After a one-hour drive, they arrived at the restaurant.
When they saw the man across the room, Camille gasped, “Wow, he’s so handsome! Is he an actor? He’d blow up in no time if he was on screen.”
Sarah reached into her bag. Well, that was a waste of carrying pepper spray. She’d never thought she’d have to prepare for trouble from her sugar daddy.
It was a bit chilly that day. Holden was wearing a black trench coat, towering over the producer and investors, standing out with his striking presence.
Director Colby paused for a moment. He hadn’t expected the investor to have such connections-he actually knew Holden.
Holden was about to leave the restaurant when the investor, who had once been lucky enough to spot him at an event, wasn’t going to miss the chance to cozy up. Smiling from ear to ear, he rushed over to greet him.
The producer had never seen Holden in person before and had only heard about him. Now that he saw the situation, he quickly handed over his business card, and even Frank and Director Colby joined in.
Camille and Sarah, being small-time actors, didn’t dare to make a sound in front of the producer and investor. This wasn’t their chance to make connections.
The investor smiled brightly, “Mr. Holden, I saw you at a banquet six months ago. My name’s Lance. Do you remember?”
Holden didn’t remember him at all. He’d been to so many events, and this guy hadn’t even exchanged a word with him. There was no way he could recall.
But Holden’s natural politeness kept his tone warm. “Hello.”
He also accepted the producer’s and Director Colby’s business cards.
Lance was surprised at how approachable Holden was. Back then, Holden had been surrounded by powerful people, and he hadn’t even dared approach him to say hello.
“We’re going to have dinner now. Would you like to join us?” Lance asked, not really expecting much.
To his surprise, Holden actually agreed.
Director Colby quickly called the actors over to greet Holden. “This is Mr. Holden from the Smith Family Group.”
Camille had never heard of him before and had assumed he was an actor based on his looks and aura. But he turned out to be the big boss-the kind that even other bosses had to suck up to.
Celebrities often had to socialize when they weren’t acting, and they had to bow their heads when necessary. Otherwise, they risked being blacklisted for doing something wrong.
“Mr. Holden, nice to meet you! I’m Gavin.”
“Mr. Holden, I’m Camille. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Sarah was the least famous of them all-actually, she had no fame to speak of… well, except for a little bit, but it was all bad press. Ranking by seniority, she was obviously at the bottom.
But man, this was awkward.
In her previous world, as a small-time actress like Sarah, she’d only dare refuse sketchy deals behind closed doors. But when it came to bosses and investors who didn’t have any bad intentions, she’d always be polite and navigate those situations easily.
Now, staring at Holden right in front of her, she and he were locked in a bit of a stare-off.
Holden chuckled softly and extended his hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Sarah didn’t say a word, just lightly shook his fingertips.
Lance and the producer quickly flocked around Holden, leading him to the private dining room.
Camille sighed with awe, “Wow, pretty girls really do get special treatment. He never shakes hands with anyone, but he did it for you!”
Sarah shrugged, “Uh…”
Camille continued, “But hey, if he’s that powerful, how come I’ve never seen him in the news? Sarah, who do you think is more powerful, this Mr. Holden or the Mr. Ronald who’s backing Elisa?”
Sarah hesitated. “Well… Both.”
One was a shark, and the other was a sea monster. They both had their territories.
With Holden around, and since he’d shown just enough interest in Sarah, even Lance wasn’t dumb enough to try anything inappropriate in front of him. All the usual shenanigans for the dinner-like feeding drinks mouth-to-mouth or sitting on someone’s lap-never happened.
Holden was known for his gentlemanly demeanor, and Lance didn’t want to come off as a creep in front of him. He even hesitated to ask the two pretty actresses to serve drinks, keeping the conversation strictly business while throwing in a little flattery on the side.
Holden had been at the top for so long that he was used to people sucking up to him. His expression never changed, staying as calm and detached as ever.
Camille breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Sarah, “Thank goodness Mr. Holden is here, or we’d definitely have been groped by now. Looks like that spray you brought won’t be needed after all. Did I tell you? Last time at a banquet, Lance made the most disgusting jokes.”
The two women whispered to each other, and Holden gave Sarah a cold glance before looking out the door.
Sarah, “…”
Three minutes later, Sarah headed to the bathroom.
Holden stood up right after.
Everyone present was sharp enough to pretend they hadn’t noticed anything.
Camille was stunned and thought: No way! That super handsome, big-time boss isn’t going to make a move on my friend, is he?
Sarah splashed her face with warm water and applied a layer of moisturizer. The weather had been so dry, that she spent ages on skincare every night after returning to the hotel.
Suddenly, the bathroom door opened.
Holden smiled, “Networking’s part of your job too?”
It had been warm in the private room, so Sarah had taken off her coat when she walked in. She was wearing a beige sweater and a long white skirt, her straight black hair draped over her shoulders. Compared to the last time they met, she looked even thinner.
Sarah replied, “Of course. An actor’s job isn’t just filming. The more people you know, the more likely you are to land your next role.”
Sure, you’d run into a few bad apples, but if you used your wits, you could handle it.
“Getting opportunities is easy,” Holden said, pinching her cheek. “Why don’t you come to me for help?”
Sarah’s eyes lit up instantly. “Mr. Holden, are you offering to help me out?”
Holden replied, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. If you want something, you have to pay the price.”
Sarah sighed, “I figured.”
When it came to making deals with capitalists, you were always the one getting the short end of the stick.
Holden was sharp-he’d probably want to sign some kind of profit-sharing deal or agreement, and if Sarah lost, she’d be stuck working for him forever.
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “I don’t need anyone’s help. I can make it on my own.”
Holden’s eyes flickered with interest, and he looked at her, his large hand resting on her head as he gave it a playful rub.
Sarah, full of annoyance, muttered, “My hair…”
In the dry winter air, static was already a problem, and after Holden messed with her hair, it became a tangled mess.
She quickly looked at herself in the mirror. “It’s ruined.”
Grabbing a comb, she sprayed a little hair mist and spent quite a while fixing it in front of the mirror.
After Holden left, Sarah took her time reflecting on what he had just said.
Sarah wasn’t naive. In her previous world, with her looks and figure, she had plenty of people wanting to “make a move” on her. Holden’s words echoed things she had heard before. In their industry, the path downward was always more frequent than the climb upward.
“This is my number,” someone had once said.
“If you ever need resources, come to me.”
“Sarah, you know what to trade for to get what you want, right?”
Those words were eerily similar to what Holden had just said. But Sarah didn’t think Holden meant it that way.
The reason was simple: Sarah was self-aware, she knew she was pretty. But she didn’t believe everyone would fawn over her just because of her looks.
The world had far more interesting things to offer. And Holden, a guy of his stature, didn’t seem like the type to get lost in lust over a pretty face.
Definitely not.
Plus, how many times had she and Holden been alone together? If he had wanted to do something, he would’ve shown his intentions long ago. Why would he use vague hints to strike a deal?
So far, Sarah had never seen any sign of uncontrolled desire in Holden’s eyes.
Her impression of Holden was deeper than the Atlantic.
After stalling a bit longer, Sarah eventually returned to the table.
They had only been gone for maybe fifteen minutes. Not enough time to do anything, really.
The others at the table might’ve had some thoughts about what went on, but realizing it was too short for anything serious, they pushed those ideas aside.
Camille leaned in and whispered to Sarah, “You think Mr. Holden was trying to make a move on you?”