Director Beck frowned, “The role calls for beauty. Who are we supposed to cast, someone ugly?”
“That’s not what I mean,” the assistant director hesitated. “I’m just saying, she’s way prettier than the female lead. Won’t that upset our star?”
Director Beck sneered. He was a big name in the industry, and this wasn’t a TV drama-he wouldn’t let actors dictate his choices. He had decided on this unknown actress, and that was final.
Sarah hadn’t been out for long when she got a call saying she had passed the audition and they wanted to discuss the contract with her. This wouldn’t have happened without Merry’s aunt’s recommendation, so that evening, Sarah treated Merry and her aunt to dinner.
Alice didn’t know Sarah had already passed the audition. She hadn’t expected the results to come out so soon. Watching the two young girls in front of her, Alice felt genuinely happy. She had never married or had kids, so she enjoyed being around young people.
Alice tried to comfort Sarah in advance, “Sarah, Director Beck is a household name, and it’s really tough to get into one of his films. He cut over a hundred people this time. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t make it-I can help you find other opportunities. You don’t have to act to become a star.”
Sarah took a bite of her ice cream and said, “The results are already in.” She showed Alice the message.
Alice was surprised, especially since the message came directly from Director Beck She had been in the industry long enough to know how hard it was to get into his crew.
When Alice went to the restroom, she called Director Beck to find out what was going on. She was worried that someone in the crew had taken advantage of Sarah’s looks to pull her into some shady business.
As soon as the call connected, Director Beck spoke up, “Alice, where did you find this unknown beauty? Has she really never acted before? I looked her up and couldn’t find any of her work. For someone with no experience to have such strong acting skills, she’s got real talent. If you have more connections like this, make sure to send them my way.”
Alice was totally confused, especially after hearing Director Beck gush over Sarah’s acting and delivery, claiming that her interpretation of the character was flawless. He said it would make filming much easier since he wouldn’t have to spend too much time coaching her.
Alice hung up the phone, still bewildered.
A little while later, Director Beck sent over the video of Sarah’s audition from earlier that day.
After watching it, Alice fell silent.
Alice had always thought Sarah was just a pretty face. She never imagined that Sarah not only had a beautiful appearance but also acted far better than most of the actors in her own company.
Alice stepped out and asked Sarah if she’d be interested in signing with her company.
Sarah hesitated for a moment but then shook her head.
When she was younger and more naive, she had signed up with a company to earn money for her father’s medical bills. But when the higher-up tried to make her his mistress and she refused, he blacklisted her, leaving her with no roles to take. She ended up with a lot of debt before finally getting out of her contract.
Since then, Sarah had handled her own acting gigs without any agency’s help.
Of course, without anyone backing her, she remained relatively unknown. Even though she had the looks and talent, she was still far from being a top-tier actress.
But the income was enough for Sarah. It was easier than the typical 9-to-5 job with frequent overtime.
She viewed it as a well-paying job and didn’t want to chase after anything more.
That was her mindset even now.
She was just preparing for the day when she and Holden would inevitably divorce, ensuring she had a stable source of income. She didn’t want to end up like in the original story-falling into poverty after the divorce, with no career to call her own, and constantly being bullied by the male and female leads.
Alice felt a bit disappointed but didn’t push Sarah any further.
As the three of them left the restaurant and reached the parking lot, they overheard a couple arguing.
“Ronald, I’m so disappointed in you!” a girl’s heartbroken voice rang out. “How could you do this behind my back?”
“I’ve already told you it was a misunderstanding, Elisa. Stop being unreasonable, okay?” Ronald sounded frustrated. “I was drunk that night, which is why I ended up sleeping with that woman at the club.”
Elisa’s eyes were red from crying. “She clearly seduced you! Why won’t you let me hit her?”
“My friends were all there. If you hit her, I’d lose face,” Ronald replied, his tone turning irritated. “If it were Sarah, she’d definitely be able to put up with this.”
Sarah, “…”
Seriously, dude, can you not drag me into this?
I’m not here to pick up trash. I don’t want the cast-offs.
Sarah couldn’t help but think the world was really messed up.
Out of the millions of people in City N and the tens of thousands of parking lots, she had the misfortune of constantly running into the main characters wherever she went. No wonder she was the book’s designated “most villainous crush.”
Elisa’s voice grew even more heartbroken. “So, what you’re saying is that I’m not as good as Sarah? Fine, I’ll just leave then!”
“Leave?” Ronald scoffed, as he had just heard the biggest joke. “Everything you’re wearing, everything you use, I paid for. Even your job was given to you by me.”
“Ronald, do you think I can’t live without you? I’m going to find a job right now!” With that, Elisa turned and ran off.
Sarah covered her eyes with her hand.
Yep, “CEO’s Ultimate Pampering” was indeed a melodramatic soap opera disguised as a sweet romance novel. Scenes like this, where the leads had dramatic arguments, happened more times than she could count. And the heroine’s big declarations of independence had happened just as many times.
In the book, most of the fights between Ronald and Elisa were because of Sarah, who would stir things up, turning small disagreements into big arguments, causing them to fight repeatedly while Sarah reaped the benefits.
What Sarah didn’t expect was that even though she had distanced herself from this crazy couple, they would still find reasons to argue. And somehow, she’d always end up witnessing it.
At this moment, Merry was already itching to act, her love-struck brain kicking into overdrive. “Sarah, Elisa and Ronald are fighting again! This is your perfect chance to get close to Ronald. If you comfort him now, you two will definitely get back together.”
Sarah glanced at Merry. “No way. I’m a married woman.”
Alice patted Merry on the shoulder. “Sweetie, let’s be smart about this. A guy like that isn’t worth it for a beautiful woman like Sarah.”
Ronald was too caught up in his “How dare you defy me” anger to notice the three of them.
Sarah opened the car door and got in.
The black Maserati quickly disappeared into the night.
Back at home, Sarah discussed the contract with the production team that had contacted her and decided to sign it. After finishing the discussion, she realized it was getting late, so she went to her room to take a shower.
Holden walked in from outside.
Butler Ted, as usual, took his car keys and folder. “Lady has already returned for the day.”
In just a few days, Butler Ted had noticed that Mr. Holden didn’t seem to dislike Sarah as much as before.
Holden was always a man of contradictions. In their circle, if someone were entirely open and straightforward, they’d have been picked clean long ago. Though Holden had been outwardly kind and gentle with Sarah, Butler Ted could tell he didn’t like her and even had a lot of disdain and irritation.
Last night, when Butler Ted returned home and found the house eerily quiet, he feared Holden might be drinking alone in the wine cellar again, so he rushed over to check.
But to his surprise, he found Holden and Sarah curled up together on the couch. Holden was holding Sarah like she was some childhood toy.
After he sobered up, Holden didn’t say much and simply carried Sarah to his room.
Of course, Butler Ted wasn’t about to jump to the conclusion that Holden liked Sarah just because of that. For all he knew, Holden thought Sarah was cute, like an amusing little pet. That was probably the most likely scenario since Holden didn’t seem like the type to actually like someone.
Holden had been bored out of his mind these days. Sarah’s presence had certainly spiced things up a bit.
As he was about to head upstairs to his room, he suddenly noticed a phone on the couch light up.
It was clearly Sarah’s phone.
He walked over and saw some messages pop up.
Ronald: [I fought with Elisa again.]
Ronald: [Sarah, I still think you’re the best. You’re so understanding, not like Elisa with her constant drama.]
Ronald: [What are you up to right now?]