Chapter 155: Chapter 155: “You Are My Responsibility.

Nina Walsh didn’t say whether she believed her or not, but her look was filled with suspicion when she glanced at Rachel Ford.

“Why are you in such a hurry to assume I’m talking about you? I didn’t say anything specific,” Nina said.

Rachel Ford was so furious she could have screamed. Nina hadn’t said it outright, but her eyes made her meaning perfectly clear.

“I’ve never met a rich girl so stingy, anyway…” she muttered under her breath.

She had no idea that her words had hit a nerve with Nina, causing the latter’s expression to turn horribly sour.

Jessie Sterling had no idea that sending a red envelope could trigger such a butterfly effect, all the way to Nina Walsh.

Besides the *Glory* script that was about to start filming, she was also preparing a romance anime spin-off project.

As a direct result, when Victor Morgan came to pick Jessie up from work for dinner that evening, Jessie was quite distracted.

Victor ordered a small piece of cake, pushed it in front of Jessie, and asked casually, “Running into trouble at work?”

He suddenly felt a twinge of regret for buying Apex Films for Jessie. He originally wanted her to just have fun with the company, but he hadn’t expected its affairs to occupy her mind so completely that she was absentminded even during dinner.

Jessie shook her head. “It’s going relatively smoothly.”

“Then why the long face?”

Jessie looked up at Victor and sighed. “The pressure is just immense.”

Victor: “???”

“It feels like I have so much to do, like it’ll never end.” Jessie rested her chin on the back of her hands on the table. They were in a private room, so no one besides Victor would see her being so lazy.

Victor: “Then take it slow.”

Jessie: “How do you ever finish your work?”

Victor’s movements paused. When he looked at Jessie again, his eyes held a hint of amusement.

After asking the question, Jessie realized how silly it sounded.

Victor’s workload was obviously much greater than hers. If she felt her work was endless, his must be even more so. The man could fly to two or three cities in a single day—he was practically living on a plane.

Victor didn’t laugh at her. “Work is never-ending. As long as you haven’t completely set down your responsibilities, new tasks will always appear. There’s no need to be anxious. Simply completing the tasks for each stage is a success in itself. Work isn’t the most important thing in your life, so don’t let it affect the rest of your life.”

Jessie: “So, is work the most important thing in your life?”

Victor thought for a moment. “It used to be.”

“Hm?”

“Now, you are.”

Jessie, who had been lazily and ungracefully slumped over the table, instinctively sat up straight when she heard that.

’What’s with him!’

’When did I even ask about that?’ Jessie thought. ’I wasn’t trying to compare myself to his work. Why does he always have to break the rules?’

“Work is important, too. It’s my responsibility, after all,” Victor said. “But you’re my top priority.”

Jessie could already feel her ears burning. “Stop talking, aren’t you embarrassed!” She looked up and shot Victor a mock-angry glare.

Victor stopped teasing her and changed the subject. “I received an invitation this afternoon.”

“Hm?”

Victor: “An engagement party for the daughter of Boss Hudson from Port Caldoria.”

The moment Jessie heard this, she smacked her forehead.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Jessie said. “Brianna Hudson actually sent me a message a couple of days ago, but I’ve been so busy with work…”

In the past, the Morgan Group and the Hudson family had no dealings. Even if Brianna were getting married, an invitation wouldn’t have been sent to Victor. And even if it had, he wouldn’t necessarily have attended.

But things were different now.

The connection between Southaven and Port Caldoria was already stronger than with other regions. Besides, Jessie and Brianna had known each other since childhood.

It was all up to Jessie whether they would go.

If she wanted to attend the banquet, he would certainly accompany her.

Jessie: “Do you have time?”

Victor: “I can definitely make time for the engagement party. You haven’t been back to Southaven in a while, so why not take this opportunity to go back and stay for a couple of days?”

For the entire month after the New Year, Jessie had been busy with Apex Films and hadn’t been back to Southaven at all.

A hint of hesitation appeared on Jessie’s face.

In the past, she would have been delighted. But now she had so much work on her plate. ’Can I really get away?’

“The company has so many employees for a reason—to do the work.” Victor seemed to see her hesitation and offered some advice. “You just need to make the decisions and control the overall direction. The rest can be left to them. They can report their progress at the weekly meetings. If there’s something you’re not satisfied with, you raise the issue, and they will naturally solve it.”

He didn’t interfere with Jessie’s work. There were many lessons that could only be learned by experiencing them firsthand—only then would she know what it felt like to hit a wall. Simply force-feeding her his experience would rob her of the joy of discovery, not to mention she might not even accept it.

Jessie: “Is that okay?”

“Doesn’t the company have a professional management team? They’re paid to do their jobs,” Victor reminded her.

Jessie’s face lit up with understanding. When she looked at Victor again, her eyes were visibly lighter. “Let’s go back, then!”

Brianna Hudson’s engagement party was scheduled for the week after Arbor Day, when the weather was perfect—not too cold and not too hot.

After returning to Southaven, the first thing she did was ask Lynn Jennings out for afternoon tea.

“I heard you’ve been going head-to-head with Arya Thorne recently?” Lynn asked as soon as she sat down across from Jessie.

They met at a teahouse with a unique ’floating stream’ design. The interior, surrounded by rockeries, was meant to evoke the atmosphere of the ancient ’floating cup stream’ game. The seats were arranged at different levels, and the artificial hills naturally created an intimate, private ambiance.

Thanks to the winding, multi-level water channels with their gurgling streams, sitting in the shop felt like being out in nature.

Jessie: “How am I going head-to-head with her?”

“I heard things got ugly when you two were fighting over actors,” Lynn said.

Jessie was speechless for a moment. “That was her trying to poach people from my company. It didn’t get ugly. I just made her pay a little extra in breach of contract fees.”

After Rachel Ford left the company, many people grew restless.

Lynn Jennings frowned. She didn’t know much about the entertainment industry—it had absolutely nothing to do with her profession. Besides, with Jessie in Aethelburg, it was hard for her to get firsthand information like before. “So, did you lose out?”

Jessie laughed at the question. “Not at all!” She picked up a plate of pudding from one of the floating trays and placed it between herself and Lynn. “Honestly, I didn’t want those people anyway. They hadn’t accomplished anything and were just taking up space. Why should I support them for free? Since Arya Thorne wanted them, I was happy to pack them up and send them her way. I even made a nice sum from the contract termination fees. What’s not to like about that?”

Everyone on the outside was saying she was acting recklessly, using only newcomers for her TV series.

But Jessie didn’t think she was being reckless at all.

As the saying goes, unity is strength. How could she join forces with people whose hearts were already elsewhere? Since Arya Thorne wanted to poach them to expand Thorne Pictures, Jessie certainly wasn’t going to pass up such a golden opportunity. If she didn’t use this chance to squeeze Arya for some money, when would she?

“The termination fees she paid were just enough for me to sign new talent, with some left over even. Wouldn’t you say that’s a good deal?” Jessie asked Lynn with a wide smile.

Lynn couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up. “The innocent little flower of the past has become a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” she remarked. “It’s true what they say: you are the company you keep.”

Her comment was so pointed, it was impossible for Jessie not to understand who she was referring to.

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