'re still sore that their smear campaign against \'Lord of the Rings\' backfired." Changing the subject, he added, "By the way, did you finish signing those actors I mentioned?"

"Yeah," Klein nodded, "Raymond Crow - who played the hated Carlo, Kyle Brook who was Luca Brasi, Charles Flirt who acted as Sonny, and several others from Demonfather are all signed with our agency without any issues."

"Good work," Arthur nodded, his mind already moving on to the next challenge.