Justin stared at Matthew shockingly. In this private room, those sitting at the table were all friends. For all these years, Matthew remained cold and indifferent to anything, particularly women.
As such, they even thought privately that he was probably a monk in his previous life.
Even though there used to be a rumor between Shermaine and him, they were aware that Matthew treated her like how he treated every woman.
They usually wouldn’t pry into his relationship with any woman. Nonetheless, since Jeremy brought it up, they couldn’t help but glance at him shockingly.
As Justin wanted to say something, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
He only recalled now that he promised to meet someone.
As soon as Ryler came in, he saw several prominent figures in the private room apart from Justin.
Besides, Henry, who was Ryler’s boss in the production company, was also present. He waved at him and said, “Come here, Ryler, they are…”
Ryler came into the room and greeted them one by one. At the same time, their eyes lit up as Clarissa followed Ryler into the room.
Henry glanced at him and asked, “Is she your assistant?”
“No, she isn’t. Director Yates, this is Clarissa Quigley. She’s my friend and your fan. When she knew that I would be meeting you, she was so excited and wanted to come along to meet her idol. Clare, this is Director Yates.”
Clarissa never expected to meet this bunch of people even though she was only here for dinner. Nonetheless, her mood wasn’t affected because all she cared about now was her idol.
“How are you, Director Yates. I love your movies and your scripts. Can… can I get your autograph?”
Since a beautiful girl with sparkling eyes made the request, Justin certainly wouldn’t refuse.
She excitedly handed over her notebook and pen to him. In fact, she always brought these items whenever she went and could finally make good use of them now.
The rest of them couldn’t help but chuckle because she looked rather cute when fangirling over Justin. Also, because she was gorgeous, they certainly wished to know her better.
Before this, Ryler thought that they had to leave right after greeting Justin and his friends. He didn’t expect Henry to ask for two extra chairs for Clarissa and him to stay in the room.
After that, Henry couldn’t help but ask her smilingly, “Ms. Quigley, are you interested in venturing into showbiz? Judging by your good looks, you can be Ryler’s junior and will become a star soon.”
Clarissa behaved meekly and shyly. Also, she grasped the notebook with Justin’s signature on it like a precious item while ignoring Matthew’s gaze.
She shook her head and replied, “Mr. Jackson, part of my career is actually related to showbiz because I’m a screenwriter now. However, because I only love writing stories, I’ve never thought about going to the front stage.”
“Oh? A screenwriter?”
Ryler explained, “Clare is the screenwriter of the original version of “The World”, which Shermaine and I are filming now.”
“I’ve heard about it before. Your social media account name is @clarissa.quigley, right? You’re now a popular writer! Besides, I only realized today that you’re actually a young and beautiful girl! I mean, you’re pretty and smart!”
Once Justin heard her background, he glanced at her and added, “Ms. Quigley, I’ve read “Princess” that you wrote, and I like it very much.”
“Oh?”
She was surprised to hear that the great director Justin would read her book. Moreover, “Princess” was one of her early works, and so her writing wasn’t as mature as now.
After listening to the compliments, she couldn’t help but flush. “Director Yates, ‘Princess’ was one of my early works, and so it probably didn’t meet the standards of a good novel.”
“Although there is still room for improvement for this novel, your conception is wonderful. In fact, I’m thinking about discussing with you to turn it into a movie because I’m planning to direct a martial art movie.”
“Oh?”
Clarissa was even more surprised now. As she opened her eyes wide, she looked a little dumbfounded but cute.
Meanwhile, Ryler was happy for her and gave her a poke. With that, she tried to compose herself but became nervous instead.
“Director Yates, I can give the film rights of “Princess” to you. Please feel free to make any amendments you want, and I won’t have any objections.”
“Hahaha… you’re gifting it to me? Well, I’m not used to taking advantage of someone. Anyway, we can talk about it next time because this place is not suitable for any proper negotiation.”
“Sure! I’ll agree to any conditions you propose!”
“Hehe… Since Ms. Quigley admires Justin so much, I should have introduced you to him sooner.”
Once Jeremy finished, those who began to like Clarissa turned around and stared at him shockingly.
Justin also asked, “Jeremy, do you know Ms. Quigley?”
“I know her, of course…” Jeremy smiled subtly as he spoke.
Since Jeremy was always surrounded by ladies, they thought that Clarissa was probably one of his exes.
After noticing his mysterious smile, Clarissa immediately explained, “I’ve met Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Matthew a few times.”
“Uncle?”
Clarissa deliberately let out a laugh and added, “Yes, Uncle Jeremy. I didn’t expect that you still remember me.”
Actually, Jeremy didn’t mind that she called him “uncle”. Nonetheless, Matthew had been wearing a cold expression and fell silent ever since she came in.
Jeremy glanced at Matthew and said, “Huh? Oh yes, the last time I met Ms. Quigley was when you were with Uncle Matthew. Am I right?”
Clarissa was startled by his response. Jeremy must have deliberately said so.
She forced a smile and answered, “Yes, it hasn’t been a long time since Ellie and I met Uncle Matthew.”
“So, you’re Ellie’s friend? No wonder you know Matthew.”
At this moment, everyone at the table somehow stopped harboring any inappropriate thoughts towards her.
Given that she was a friend of Ryler and Ellie, they had to refrain from treating her with disrespect.
On the other hand, Justin didn’t really care if Clarissa was a friend to Ellie or anyone else in the room. Instead, he seemed to get even more interested in talking to her because of her book that he liked.
When both of them engaged in conversation, the rest at the table could sense that Matthew looked increasingly colder. Perhaps only Jeremy was aware of what was actually happening.
Jeremy had always enjoyed being an onlooker, after all. It was particularly true now because Jeremy could finally get the dirt on someone with a dull life after all this while. Since he finally found an avenue to tease Matthew, he would never let go of such a golden opportunity!
The next moment, he smilingly interrupted Justin and Clarissa, “Ms. Quigley, I remember you saying that you have a boyfriend during the last time we met. Would Ryler happen to be the lucky man?”
Clarissa gnashed her teeth while the rest, particularly Ryler, were startled.
Besides, Matthew seemed to be staring at her and nervously waiting for her answer.
Clarissa put on a wry smile and gazed at Jeremy. “Uncle Jeremy, I never told you that I have a boyfriend. How did you know about this then?”
“Really? You didn’t say it? But if my memory serves me right, you admitted it before.”
“Hehe… you must have remembered it wrong. Since you’ve to meet so many ladies every day, I’m afraid that you might have mistaken me for someone else.”
“How is it possible? I won’t mistake you for someone else because you’re so beautiful. Besides, how can I forget someone who calls me “uncle”? Matt, uncles like us care a lot about the younger ones. Am I right?”
Matthew wore a cold expression for quite some time. At this time, he finally shifted his gaze toward Clarissa after Jeremy finished.
His eyes looked piercingly sharp as if he could see through her soul.
Clarissa was a little afraid upon seeing his eyes. In fact, ever since they knew each other, she felt that his cold eyes were like sharp knives that could pry open anyone before him.
She immediately avoided his gaze and lowered her head as she couldn’t take it.
Meanwhile, everyone in the room felt a little curious due to her reaction.
When they still weren’t sure about what hidden message Jeremy wanted to deliver, Jeremy suddenly laughed.
“Ms. Quigley, you haven’t answered my question yet.”
She couldn’t help but feel annoyed by Jeremy’s harassment. Even though she purposely glanced at him with vexation, he still put on a casual smile and didn’t intend to let her go.
As she couldn’t stand the interrogation, she murmured, “You obviously know the answer.”
Once Clarissa finished, she stood up and said, “Director Yates, bosses, uncles, I’m sorry. We’ve to get going because it’s getting late now. Director Yates, please feel free to talk to me if you have any requests about the story. Here’s my number, and you can call me anytime. See you!”
As soon as she bid them farewell, Ryler followed suit and left.
After they left, Henry suddenly spoke up as his interest had been aroused, “Jeremy, why do I feel that there is something between you and Clarissa? Besides, what did she mean when she said that you obviously know the answer? Was it some romantic hint between you two? In that case, would it be that you two…”
“Hold it right there!”
Jeremy immediately put a stop to their wild imagination. “Stop it, guys. She really is a friend of Ellie and calls me “uncle”.
“Is that true? I mean, as long as you are fond of a woman, you wouldn’t care less if she was someone else’s friend.”
“That might be true to a certain extent. However, I dare not to do it because she apparently has another uncle.”
“Which uncle? What do you mean?”
When Jeremy glanced at Matthew, everyone followed his gaze.
Justin furrowed his brows for a while. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
“Matthew, you…”
“Hahahaha…”
Jeremy said smilingly, “Matt, did you two have a quarrel?”
“Damn! Matthew, you cradle robber! Don’t you feel embarrassed?”
Justin’s response was more dramatic than the rest as he scolded him loudly. Apart from the fact that Clarissa was Ellie’s friend, he treated her like his junior because he thought highly of her.
As such, he could hardly accept it when he realized that she was Matthew’s girlfriend.
In fact, the news wasn’t only shocking to Justin but to everyone in the room.
Now, they were lost for words.
After a while, Matthew glanced at Justin and said sternly, “Do you have a problem with that?”
Justin chickened out. “Matthew, you are shameless.”
When the rest laughed teasingly, he added, “But you have good taste.”
“Of course! Justin, you should know Clarissa isn’t someone you can mess with because even Matt has lost control of himself in front of her. All of you have to be mindful and don’t let anyone bully her. However, we won’t interfere if Matt bullies her. Hahaha…”
The rest laughed and chimed in. Meanwhile, Matthew also didn’t deny Jeremy’s claim that Clarissa was his girlfriend.
