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Natalie saw that Tony had been training by himself again the whole morning and realized that he didn’t need her to supervise him all day. His dedication was way beyond her expectations. Going to the office in a buoyant mood, she turned on her computer and was about to post on her social media page when she was distracted by the “What’s Hot” list. When she saw Tony’s name in third place on the list, she was overjoyed and immediately changed her plan.
She called the same photographer she’d used the other day and asked, “Do you have any free time in your schedule today? I need another set of pictures taken.”
She figured that if she struck while the iron was hot, she could generate another wave of interest among Tony’s fans and, at the same time, attract more attention from the outside world. The photographer said, “No problem. For you, Natalie, I’ll clear my schedule.” Since Tony’s video had gone viral, the photographer had also benefited from the increased exposure. In fact, the photographer had wanted to have a conversation with Natalie anyway. He wanted to discuss becoming Tony’s personal photographer, regardless of financial reward. He hadn’t expected Natalie to contact him of her own accord.
He said deferentially, “Anyway, I won’t eat into your valuable time. Shall we talk later?”
Natalie smiled, aware that this was yet another example of how people’s attitudes toward her were changing. The photographer said, “I’ll make the preparations and wait for you all to come over.”
Natalie went back to the practice room and saw Tony doing his flexibility exercises. She clapped her hands to interrupt him, saying, “Let’s wind up your morning practice.”
Tony looked at her and said, “What’s up? Are my movements not good enough?”
Natalie realized that her tone might have been too serious, so she smiled faintly and replied in a gentler tone, “No, your movements are perfect, but I’ve just contacted the photographer about getting a new set of photos for you.”
Tony nodded, relieved. “Super cool,” he said.
An hour later, Natalie watched the makeup artist finish working on Tony’s face. She couldn’t help but feel that such a handsome face was custom-made for a part in “The Crossing 2.” Tony looked at himself in the mirror and said, “Natalie, do you think this black outfit looks too gloomy?”
Natalie motioned for him to get up and then carefully looked him up and down. She raised her eyebrows, shook her head, and said, “No, it looks great. When we get some pictures of you in that outfit distributed, the road ahead will open up.”
The photographer agreed, saying, “Natalie has great taste. I also think this is a good look for you, Tony. I’ll do my best to make the most of the outfit in the pictures.” Then he prepared to start shooting.
Throughout the morning, Tony tried a few different outfits. Whatever he wore, he looked perfect in every image. He looked relaxed, natural, and comfortable—authentically himself.
In the afternoon, just as Natalie got back to her office and had sat down, the photographer emailed her a link to some of the pictures. The photographer’s email said, “As you requested, I’ve hardly done any post-processing. These are essentially the originals.”
Natalie opened the folder and immediately saw Tony’s dark and smoldering aura. Every image was vivid and lifelike; it was as if a three-dimensional character were standing in front of her. This was the benefit of Tony’s handsome features—his looks did not need to be beautified or modified to show him at his best. Natalie browsed through the images with delight and then uploaded a selection of the photos to Tony’s social media pages. She went home happy at the end of the working day.
The next afternoon, she spent time negotiating with a television station to get Tony a slot on a reality show. At the end of her busy day, she finally found some free time before going home. As usual, she turned on the computer and habitually browsed social media. This time, she was dumbfounded. That short video she’d posted before had helped Tony to accumulate 100,000 fans in a short period of time, but Natalie now saw that the number of fans had skyrocketed to 300,000 overnight. The new photos she’d posted the day before were swamped with comments. Tony’s fans wanted more updates and were filled with anticipation.
The phone on the table rang. The caller said that they were from a production company and that they had Bernie Rastoff, the film director, on the line. Natalie took a deep breath. She had anticipated this call for a long time.
“Hello there,” said Rastoff when he came on the line. “I’m calling to make some arrangements for Tony Bovel. I really want him to participate in filming ‘The Crossing 2.’ His role is provisionally the second male lead.”
Natalie was elated, but she maintained her composure and replied calmly, “It’s an honor to be asked to take part in this movie. Let’s make arrangements to meet so that we can discuss this proposal in detail.”
Rastoff got the impression from her reply that Tony might have other commitments and that serious negotiation would be required to secure his services, so he added, “Well, okay. Rest assured that we’ll try and meet any conditions that Tony stipulates. I’ll definitely do the best I can for him. I’m confident that he’ll help turn this movie into a big hit.”
After Rastoff hung up, Natalie called Tony immediately to tell him the good news. But then, as Tony started to reply, his voice sounding flat and distracted, she remembered that today was the day of Gina Bovel’s operation. Later, Natalie decided to go to the hospital to accompany Tony and give him support.
However, as she headed for the elevator in her office building, she found her way blocked by Mark Ellington. Natalie ignored him and tried to get past him to the elevator, but Ellington deliberately stood in her way.
He asked her, “Wait a minute. I have something to ask you. Has any progress been made on the casting for ‘The Crossing 2’?”
Natalie put on a blank expression and said casually, “I’m not on the crew, nor am I a director. How would I know?”
Ellington blinked with embarrassment. He maintained a civil tone as he asked, “Well, actually, what I really want to ask is, was Tony invited to take the second male lead role?”
An involuntary look of pride spread across Natalie’s face as she said, “Actually, yes, he was. I just accepted the director’s invitation.”