The director could only nod, “Of course, there won’t be any problem.”
What else could he say? This was the biggest goddamn investor of his movie.
The director wanted to invite Cody to walk the red carpet with them. The case where producers and investors walk the carpet was rare. But not none. However, Cody decided to leave the car before they could reach the place.
So, he only needed a ride?
The director regretted not taking the chance to get familiar with him. Soon, it was the turn of the Smoke crew. Thea was wearing a tight-cut purple dress. Its tail draped elegantly on the carpet, rippling in her wake. She looked like a mermaid with her perfect curves.
Dylan took a step forward and let Thea circle his arm. They looked perfect before the cameras.
“A lesson from your senior,” Dylan said in a low voice, his eyes still looking forward, “Don’t blink, or they will get it on photos. Trust me. These bastards won’t mind posting them.”
Thea looked up at him and laughed.
“What are you laughing at?” Dylan looked down at her, teasing.
“Thank you, senior. I learned so much. It’s lucky for me to walk the red carpet with you,” Thea beamed.
“The honor is all mine,” Dylan grinned.
“Daisy! They’re smiling at each other! Get that on camera! Hurry!” Zara urged, “They look so cute when they stand together.”
At the end of the carpet, however, a man’s face was not full of smiles as everyone else did.
What the heck was happening? This was just a walk. Did they have to stand so close? And why did Thea Todd learn to flirt with other men? Right in front of his face?!
Cody resisted the urge to dash forward and make sure they kept the proper social distance.
Calm down. Don’t be a baby. Cody blew a breath out of his cheeks.
But he couldn’t calm down as long as Thea was still holding another man’s arm and smiling at him. He thus decided not to look.
Smoke was a huge success. The movie was selected for the final round by the panel without hesitation. Thea was so excited. Cody’s heart was tortured the whole process. On the big screen, the killer, played by Dylan, and the autistic girl, played by Thea, were kissing each other deeply. Off the screen, Thea and Dylan were sitting next to each other, occasionally exchanging a sweet smile. Cody wanted to throw up. He felt someone just pick his heart out, sizzling it on a pan.
What the heck was wrong with him? Cody couldn’t focus on the movie.
He soon stood up from his seat and left the hall. Behind him, huge applause broke among the audience for the success of the movie. Now that Smoke had entered the final round. They still needed to wait for days before the final result was out.
And that just gave Thea more reasons to interact with Dylan. Cody didn’t like that at all. So he decided to separate them.
****
The next morning, he showed up in Thea’s suite, “Have you fully woken up, Thea? I need to take you somewhere.”
“Where?” Thea asked curiously.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, right? Cody said cockily.
Thea smiled and decided to leave with her Boss. She didn’t have a schedule to follow anyway.
After they left, Dylan showed up as well.
He wanted to ask Thea out for lunch. After hearing Cody had taken Thea away, a smile showed up on his face.
So Cody finally started to get jealous? That’s cute.
****
Cody took Thea to an alteration. The clerk brought out at least 5 dresses for her to try on. All of them cost at least 5 or 6 digits. Thea swallowed.
Holy shit…
What was Cody doing? Did he finally decide to be her sugar daddy? Just as those internet rumors said?
“You’re a celebrity. You need something to wear when it comes to formal occasions. I know you don’t have the budget at the beginning of your career. So I decided to purchase these for you. But you don’t need to feel any pressure. Because you can pay me off by making big money for the company,” Cody explained, “So just take whatever you want. I will pay for them.”
Oh… Cody was doing charity.
No, investment was the right term. Thea didn’t know why, but her shoulders slouched a bit.
However, beautiful new dresses always tended to cheer a girl up. She stood before the mirror, letting the clerks fit her in all those fancy fabrics. She tried not to think about the price.
She tried them on one by one and went out to show Cody since he was the one who invested. Cody seemed satisfied as he sat back on the couch and tasted his champagne. There was a faint smirk on his handsome face, making Thea blush.
After trying the last one on, it was time to make a pick. Thea consulted her Boss, asking which ones he thought she should pick.
“Wrap all of them up,” Cody waved his hand.
Thea’s jaw dropped to the floor. She would never be able to understand these rich people.
However, before they could leave, the designer of the brand suddenly showed up and stopped them, asking if Thea would like to be his model during tomorrow’s show.
It turned out the designer had been in the shop the whole time. He accidentally saw Thea try one of his new designs on, and he thought it suited her really well. He thus decided to ask Thea to be his model.
This brand was a big deal in the fashion circle. Getting an opportunity like this was valuable for a newbie like Thea. But she had never walked any runways before. She looked at Cody silently, waiting for his advice.
“It’s a great opportunity. I don’t see why you shouldn’t take it,” Boss smiled.
The designer sent his representative to discuss the contract with Zara in the hotel.
On the next day, Thea was driven to the show early in the morning. She was so nervous backstage. She had done anything like this before, and she was always clumsy with her limbs. Or she wouldn’t be so bad at dancing.
No one knew Thea Todd was also a model of the show until the moment she showed up on stage. All her fellow actors and actresses were surprised when they saw her.
Some of them really tried to work with the brand, but they didn’t get the opportunity, and that made some of them pull a face the whole time during the show.
“Isn’t that Thea Todd?”
“Oh, my god. She looks stunning.”
“Hurry! Get her on camera. We will get so many viewers after we post this!”
Thea didn’t know how many journalists had put her photos online. The photos where she wore the beautiful black dress during the international fashion week were everywhere on the internet.