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CH 64
Natalie continued,
“But remember that you will be a big star in the future, so from now on, you have to think about everything you say and do. You have to make sure that there’s nothing that can come back to bite you on your back and spoil your success.”
Tony agreed, feeling even more grateful towards Natalie. He knew for sure that he hadn’t joined forces with the wrong agent. Natalie had taught him a lot, and the most important thing of all was that he had gradually regained his confidence elsewhere in town.
Mark Ellington woke up early that day. Almost the first thing he saw when he picked up his phone was Tony Bavel’s hot internet presence. The content related to Tony was going viral, spreading and bubbling. Ellington’s face twisted with fury; he threw his phone on the bed angrily.
“Ridiculous! What did that dumb woman do? How did things turn out like this?”
Hearing Ellington’s raised voice, Curtis Westing emerged from the bathroom, smiling faintly. Curtis said,
“Mark, what’s wrong? Why are you getting so angry so early in the morning?”
He came and sat on the bed, looking at Ellington with friendly concern. Seeing Curtis trying to cheer him up, Ellington’s mood improved a little, but his face was still gloomy.
He threw his phone to Curtis, saying,
“See for yourself.”
Curtis picked up the phone wearily. When he saw all the coverage about Tony, he was shocked. He said,
“How could that happen? Could it be… that?”
Natalie knew that there was going to be an announcement about the crossing too and posted that social media post in advance. There was jealousy and annoyance in Curtis’s eyes. The Crossing 2 had always been something that he had wanted to be involved with. Was he going to let that brat Tony steal his chance to star in it from him now? In fact, if Curtis hadn’t wanted a role in that movie, he wouldn’t have let his relationship with Ellington develop as it had. He had wanted to use Ellington to further his career.
Curtis tried to hide his anger and said,
“Anyway, who is this Natalie, really? She’s pretty amazing, I’ve got to admit.”
Ellington shook his head and said,
“She’s just struck lucky, that’s all. All this social media noise about Bobble means nothing. That movie role definitely belongs to you.”
But Ellington was more troubled than he was revealing. He’d already checked out Natalie’s career history. She’d worked with a lot of artists overseas, and she’d clearly shown that she was a very capable professional that made her a real competitor to him. Ellington would rather believe that Natalie was just lucky, and her luck wouldn’t last. It wasn’t certain yet who would get the part in The Crossing 2.
Curtis was staring thoughtfully into the distance. After a while, he said,
“Well, Mark, you promised me that role, remember?”
Ellington chuckled. He smiled at Curtis and said lightly,
“Don’t worry. If you do as I say, everything will be yours for the taking.”
Curtis laughed, feeling reassured he had to seize this opportunity. He really wanted a role in that movie, and if that meant cooperating with Ellington, he was willing to endure that.
Natalie went about her morning business at home. She saw more and more momentum for Tony on social media, which put her in an excellent mood. She hummed the song and went downstairs. When Mrs. Perkins saw Natalie’s expression, she was pleased. She’d been worried about Natalie last night.
“Mrs. Claire, I can see that you’re happy this morning. Is there something good happening?”
Mrs. Perkins asked, noting the smile. Natalie smiled back.
“Yes, Mrs. Perkins. There is indeed something good happening today.”
She wanted to share her good news with Mrs. Perkins, but just then, Bryce came down the stairs.
“Good morning,”
Natalie called brightly. He replied with a faint distracted
“hmm.”
He seemed cold, distant. Mrs. Perkins frowned and looked from Bryce to Natalie. She didn’t like this dynamic between them. She thought that sometimes they didn’t seem to be truly a husband and wife. But Natalie seemed unconcerned. She said excitedly to Bryce,
“Hey, do you know how many fans Tony Bavel has gained overnight? I’m so excited!”
Bryce responded faintly with another
“hmm.”