Chapter 396 Goodbye, Demoness
Veronica could be herself around Larry. Even though it had been years since they last met, she still felt as close to him as ever.
“Why did you put on that makeup though? I wouldn’t have recognized you if it weren’t for your voice and that slip.” He knew she was a great makeup artist when they first met. It had been years since they saw each other though, so he never thought that the beautiful blonde would be her.
She lowered her head and stirred her coffee. Her eyes glinted, and she lied, “I might have gotten rusty. It’s been a while since I did any makeup, and I was bored, so…”
“Mia told me you’re her assistant. Is that true?” She was a smart woman back in their school days, and she had a lot of business ideas. He thought she would be a businesswoman when she grew up, but he never thought she would be the assistant of a no-name model. He thought it was a shame, but he could never tell her that, so he suggested, “Wanna work for me? My assistant is shit. We can’t get along. I wanna hire someone else.”
“As if!” She knew what he was getting at, so she said, “I mean, money doesn’t grow on trees, so I started working for a modeling agency. The boss wanted me to take care of Mia and see the world, so here I am.”
“I knew it. You already resold phones back in junior high. I knew you’d never settle for a model’s assistant’s job.”
The mention of her past made him shake his head, but he was smiling. He knew about her past thanks to Hendrey. She started wholesaling cheap phones in the no-name phone market and resold them to her classmates in her junior year. They could not pay her the full amount at one go, so she provided instalments and charged interest on it. She was ahead of her time back then.
“Oh, stop teasing me. Look at me. I have to work as a model’s assistant. Life is bad enough for me,” she mocked herself.
Just then, a waiter came in and handed them menus. They made their orders and kept chatting. In between, Mia would not stop calling her, so Veronica blocked her. It would be a disturbance otherwise.
“You’re successful both back home and overseas. Are you going to expand your career in Destor or work your way up Horrywoodo?” Veronica asked as she dug in her meal.
“Not sure. I’ll see where fate takes me. But I can help you if you want to try this industry out, Demoness.”
“Oh, you mean the entertainment industry?”
She frowned and imagined working in the entertainment industry. It was a little tempting, but… “Forget it. It takes skills to be an actor, and I’m just a civilian. I can’t get into the industry that easily. I’d rather do my own stuff. It feels better that way.” Her esports company was just getting on track, and she could not hand over her wedding planner company to Matthew. On top of that, she just started working for a modeling agency. She would have to terminate her contract with Sean if she decided to work as an actor, which meant that she would have to pay for damages. She did not want that.
“Yeah. It’s better to do something you like. To a carefree life!”
They raised a toast to each other and downed their drinks.
She put her glass down, and Larry got up to refill it. Her phone rang, and this time, it was a familiar number. It was from Matthew. She did not write out his name in her contacts just to keep his identity a secret. “Sorry. I gotta take this call.” She took her phone and walked out of the room. Veronica only took that call after closing the door. “It’s late. You’re still up?”
“I can’t sleep. I miss you.”
It was a familiar voice, though a bit too gentle. She thought it was sweet and mushy at the same time. “Um… Why don’t you act like yourself? I can’t get used to you being so mushy.”
She was used to his aloof behavior, but he spoiled her and would only speak to her gently ever since they started dating. It felt jarring to her.
“You’ll have to get used to it,” he said, but this time, he sounded stiff.
“Yep. That’s the Matthew I know.” She wanted him to act this way. This was the man she knew.
He chuckled. “You dummy.”
She chuckled as well.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Me? Um… I’m having lunch with Mia,” she lied. Larry was an award-winning actor, so she had to keep this a secret. Also, if Matthew found out she ran into Larry and had lunch with him, it would cause a misunderstanding. He was a jealous man, and his envy could cause disasters. If he really found out that she was having lunch with Larry, he might come to Castron and have so much sex with her, she would be bedridden for three days. I gotta lie to stay safe.
“When are you going back to the hotel?”
“Not sure. Just get some sleep. You don’t have to wait for me. I’ll call you in the morning.”
It was really late in Destor, and she did not want her to stay up for him.
“Okay.”
“Good night. Bye.” She hung up.
Larry noticed her beaming when she came back. He teased, “Well, someone’s in love.”
Veronica stopped for a moment. Is it that obvious? “Not technically.” She was planning on telling him after they went public.
They sat around for a while after lunch, and Larry took her back to the hotel.
She got out of the car and was about to say goodbye, but he got out as well. He was a public figure, so Larry was wearing a mask and cap even though he was overseas. He went up to Veronica and said, “I have an ad shooting in the afternoon, Demoness, so I can’t stay. I have to go to my next job after tomorrow’s show, so I might not have the time to say goodbye.”
“Wow, you’re busy.” She sighed. “It’s not easy being an award-winning actor, huh? You fly a lot.” She shrugged. “Well, good luck on the show tomorrow.” It would be a big show, and there would be a lot of crew members working backstage. It would not be easy to find him among the crowd. Besides, he was a famous actor. Going out of his way to say hi to her would look weird.
“I’m really sorry.” He sighed. “But now I have your number, so let’s meet the next time I’m home.”
“Sure.”
“Cool.” He opened his arms and arched his eyebrow. The guy wanted a goodbye hug.
She was clear that he had a busy schedule. They had no idea when they would see each other next, so she hugged him. “Do your best, Crazy. I hope I can see you on The Christmas Show next year.”
