Lillian approached Evelyn to discuss positioning and where she should look for the camera. Evelyn said she had no issues.
Even though it was just a campus promo, everyone felt a bit on edge-it was for their alma mater, after all. No one wanted to make a mess of it and damage the school’s reputation, especially with Conrad lounging nearby, complete with a massive sun umbrella shading him, all for his little “darling.”
No one dared correct anything. They just hoped Evelyn had at least some talent, so they could call it a day without much fuss.
The film school had no shortage of pretty faces, and Evelyn’s standout feature was her expressive eyes. Aside from that, her nose, mouth, and face shape were pretty average-a face that looked striking at first glance, but under closer inspection, had a touch of artificial charm.
When they saw Lillian, though, everything made sense. Evelyn was like a knockoff version of Lillian.
“Well, the sponsor brought her along, so we’ll just have to make it work,” they muttered, resigned.
But Evelyn clearly had no formal acting experience; every time they tried to capture a shot, she’d freeze up, and her voice was so soft that the mics couldn’t even pick it up.
Almost as soon as they started, Lillian had to call “Cut!” again and again. Evelyn, feeling hurt, shot a look over to where Conrad was seated.
“Let’s take a break,” Lillian finally said, deciding that it was probably hopeless to expect Evelyn to suddenly find her groove.
Fuming, Evelyn stomped over to sit by Conrad, while Janet, her self-proclaimed “spokesperson,” jumped in. “Mr. Conrad, that Lillian is clearly out to make things hard for Evelyn. What do you think about that?”
Conrad barely lifted his gaze, “I asked you to look after Evelyn, not to gossip.”
Janet’s face dropped, and though she wanted to snap back, she was too intimidated.
Evelyn quickly pulled her aside, forcing herself to smile despite the bitterness she felt. “I know it’s really my fault, Conrad. I’ll just try to learn more from Lillian.”
Just then, Ford leaned down to Conrad with yet another call from the Pink family. Ever since Alice had replaced Lillian and waited for him in bed that day, Conrad had forbidden her from being around him. She was only allowed to handle business matters at the company’s secretary’s office, basically cut off from his personal life. Naturally, Alice’s family, the Pink family had started to worry.
However, Conrad still had some use for them, so he got up to take the call.
As soon as he left, Janet started grumbling again, “Lillian’s definitely got it out for you, Evelyn. I’ll find a way to teach her a lesson!”
Meanwhile, Lillian was brainstorming ways to frame shots that included Evelyn without putting all the focus on her, perhaps by using group scenes.
Right then, the coffees Evelyn had ordered for everyone arrived.
Janet immediately told Conrad’s bodyguards to hand them out. The guards didn’t budge, so she shot them a glare and then announced, “Hey! Go on and grab some coffee, everyone!”
But the crew, unimpressed by her attitude, went back to their tasks, uninterested in her offerings.
Ignoring this, Janet grabbed her special, custom-ordered coffee and sauntered over to Lillian, who was busy sketching out the next shots.
“Director Lillian~” she called out sweetly.
Lillian looked up just in time for the scalding coffee to fly straight at her. Luckily, she instinctively raised her notebook and papers, soaking them instead, though her hand took the brunt of the heat, leaving it numb and stinging.
“What the hell are you doing?” one of her classmates yelled, rushing over as the other students gathered around Lillian.
“Lillian! Are you okay?” her friends fussed, while another friend angrily shoved Janet.
“It was an accident!” Janet put on an innocent face. “Lillian, you’re not hurt, right-ouch!!” she shrieked as Lillian splashed her with a cup of coffee.
“Lillian, what the hell is wrong with you?!” Janet shouted, holding her face in shock.
“It was an ‘accident,’ so what are you barking about?” Lillian shot back calmly.
One of Lillian’s friends quickly jumped in, “Lillian, there’s a sink nearby. Go rinse off!”
Janet, annoyed that everyone was fussing over Lillian and ignoring her, scurried off to find bottled water to wash up-no way was she using tap water.
The cool water soothed Lillian’s hand, but her vision blurred for a moment. She tipped her head back, blinking away the tears. Memories came flooding back-she remembered once, as a kid, she’d burned herself being silly at home. Her dad had been so worried; he scolded everyone, applied ointment, and carried her to the doctor himself.
But now, there was no one left who cared enough to worry about her like that.
“Are you about to cry?” a familiar voice asked.
Lillian looked up, surprised to see Gordon, who she hadn’t seen in ages. It was early autumn, and he wore a thin trench coat, looking like he’d just stepped out of a celebrity airport photo.
“Nope, the wind just got in my eyes,” she replied.
“Right, sure. You’re definitely about to cry,” he said, leaning closer to notice her reddened hand. “What happened to your hand? Who did this?”
“It’s nothing,” Lillian brushed it off, knowing she’d need to rinse her hand for at least half an hour or the skin might start peeling.
“This isn’t ‘nothing.’ Get in the car. I’m taking you to the hospital,” he insisted.
“No need, I’ve got to stay here for the shoot,” she argued. As the director, she couldn’t just leave without notice.
Gordon glanced over at the crew and then noticed who was on the other side. “Conrad’s here too? And he just watched you like this?”
Lillian hadn’t even noticed if Conrad was around. “I’ve got nothing to do with him anymore,” she replied quietly.
Gordon clicked his tongue. “I’d really rather stay out of your mess, you know? Trouble just follows you. But I’m a nice guy.”
Before Lillian could react, he scooped her up and dropped her into the passenger seat of his red sports car.
“Hey! I’ve got people waiting for me back there!” she protested.
“And you don’t care about your hand? The hospital’s close by. If you don’t want scars, keep quiet,” he shot back, shutting down any further arguments.
At the hospital, he leaned on the steering wheel and asked, “Need me to carry you to the ER, or can you handle it?”
“I’ve got my own legs, thanks,” Lillian replied with a sigh, getting out of the car. Luckily, her quick thinking to rinse her hand had helped, and the doctor prescribed some medication.
Gordon, who’d been leaning nearby, piped up, “Doctor, she’s a young girl who cares about her looks. Will it leave a scar?”
“It shouldn’t, as long as she takes care of it. Keep the dressing clean and change it regularly. If it starts to itch as it heals, just bear with it,” the doctor replied.
“I’ll grab the meds. Don’t wander off,” Gordon told her, heading to the pharmacy.
Outside, Lillian checked her phone and saw a message from Jack.
[Where are you?]
[At the hospital.]
[Don’t worry about coming back right away. I’ll handle the shooting, and you can take care of the editing later. Just get your hand sorted out first.]
Lillian sighed in relief. She had to admit, no matter how much she tried to ignore it, seeing Conrad with another woman still made it hard to breathe.
When Gordon returned with the medicine, he stopped in front of her and asked, “Heartbroken over that guy?”
“I am not!” she shot back defensively.
“Yeah, sure. Stop pretending. Hey, I’ve got nothing on this afternoon. Want to go do something fun?” Gordon offered, taking a seat next to her.
She thought about it. She definitely didn’t want to go back and see Evelyn and Conrad together. “What do you have in mind?”
“Stick with me, and you’ll have a blast. Come on!”