“Let’s see what happens after the magazine’s released,” Emma replied calmly. She stood up to leave, but Amber stopped her.
“Emma, I know you don’t want to see me step all over you, but I’m gonna make you see that you have no other choice.”
Hearing Amber speak so confidently about her made Emma sneer. She turned around to leave, but before she began walking away without turning back to look at them, she said, “This trip has been wasted on me listening to your insults. Since you’re feeling so impatient, you can leave first.”
“You have no business being here anymore,” Nathan said as he lifted his eyebrow.
“My pleasure,” Emma said, striding to the door. Lisa and Ashley got up and followed her out. Nathan and Amber assumed that Emma had taken a huge blow from their engagement announcement and was trying to avoid them. They were glad she was leaving. After the release of that week’s Secret magazine, Emma would no longer pose a threat to them, and Nathan would have her in the palm of his hands. Amber felt she no longer needed to worry about Emma; she had so many other competitors to focus on. There was no point wasting any of her energy on one has-been model.
Nathan, Amber, and Mia remained at the table after Emma left. Leaning back in her chair, Mia said, “We can’t let her leave unnoticed. Nathan, release an article about it, something like ‘Emma returns home after failing miserably, flees from her lost battle in Mexico.’”
“Don’t worry, I know what to do,” Nathan replied, putting his arm around Amber. The entire situation was ridiculous. A management agency willing to trample on its own talent like this clearly didn’t deserve to have any artists at all. But behind Emma’s back, they were plotting away.
Meanwhile, Emma held her head high as she returned to the hotel. She was not afraid at all. Outside the hotel, Linda’s assistant was waiting to escort Emma, Lisa, and Ashley to Secret’s headquarters for a meeting. Once they arrived in Linda’s office, Linda pulled out a document and handed it to Emma.
“The photographer and I have passed the highlights from your shoot onto a few big brands,” she said. “After seeing your photos, they’ve expressed an interest in you. Among them was a famous French makeup brand. They want to make you their spokesperson for the North American region. Basically, they want you to debut their products in Secret magazine and bring them into the American market.”
Emma looked at the information in her hands. Seeing the name of the brand, Isn, her eyes lit up. Isn was a well-known French makeup brand that had been around for over a hundred years. They had never opened up the American market before. What a pleasant surprise, Emma thought. She looked up at Linda.
“Do you really have that much faith in me?”
“You and I both know in our hearts that you can do this, Emma,” Linda smiled, betraying her admiration. “You’re friendly and calm nature. I’ve never seen you act arrogant or impatient. You were born to be a model and will someday become a supermodel. I believe in my judgment, and I believe in you.”
Hearing all this, Lisa started applauding. She was so happy she wanted to scream. Amber’s never going to believe this, she thought. Well, she’s been plotting to destroy Emma’s reputation and force her to take cheap deals. Emma’s just become the new spokesperson for Isn. Who knows what Amber will do when she finds out?
Linda continued, “The day after tomorrow, I’ll arrange for you to have a secret meeting with Isn to go over the details of your collaboration. We’ll talk more then.”
“Thank you, Linda,” Emma said, standing up to shake her hand.
“No need to thank me. I’m not just helping you; we’re helping each other,” she stood up and hugged Emma warmly. She was glad she hadn’t been fooled by Mia’s lies, or she would have missed out on working with such an outstanding model. She was also glad she didn’t let a moment of pride destroy this opportunity to revive Secret magazine.
Emma smiled as she took the documents into her bag and left the office. As they walked out to the car, Ashley looked at Emma from behind and felt a sense of admiration for her. She knew Emma had been through a lot, but because of her hard work, she was finally getting what she deserved. Lisa was ecstatic.
“Let’s open some champagne to celebrate once we get home,” she said, revealing a childlike smile. “When Nathan and Amber hear about this, they’re going to explode!”
“Emma, does this mean we won’t be returning to New York right away?” Ashley asked.
“I guess so,” Emma replied. “Mia is going to be disappointed. She probably already prepared a news article to make a fuss about me returning home. But I have a feeling Amber’s going to be happy about this. Now she’ll be able to humiliate me to my face some more. Emma can see right through them,” Ashley thought. She smiled and said, “In that case, I’ll give them a call to tell them we’re not leaving yet. Then we’ll wait for the arrival of the new issue together.”
Emma nodded. “Ashley, can you find out more information about Isn for me and run some background checks on their executives? I want to make sure everything about them is flawless.”
“Your choices are never wrong,” Ashley said. “But I’ll let you know what I find.”
Despite everything else that was going on, Emma felt her relationship with Ashley was getting better each day. As a result, she was beginning to trust Ashley more and more. On the other hand, though Lisa was capable, Emma felt she was better off as an assistant because of her immature attitude.
In the car, Emma couldn’t get comfortable and kept changing her position. Seeing this, Lisa raised an eyebrow. “Are you a little sore?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Emma said innocently. “And are your legs tired?”
Emma lifted her head and looked at her. She could see that Lisa was teasing her. “Mrs. Roberts, why are you blushing?” Lisa smiled.
Emma was thinking about the intimate scene from the previous night—Eric’s sexy body, his gentle strength, his deep and charming voice, and his magical hands. In the short span of an afternoon, she’d already started to miss him.
“Since we have the next two days off,” Lisa said, “you should go keep your husband company.”
Emma didn’t need to be persuaded. “I will,” she said, her cheeks growing even redder.
Meanwhile, Nathan’s face was glowing red with rage. He had just received the news from Ashley that Emma wasn’t returning to New York yet. He had already prepared the article and contacted the media, but apparently, Emma had decided to stay in Mexico for a little longer. Amber gave him a hug.
“Nathan, this is a good thing. We can all wait for the release of the magazine here. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she fails miserably. Anyway, she’s already suffering enough right now. We’ll have many more opportunities to step on her in the future. I wanted to get back at her for you,” he cried.
“I know your intentions, and that’s enough for now. After all, we’re about to be engaged,” she responded sweetly. After she comforted him, Nathan calmed down. If Emma wants to stay and disgrace herself, then she has no one else to blame for the consequences, he thought.
However, while Nathan and Amber were enjoying each other’s company, Emma was secretly meeting with Isn to discuss the offer. Both parties were in agreement, and the details were finalized quickly.
“There’s no way Global’s higher-ups could say no to a contract like this,” Emma thought as she signed the deal. “It won’t be long until I make the ultimate comeback.”
