“Put that phone away, or I’m taking it,” Director Colby said, waving his hand to rush Sarah to her feet. “Come on, come on, it’s your turn.”
When the daytime shoot wrapped up, Sarah had no scenes left for the evening, so she headed home early.
Holden, who had been splashed with wine earlier, still wasn’t in a great mood, even after changing into fresh clothes. But at least Sarah coming home added a bit of interest to his otherwise dull day.
Sarah couldn’t understand why Holden always seemed so disinterested in life. It was as if nothing in the world mattered to him.
Maybe it was because he’d been born into wealth and power, and the things other people chased meant nothing to someone who already had it all. With so much under his control, there wasn’t much left to capture his attention.
The one thing Sarah was grateful for? Holden wasn’t some kind of sociopath or villain. If he wanted to be the bad guy, no one would stand a chance.
And yet-Sarah glanced up at him-she couldn’t help but like Holden. A lot. Or rather, only Holden.
When Butler Ted saw Sarah, he let out a small sigh of relief and quietly slipped away.
“How’s the shoot going?” Holden asked, swirling the ice in his glass of whiskey. The amber liquid shimmered against the crystal, and his tone was as indifferent as ever. “When will you be done?”
Sarah, holding her glass of cold milk, answered obediently. “It’ll be a few more months before we wrap. I’ve been doing really well-Director Colby even complimented my acting.”
It wasn’t until recently that Sarah learned Holden had invested over a billion into the project. Director Colby kept increasing the budget, always finding ways to squeeze more money from the investors. And as the biggest backer, Holden’s influence on the film was greater than the director’s.
Art films hadn’t been doing well at the box office in recent years. Even some of the biggest directors had lost their shirts over poorly performing projects. But since most of those films had modest budgets-just a few million here and there-the losses weren’t catastrophic.
Colby’s film, however, was in a league of its own.
With such a big-budget movie and so much money invested, both Sarah and Director Colby were unsure if they could even break even.
When this investor questioned her, Sarah felt a little guilty. “Don’t worry, Boss, I’ll do my best to make you a ton of money…”
Well, if she couldn’t make any money, at least don’t kill her…
Holden reached out and tapped her forehead.
He wasn’t really concerned about the profits; that amount of money was nothing to him. What he wanted to know was if anyone was bullying her on set. If she was having trouble, he could have Butler Ted back her up.
But honestly, he didn’t care that much. It was mainly Butler Ted who was worried because of their close relationship.
But now that Sarah had offered up her weakness, how could Holden not take advantage of it? After all, he wasn’t exactly a nice guy.
He held his drink to her lips and made her take a sip of whiskey.
Sarah still wasn’t used to hard liquor; she coughed and turned red, refusing to try again. “No way, I can’t get drunk.”
Holden casually replied, “Oh?”
Sarah was afraid of letting something slip if she got drunk. Like confessing her feelings or something. Sometimes, she thought Holden might actually love her. But then she wondered if she was just being narcissistic, mistaking her own fantasies for reality.
Plus, Holden was so hard to read. Sometimes she couldn’t even figure out which version of him was in charge. He could be a good guy or a bad guy.
What if she accidentally said the wrong thing and ended up tossed out of his place in the middle of the night? She’d be a rich man’s castaway!
Once she started drinking, Sarah had a hard time holding her liquor. She felt herself swaying as she walked upstairs.
“I’ve got to shoot tomorrow,” she mumbled, just as she misstepped on the stairs and stumbled down.
But instead of hitting the ground, she fell into a solid embrace.
Holden slowly released her. “Be careful.”
******
The next day, Sarah had lighter scenes, mostly supporting roles, so it was a bit easier for her. She had already memorized her lines and was just waiting for her shot.
While she was reading in the makeup room, she heard voices coming from outside.
“Is that for real?” That voice was familiar; it belonged to Diana, the actress playing the female lead’s mother.
“Of course it’s real! If she and the director aren’t involved, why would they give her those two roles?”
Another voice chimed in, a bit unfamiliar to Sarah; it was Pandora, who played the female lead’s best friend.
Pandora laughed enviously as she continued, “With The Mysterious Family doing so well at the box office, her market value shot up. If she wins a mainstream award thanks to this, Sarah’s status in the industry will be solid.”
“You have a point. Who would’ve thought? She seems so straightforward, but turns out she’s like this,” Diana replied.
“Isn’t this kind of thing common? She blew up so quickly and had so many resources. She must have some serious skills and connections; I wonder how many guys she’s slept with to get where she is. I know Elisa; she’s really nice, but because she looks a bit like Sarah, she’s been totally overshadowed.”
“With all those guys, she might have some diseases. Let’s just stay away from her.”
“…”
Sarah couldn’t help but smirk at that.
Honestly, all that gossip wasn’t anything new for her. There were a ton of people who liked to spread rumors behind her back. It was just rare for her to actually hear them.
Soon enough, a staff member called the two actresses over for their scenes, and they headed off.
After another hour or so, it was finally Sarah’s turn. This time, they did a continuous shot, and as usual, there were no issues.
Director Colby couldn’t have been happier with Sarah’s performance. Just a little while ago, Pandora and Diana had to do five or six takes to get it right, but with Sarah, everything went smoothly, and she didn’t hold up the entire crew’s progress. That definitely lifted Director Colby’s mood.
Diana, who was a bit older since she was playing the mother, seemed warm and friendly. She had a little fame in her youth but wasn’t very relevant now-definitely not the type to spread nasty rumors.
Pandora was a familiar face in the industry, with a decent following, but she wasn’t exactly a big name and struggled a bit with business opportunities.
After Sarah finished, both women came over to chat, smiling.
Diana even handed her a cup of coffee. “The new talent in the industry is really impressive. Your acting is fantastic; no wonder Director Colby keeps praising you.”
Pandora pulled out her phone. “Sarah, I followed you on Twitter. Could you follow me back?”
Recently, Sarah had been getting a lot of attention online, and her reputation was solid. Pandora wanted to engage with her on Twitter to gain some new followers.
Sarah replied coolly, “I don’t drink coffee, and I didn’t bring my phone.”
The smiles from Pandora and Diana froze. They couldn’t figure out why, since just a couple of days ago, Sarah had been pretty nice to them, laughing and chatting after their scenes. Now, she suddenly seemed icy.
“And another thing-” Sarah called over to Director Colby, who walked over, puzzled. “What’s going on?”
Sarah looked at the two women with a mocking expression. “I’m in this project not because I slept with Director Colby, but because I have the talent. I haven’t held up the crew at all, got it?”
“If you’re so curious about this, why not just ask me directly? I’d respect that. But putting on a front while talking behind my back? You think I’m blind? You know what happens to people who spread rumors?”