Hoover City was a cosmopolitan city. It was one of the largest cities in the country.
For ordinary people, finding a person in Hoover City was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. But for Leonardo, it was different. He did not lack power and resources. If he wanted to find Summer, it would be a piece of cake.
She could not use a mobile phone or stay in the hotel, so she found an inn where an ID was not even required to check in. The place was dim, and the yellow bed sheet was probably white when it was new. The bathroom also had years of stain that had not been removed.
Without taking off her clothes, Summer lay on the bed. The room had virtually no sound insulation; she could hear people talking and cars passing by while honking outside. She could not sleep the first night after she left Leonardo. Whenever she tried to sleep, she would imagine Leonardo barging in with his men. So her mind was awake and her body was asleep until the next morning.
It felt more exhausting to sleep that way than not at all. What made matters worse was that there was no hot water in the bathroom. Summer braced the icy water to brush her teeth and wash her face. After packing up, she checked out of the inn.
She could not stay in the same place for too long. She knew what Leonardo was capable of.
Once she was out of the inn, she went to the bus station. There was a small town near the suburbs of Hoover City, and when Hoover City city expanded, the place had become a part of the city. However, the place lacked proper planning, and many things were unorganized.
There was a bus station near the inn where she had just stayed in. When she arrived the day before, she had checked it out; she could buy a bus ticket without having to show her ID.
Summer stood by the roadside, waiting for the traffic light. A hand patted her on the shoulder from behind all of a sudden, and a voice called out, “Summer?”
She froze, thinking that Leonardo had caught up to her.
The person went around to the front, her head tilting as she looked at Summer with a surprised look on her face. “It’s really you!”
Summer saw the face and recognized the person. She was startled. “Eliza, why are you here?”
Since Eliza left the mansion, Summer had contacted her once. It was their first time meeting since then.
It was a sensitive time right now, and Summer squinted, looking at Eliza for a few seconds. She then cautiously checked her surroundings. She reckoned that Eliza must have watched the news.
Seeing Summer’s cautious look, Eliza raised her chin and looked haughtily at her before she explained, “We are planning for a new drama series. I’m here to study the scenes.”
In a film crew, the producer had the most say and oversaw everything.
“If there’s nothing else, I have to go.” It was the worst time to bump into Eliza.
However, Eliza did not let her go. “Why don’t we find a place and sit down? Where is the script that you said you would send me?”
“I’m busy.” Summer rejected her request.
Eliza was silent. After a few seconds, she spoke again. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone of your whereabouts. I’m not a busybody.”
Summer thought for a moment and in the end, she nodded.
There were no proper coffee shops in the area, so they found a place selling milk tea. Eliza ordered two hot milk teas and pushed one of them to Summer.
“Thank you.” Summer took a sip with the straw.
Eliza carefully studied Summer for a few seconds. “I’m surprised; you don’t look like you’re on the run. Things happening in the Emerson family recently have caused quite a stir in the city. It all has to do with you.”
“You’re disappointed?” Summer looked at her.
“A bit. Let me see your script.” Eliza shrugged and smiled.
Summer switched on her laptop and turned it around to show Eliza. She wrote thrillers with a bit of romance thrown in the mix. Such a genre had a vast market in the country.
Eliza’s father was the chairman of a TV station, so she had been exposed to famous artists and directors from a young age. In addition, she had since developed a keen eye for good scripts. At first, she just casually browsed through the script. She then started reading from the first paragraph and got hooked, her eyes brightening up.
Summer knew Eliza was sold. She reached out to close the lid and took the laptop in front of her back.
Eliza got to her feet in excitement. “Come on, let me read a little more!”
Summer put her hand on the laptop and spoke with a calm expression. “I need money now. Make me an offer.”
Eliza raised her hand. “Five hundred thousand.”
Summer was just thinking out loud, never expecting Eliza to make an offer right away.
She remembered that Eliza had only mentioned she would help connect her to the right people previously. Eliza had teams of filming crew; by making Summer an offer here meant that she saw potential in Summer’s script and wanted the script for herself.
Business was business. Summer needed money now, but she still did not believe in the price that Eliza offered. After thinking for a while, Summer said, “Last price, one million and the right of authorship!”
“Your script is just good enough for a web series. One million? That’s too much!” Eliza saw potential in Summer’s script, but Summer was still a rookie. She would have to bear the risk if she bought the rights to the script.
Summer was firm. “You know my circumstances. I need money. Deal or no deal?”
Bargaining was part and parcel of business, although one million was nothing to Eliza. As long as she wanted it, she would pay for it. Eliza gritted her teeth and did not reply to Summer immediately.
Summer checked the time. She had a gut feeling that Leonardo would track her down soon, so she got to her feet.
“If it’s not a deal, I’m leaving now. As you know, Leonardo is looking for me.”
Eliza gritted her teeth. “All right, deal!”
Her expression made it look as if she could have gotten a better price, but at the same time, she did not want to pass on the script.
Summer smirked, then emailed the script to Eliza.
Taking out a bank card from her wallet, Eliza handed it to Summer. “Here is your one million. The password is 973210.”
Summer took it and put her laptop back into her backpack. “Don’t forget to send me the agreement.”
Without waiting for Eliza to respond, she carried her backpack on her back and headed for the exit.
At the doorway, she glanced back at Eliza, the corner of her mouth turning up. She had not given the whole script but just half to Eliza. The rights of authorship were important to a producer. They had an oral agreement, but if Eliza decided not to let her have the right of authorship later, she would have no recourse. It was better to be safe than sorry.