The bright night Gala had become a night of success for Emma once again. Emma had destroyed Global’s plans to keep her down. On top of that, at the ceremony, a newcomer like her, who shouldn’t have received much notice, ended up leaving a lasting impression on everyone thanks to Eric’s kind words to her and her own calm demeanor.
Among the people who had taken notice of her were leading professionals in the fashion industry, including the CEO of Star H, who had given her an offer previously, only to be turned down. Emma Miller was a model star age had tried to poach multiple times. She had been blacklisted by Star King three years ago and had just announced she was making a comeback. She had been stifled many times throughout her career, yet she had still managed to get where she was with poise. She had even been fortunate enough to get to take a photo with the CEO of Kaleidoscope Entertainment.
With all this in mind, the CEO of Star Age approached Nathan after the ceremony and said, “I’ve been trying to poach Emma for three years now, but she’s never accepted my offers. But now that I see how Global has been treating her, I feel like I need to try again.”
Nathan looked at the tall, well-built, and powerful man before him. He was about to reply that Emma’s contract was his company’s concern and no one else’s, but then he started thinking about all the years Emma had been with Global. She had not only been loyal to him but had also missed many opportunities because of him. Nathan’s mouse twitched a little, but no words came out. The man continued, “When I make my move, just don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
Nathan remained silent. He knew the man before him was a far more capable CEO than he was, but his mind was a mess because he never before considered that Emma might leave Global. It turned out that all along, he’d been too focused on himself. On one side, he was cheating with Amber, and on the other, he was hanging on to Emma. He’d never realized that Emma was a gem and that her tolerance, her honesty, all that she’d given to him would someday be gone.
“Nathan, don’t tell me you’re feeling merciful all of a sudden,” Mia exclaimed, noticing her brother was being unusually silent.
“No way,” he replied stubbornly, wrapping his arm around Amber. However, the fear he held deep in his heart was slowly seeping out. It was a bright night indeed. Lights were flashing all through the venue, and wine glasses were clinking as the guests began to mingle.
At that moment, the distance between Emma and Nathan was no longer as simple as a few rows of seats. As Emma and George mingled with the other guests, George was speaking highly of Emma to all the fashion executives they met and recommending they work with her. After one such conversation, he turned to her and asked, “Is your manager here tonight? I’d love to meet him. We got along really well during our conversations.”
Emma was dumbfounded for a moment. As she glanced around the hall for Eric, she spotted him clinking wine glasses with a group of celebrities. Their eyes met, and he looked at her caringly. He seemed to be asking her, “What’s wrong?” The couple understood each other’s thoughts even from across the room. Emma shook her head slightly, as if to say, “Nothing, I just wanted to know where you were.” Eric’s lips curved into an attractive smile before he turned back and continued his conversation with the man beside him.
Emma turned her attention back to George and replied, “He’s overseas right now. I’ll have to introduce you to him next time.”
“Okay, I look forward to it,” he said. He’s not overseas; he’s right here, Emma thought. But she knew that if she told anyone the CEO of Kaleidoscope Entertainment was her manager, they would never believe her.
Mia and the others sat in a corner, watching Emma chat with the other guests. They had tried to mingle themselves, but no matter who they spoke to, as soon as they said they were from Global Pictures, people would give them that look that said, “So it’s you, the fools who tried to suppress your own artist.” Seeing all the attention Emma had received at the event, they were filled with regret at their failed plan.
The Davis siblings had become too ashamed to walk around anymore and sat down at a table in the corner. But this meant that Amber was missing out on the opportunity to make friends. She freed herself from under Nathan’s arm and looked at him. “I need to go to the bathroom,” she said. She and Mark had been sending messages to each other with their eyes for a while. “Go ahead,” Nathan said. He didn’t question the woman who slept by his side at all.
Amber stood up and walked across the room. As she passed Mark, she deliberately brushed the back of her hand against his. Then the two of them entered the women’s bathroom one after another. A few moments later, some heavy breathing could be heard coming from behind the bathroom door.
During their moment of passion, Amber set her price. “After the award season is over, I want to leave Global and join Creative Century,” she said. She knew men were most vulnerable at times like this. “Sure,” Mark replied from behind her. “But are you sure you won’t miss your little boyfriend?” “It’s always been just a stepping stone for me,” she said. He laughed. “You sure are ruthless.”
The two of them spent half an hour in the bathroom before tidying themselves up and walking out. Nathan and Mia had found a few guests to talk to, so they didn’t notice Amber’s absence. Seeing this, Amber decided not to rush back to them and just sat to the side by herself, observing everything that was happening in the venue.
“After the gala is over, Emma’s fame will keep rising,” Amber thought. “But in the end, she still doesn’t have any big awards. Even if Star Age is determined to get her, I’ll be signing on with Creative Century, so I’ll be at a bigger agency than hers, with more resources for me to use. And when the time comes, I’ll make sure Emma experiences the pain of being stepped on and humiliated.”
Seeing Amber sitting by herself, Mia got up, wine glass in hand, and walked over to her. “You don’t seem to be the low-profile type,” she said, sounding a little surprised. “What’s on your mind?” “Emma’s already got all the attention. Do you think I can compete with her now?” Amber laughed coldly. “I’ve already contacted the paparazzi and organized a free headline for her.”
“I’m curious how Eric will react once he sees the article,” Mia replied. She gently swirled the wine glass in her hand and fixed her gaze on Emma. Mia had failed to realize that the reason Eric managed to keep such a low profile was because he had connections with people who worked in the entertainment news industry.
So not long after Mia made her phone call, Luke received a recording of it from one of the news agency’s staff members. The staff member asked Luke what to do about it since it involved Emma. He didn’t dare make the decision on his own, so he quickly walked over to Eric and whispered in his ear.
Eric was quiet for a few seconds, then he apologized to the guests around him and headed into an empty waiting room with Luke. Luke took out his phone and played him the recording.
“Hello, I’m Emma Miller at the Bright Night Gala. I took an intimate photo with the CEO of Kaleidoscope Entertainment. I want you to hype it up for me with an ambitious headline. I want to be the main story on the front cover, no matter how much it costs.”
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