Sophia skipped work for three days and accumulated a backlog of work. As soon as she returned to the company, she had to attend a meeting.
Alexander’s action of renting all the huge digital screens in the city of Jadeborough to wish Sophia a happy birthday became a good example of a public display of affection. Some netizens even made jokes about the incident.
As one of the people involved, Sophia was obviously happy about it. Apart from that, she did not have other opinions.
After all, earning money is the top priority for people nowadays.
Naturally, following Alexander’s high-profile move, rumors circulated among the public, and everyone was wondering if the two of them would remarry each other.
As the rumors spread like wildfire, people fabricated the fact that they were already married and were preparing to hold a banquet to celebrate their reconciliation.
Samuel was so close to taking the rumors seriously. If he hadn’t risked getting beaten up by Alexander and phoned the latter for confirmation, he would’ve already prepared a wedding gift for the couple.
When he found out it was nothing more than a baseless rumor, he immediately rebuked the person who had asked him about it. Only then did the rumors stop.
The rumors eventually reached Sophia’s ears.
Katherine had been part of the entertainment industry for decades and had some connections. She was also acquaintances with a few of Jadeborough’s socialites.
It went without saying that she knew the rumor was fake the moment she heard it. However, she could not suppress her curiosity upon meeting Sophia when the latter came to Specter Entertainment for a meeting. “Soph, are you and Alexander going to remarry?”
Sophia, sitting on the couch, looked at her with a half-smile. “Are you and Joshua preparing to get married?”
Katherine replied sheepishly, “I’m not the only one curious about this. The rumor has been circulating all over the entertainment industry lately.”
Sophia arched an eyebrow when she heard that. “And you believe it?”
“No. I was just curious, that’s all.”
Sophia huffed a laugh in exasperation. “There’s an idiom that goes ‘curiosity killed the cat.’ Have you ever heard of it?”
Katherine tilted her head to look at Sophia’s beautiful features. Although the latter had mesmerizing looks, Katherine could sense a hint of a dangerous aura surrounding her.
How scary.
“Fine. I won’t ask again.”
Sophia responded with a snort. She then threw the script in her hand onto the table. “This script is terrible.”
Subsequently, she looked at the manager that was sitting beside her. “Who recommended this script to you?”
The manager felt guilty under Sophia’s gaze. “A screenwriter friend gave it to me.”
The corners of Sophia’s lips curved into a sarcastic smile. “Oh. That friend of yours isn’t talented enough in terms of screenwriting.”
The manager nodded vigorously. He was unsure whether Sophia knew about the things he did behind her back, but her pretty eyes and the half smile she was wearing made him so anxious that he was sweating buckets.
Sophia noticed his anxiousness and did not comment too much on it. “Okay. Go do what you have to do.”
The manager quickly got up and hurried out of the office, relieved to get out of there.
Katherine was in awe as she watched the scene unfold. “Amazing! Jacob keeps recommending this script to me. It’s like he doesn’t understand a word I’m saying!”
Sophia glanced at her and smiled. “I’m pretty sure he spent his own money to buy this script.”
Katherine nodded in understanding. “No wonder! This script was eliminated last week during the voting, but he kept pushing me to read it. He even asked Jonice to make me read it. But after skimming through it, I still think it’s terrible!”
Katherine had been in the film industry for many years and could tell whether a script was good enough to become a famous movie. She had a much more keen eye than Sophia in this.
The characters in the script that Jacob recommended were a mess, and though the plot was decent, it was old-fashioned and lacked uniqueness.
Katherine had acted in a movie with a similar script when she just debuted. She did not expect to see a similar plotline after ten years.
Tragicomedy shows were currently famous in the industry, so it would be practically impossible for romantic shows to become a hit unless they had a new and refreshing plot.
Jacob had even boasted that an award-winning screenwriter wrote the script. Katherine had begun to suspect her own judgment when she heard that, so she showed Sophia the script since the latter happened to drop by.
To Katherine’s surprise, just one look from Sophia was enough to make Jacob shrink away in fear.
Katherine grew increasingly infuriated as she continued talking about the matter, so much so that she almost lost it and went to ask Jacob what was the deal with the script. At that moment, Jonice knocked on the door and reminded the duo that the meeting would commence soon.
Sophia took a sip of coffee and asked, “How about you go teach him a lesson before we start the meeting?”
“Never mind. Let’s go to the meeting instead.”
Katherine was afraid that she might lose her temper and end up firing Jacob.
It had been some time since Sophia and Katherine last had lunch together. When the meeting ended, it happened to be lunchtime, so they decided to head to a newly-opened seafood restaurant that had a good reputation.
Sophia did not drive that day, so she and Katherine borrowed Jonice’s car.
The restaurant was not far away and was easy to locate.
The atmosphere of the restaurant was great, and it was worth the price range.
When they entered, the place was already abuzz with customers, but the tables were well-separated, and there were even small semi-enclosed booths that were perfect for celebrities like Katherine, who had to keep a low profile, to dine there.
Katherine had asked Jonice to make a reservation before they came. A waiter brought them to a quiet and more secluded booth.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had seafood!”
Katherine browsed through the menu. She wanted to order everything since all the food in the photos looked delicious.
Sophia took a sip of lemonade. “It’s on me. Order whatever you like.”
“Really?”
Sophia stared at her. “Would you like to pay instead?”
“No way. Why would I fight for the bill with a wealthy person? Won’t I be insulting you if I do that?”
She then looked down at the menu before tapping on the tablet at the side of the table, shamelessly ordering a lobster and a king crab.
Sophia had gotten used to it. It was not as if she could not afford a meal worth that was worth thousands.
Katherine also ordered various side dishes aside from the main courses. She had a surprisingly big appetite despite her petite figure.
“I don’t think we can…” said Katherine sheepishly.
In actuality, she only asked that question out of politeness.
As the two chatted, a waiter led a couple to the table next to theirs.
Katherine turned and was about to summon the waiter and order some fruit juice when she saw someone familiar at the neighboring table.
It was none other than Sharon, the woman Katherine and Sophia were talking about the night before.
Katherine scoffed in amusement. “Soph, look at the next table.”
Sophia looked at Katherine and noticed the strange look on her face. She then turned to look at where Katherine was looking.
Upon seeing the two people sitting at the neighboring table, she was taken aback.
Sharon, who seemed to have noticed the duo’s eyes boring into her, turned and froze when she saw Katherine and Sophia.
Sophia averted her gaze calmly and said to Katherine, “Do you know that man?”
Katherine shook her head. However, that did not hinder her from ridiculing Sharon. “Last month when she attended a talk show, she said she liked handsome men. Look at her boyfriend now. He’s not that handsome.”
Sophia smiled. “Indeed.”
While speaking, she stole another glance at the man and confirmed her guess. Subsequently, she told Katherine leisurely, “I know him. He’s Hanson Gallagher, the second heir of New Aploth Properties.”
She paused briefly before continuing, “He just got married last year.”
Katherine couldn’t help gasping when she heard that. “Oh my goodness! Is she his mistress then?”
“I’m not sure.”
Sophia was not close with Sharon. The only interaction she had with Sharon was during the shoot for the show last month.
As someone in the entertainment industry, Katherine immediately understood something. “D*mn. And yet she still had the audacity to ridicule you on Twitter!”
She was irritated, but Sophia remained unfazed. Smiling, the latter said, “Just let her be.”
After all, no matter how much trouble Sharon caused, she would not be able to escape Midway Media’s control.
