Author's note: New reviewers~ Oh~! *jumps around in glee*

Phizzy-chan: Yup, Zel will be in the entertainment industry as well (yay!), but aren't you wondering what role he'll be? Hee hee . . Zel and Amelia as a couple? . . .I'll see what I can do about that!

Soobin: Quiet reviewer! *glomps* I think Xelly's "forgetfulness" is because he sleeps with so many different women every night he doesn't bother remember them anymore. He's in it for the lust. And Gourry struck me immediately as a model. Tall and well-built, it'd be a waste if he weren't one!

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Chapter 4:

Zelas Metallium sat in her office, looking through a pile of documents whilst swirling a glass of red wine in one hand. Sighing, and with long slender fingers, massaged her aching neck that screamed from long hours of non-stop work. Indeed she was a rather remarkable woman. Her blonde hair fell down below her shoulders like a cascading waterfall and on to her silk blouse. Her long shapely legs were crossed one over the other on the desk, leaving very little to the imagination. Only the ordinary fool would think she was another pretty face.

Sly. Secretive. Cold-blooded. She was a notorious businesswoman, her name feared and revered not only in the entertainment industry, but also the business world. Where she saw vulnerability, no matter how slight, she would make good use of this fact and ruthlessly manipulate it to her own uses. Few companies were able to escape her hawk-like attention, which earned her -- rather rightly -- the title 'Beastmaster'.

Mazoku Records owed its success to her.

Of course, it wasn't entirely her business. . . . . Shabranigdo was the CEO, and she and three of her brothers were its directors. That said, they were the majority shareholders and hence had a controlling interest in all its affairs. Since her siblings were hardly concerned with the company, Zelas took it upon herself to oversee every matter to make sure her money wasn't going down the drain. It was a good thing Xelloss was there to help her. She didn't really approve of his 'nocturnal habits', but he could do whatever he wanted as long as he was at her beck and call. Xelloss didn't seem to mind that arrangement either, for how else was he going to live his lavish lifestyle and enjoy the privileges of being a Metallium? Plus, he much preferred working for his mother (although she could sometimes be rather demanding) than some stranger.

Today, she had summoned Filia Ul Copt to her office to discuss some matters. Matters having to do with the 'new girl'. She had heard some amusing things about her and wanted to hear them from her manager. "Juuo-sama, Filia has arrived at the reception," the secretary informed her.

"Bring her in."

Filia was brought into the office. Zelas was amused at the woman's uneasiness as the doors closed behind her. "Please," Zelas greeted her, "Do take a seat."

"Thank. . . .thank you. Was there something you wanted to see me about?"

"The new girl. I heard she caused quite a commotion for the Marketing and Managing department the other day."

"Amelia didn't cause the commotion. The team wanted to force an image that wasn't too suitable for her and she refused. Or rather," she corrected herself, "Her friend did."

"Ah yes, Rodimus mentioned that. He wasn't too happy about it."

"No he wasn't. But her friend offered to take the job."

"I'm afraid I won't allow that. It's too risky."

"Quite the opposite, actually," and Filia told her of Lina's qualifications and work experience. "In fact," she continued, taking out a large file from behind, "I was just looking through her reference letters and portfolio."

Zelas curiously took the portfolio and flipped through it. "Rather impressive," she commented, "If that's the case, then I don't see why not. What's her name again?"

"Lina Inverse."

"Lina Inverse? Hmm. . . .interesting. Coincidently, I think I may know her sister. Oh well, let her take the job and we'll see how it goes from there. Give her a team of people to work with if she wants. Supervise her as well. I think that's all for today. You may leave now."

Filia stood up to leave, her legs having a tingly sensational feeling from sitting in a rigid position for so long. As she got to the door, Zelas added, "But I hope you will learn to feel comfortable working here. Mazoku Records is really the only place that offers you such generous employee benefits."

"With all due respect, I much preferred working at Shinzoku Records," Filia replied softly. Zelas clapped her hands and leaned forwards.

"Ah, but Shinzoku Records no longer exists."

Filia remained silent, a bittersweet smile appearing on her face. Of course she remembered. She remembered when Shinzoku Records had been running into long-term financial difficulty, and they had all tried to stay together and keep the company alive. But it wasn't meant to be; corrupt directors were the cause of its downfall and stock shares pummeled like there was no tomorrow. And then, at this darkest moment, Zelas Metallium had offered to buy the company. For a moment, everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief and thought everything was going to return to normal. Yet it was only the beginning of chaos. Xelloss stepped in and with a single stroke, fired everyone. . . .'incompetent staff', as he called them. All her friends and family were suddenly thrown on to the streets and left with little compensation. The only one he left remaining was her. She thought it was rather strange, and suspected whether there was some sort of hidden motive for this. But perhaps the only 'motive' was that she was at the peak of her career and showed great promise as a manager. At one point she had tried to break free from Mazoku Records, but Zelas' power covered too much ground. No other record company was willing to take her on despite her excellent reputation, because they all feared that something sinister would happen if they took something that Zelas wanted. No, it was too risky.

And there was the issue of money. Zelas offered her four times the amount of money than when she had been working at Shinzoku Records. In a way, it would compensate for her family's unemployment, and she knew it was more generous than she deserved.

"No, it doesn't. Not anymore." And with that, she shut the door.

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". . . .and then I smacked him across the face and he went crashing on to the floor."

Amelia's eyes widened. "Lina-san, that's so violent of you, but. . . . . so just!"

Lina gave her a weird look. "I wasn't really thinking about the 'just' bit actually," she admitted, "more like. . . .perverts, DIE!"

"Who died?" a familiar voice came from behind. The girls turned around. "Good morning, Filia-san," Amelia greeted her as her manager pulled a chair to their table. "Lina-san was just telling me the most exciting story of how justice prevails in the face of overwhelming adversity!" She jumped on to the table and punched her fist into the air. Filia backed away a little, looking at Lina questioningly. But Lina waved her hand in dismissal. "It's nothing. She's just exaggerating as usual."

Amelia's eyes suddenly went very shiny. "Lina-san took down six punk guys by herself yesterday and didn't break a sweat! That's so brave and just!"

"I think I must be missing something here. How does that qualify as 'brave' and 'just'?! Lina-san, have you been fighting again?"

The redhead choked on her beverage. "What do you mean 'AGAIN'? Those perverts were the ones picking a fight. Anyway," she added, "I didn't take them all down. This weird guy came along and thought to play 'save the damsel in distress'."

"Oh, I see. That was quite nice of him. Amelia, please come back down from the table. People are watching."

"Plus, everyone's getting a really good view of what's under that miniskirt."

Rather red-faced, the dark haired girl jumped back down and straightened her skirt. At this moment, the food arrived in (rather shockingly, to Filia) huge multiple portions. "Hewh Amewia, *munch* are you gonna theat thwat?" Lina asked between mouthfuls, but before she got an answer, she swooped up Amelia's sandwich and stuffed in her mouth. Amelia didn't seem to mind, and acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary. Filia, on the other hand, looked at Lina-the-food-devouring-machine with disapproval whilst sipping her tea. After she had finished attacking her lunch and was patting her stomach, Filia took out a file of documents. "I spoke to one of the directors this morning about your portfolio. She's given permission for you to take this job."

"Really? That's great then?"

". . . .But of course, you will be under occasional supervision since we're investing quite a lot of money on Amelia's career. And you'll have a team from the marketing department to assist you whenever necessary."

"Sure."

"As for Amelia," the blonde woman turned to the girl and handed her a file. "This will be your debut song."

"Thank you Filia-san!"

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Author's note: I'm getting repetitive, but . . . .REVIEW! Or I'll make Gourry wear a tutu!!!!