“She knew I wanted to be her manager, so she blackmailed me with the offer she got from Creative Century and Star Age. If I continued my plans to become her manager, she’ll cancel her contract with Global Pictures,” Mia said to Nathan in a cold voice as she looked out at Emma.
“Nathan, this was her way of telling us that we should be careful how we treat her and grateful she’s even staying at Global. She has no shame, no loyalty.”
Nathan raged, “I’ve never hated an artist so much. I want to tear her into a million pieces. Go talk to her. I doubt this is her only request,” Mia snarled. She’d never thought, as a successful manager, that she’d end up having to deal with someone so devious and impossible.
Nathan looked over at Emma and motioned for her to meet him in the Green Room. Emma, along with Lisa, headed backstage. Lisa eyed Nathan cautiously as the three of them gathered in the middle of the room. “What do you want?” Nathan asked.
“Give Ashley her freedom, Emma said, “or she and I will both leave Global Pictures.”
“Fine, I’ll let Ashley go, but you can’t leave,” Nathan said coldly. The room was silent for a moment before he continued, “How badly do you hate me that you’d put all this effort into scheming and planning just to force me and Amber to this point? My sister wanted to be your manager so she could support you. I never would have thought you’d use your contract to threaten this company like this.”
Emma’s voice was calm yet powerful as she replied, “It’s always been the same with you, Nathan. Your sister and Amber can do no wrong in your eyes, so I’m the bad guy for retaliating with my so-called sinister schemes. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I will never initiate an attack, but I will react if someone comes after me. Oh, and by the way, why haven’t we seen Amber lately? Did you think I would risk her coming here and getting hurt?”
“Well, I don’t know about her getting hurt, but I do know you should keep your eye on her. Don’t tell me you really don’t know what kind of person she is. The cutoff for the top 10 model Awards is tomorrow. How far do you think she’d go to get what she wants?”
Nathan was stunned for a moment, but he remained stubborn as he replied, “She’s not calculating like you. Look at what you’ve come to, stabbing me in the back and betraying my sister who’s always treated you like family. No, Amber might be a bit careless, but she’ll never be ruthless like you’ve been.”
“Really?” Emma asked, her tone and raised eyebrow clearly showing her skepticism and disdain. She turned around and left the room, Lisa following behind her. A few moments later, Mia entered the room to question Nathan. “What does she want?”
“She’ll stay, but only if we release Ashley,” Nathan said.
“Nathan, she’s received offers from so many other big companies. She must have a bigger end game in mind if she’s choosing to stay at Global. Emma obviously wants to destroy her family. She hates you so much. I refuse to accept there’s nothing we can do about it,” Mia tightened her grip on the stem of the wine glass in her hand, as if she was imagining ringing Emma’s neck.
“What’s our next move?” Nathan said, feeling powerless.
“I think it’s time I get in touch with Mom,” Mia replied. As the wife of a famous director, their mother was well connected across the entertainment industry. They would have to see if she had any ideas on how to defend against Emma’s scheming.
Amber was lying in a large, luxurious bed, wrapped in the arms of a man.
He reassured her, “My precious, you don’t need to worry. Go home and wait for the good news. The top 10 model award is pretty much guaranteed.” She smiled as she pushed the bed sheets off and got up. While she was getting dressed, she asked Mark, “You don’t mind that I recorded a video for insurance, right? After all, you and I both know nothing in this industry is guaranteed. I need to make sure all my bases are covered.”
“What? You recorded us?” he sputtered in shock.
“Oh, there’s nothing to worry about. As long as I get my award, I’ll destroy the file, and no one will ever know. Now, I think I’ll take your advice and go home and wait for the good news,” she said. Mark’s face twitched as his mind raced, faced with the prospect of finally suffering some consequences for his careless actions. There was nothing more he could think to say. In the end, all he could do was watch as Amber left.
Amber walked out of the main lobby of the hotel and into the car Gary had arranged for her. Luckily for her, it was the middle of the night, so no one was around to notice her leaving. “Amber, should we go to the hospital for a checkup?” Gary asked, glancing over at her with concern.
“No, I’m fine,” she said, shaking her head. From her time with Nathan, she had plenty of experience keeping a man happy in bed while making sure to keep herself comfortable and safe too. “Just hurry up and get me home. I don’t want Nathan to suspect anything.”
“Amber, you’re giving up too much for this,” Gary said. “How else can I go up against Emma?” she looked out the window, her face full of hatred and disgust. “This industry tries to look so bright and glamorous, but it just eats people up and spits them out. How could anyone get through all this and keep going?” She had no idea that things were about to get even worse and all her efforts to get the award would soon be wasted. She was falling right into Emma’s trap.
After Emma finished talking to Ashley on the phone, she turned around and looked at Eric, who was sitting on the couch. All her contract offers were laid out on the table; he had personally looked through each one, no matter how big or small they were. Her heart ached as she sat by his side. “Eric, stop looking at them. Leave all this for Lisa to handle. I’m fine with Lisa looking at the contracts, but how can we be sure she’ll be able to spot the best ones?”
Eric wrapped his arms around her and asked, “Has the issue with Ashley been taken care of?”
“Global released her completely, canceled her contract, and let her go,” Emma said, nodding. “Eric, I want you to get some rest. Put the contracts down. Do you think I’d do this for just anyone?”
Emma continued, “It may seem like a small issue to you, but anything to do with you is important to me. In that case, at least let me give you a massage.” She stood up and walked round behind the couch, then leaned in to start massaging his back and shoulders. “I’m sure Global has figured out by now that they can’t hold on to you, but Mia definitely won’t let you go so easily. So while judging is going on for the Model Awards, I’ll help you keep track of what they’re doing, and I’ll look over all these offers again.”
“Hey, how many other people’s contracts have you checked over the years?” Emma asked, a slight smile on her face. It had never really crossed her mind before. “Do you really want to know?” Eric responded.
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