Filed to story: The Return Novel (Natalie & Bryce) PDF Read Online Free >>
Everyone who had seen the principal apologizing to Natalie had begun to suspect that she was associated with someone powerful. How else to explain the principal’s confidence in expelling the son of a family as prominent as the Barnards? When these onlookers saw Natalie get into the big, expensive car and heard Liam calling out to his father, their suspicions hardened. Some of the onlooking parents caught each other’s eyes, communicating their unspoken assumptions: firstly, that Natalie had a powerful ally, and secondly, that it might be a good idea to befriend Natalie.
Natalie was not a fool. She knew that the principal hadn’t just taken her side and helped her because of the video. He could have kept that hidden like Mrs. Calligan had if he’d wanted to. There must have been some other factor at work, maybe someone pressuring him. She looked at Bryce, wondering why he wanted to take Liam to school that day, and realized with sudden clarity that it must have been him who had pressured the principal. Thinking about this and about how she might otherwise have been humiliated by the Barnards, Natalie said sincerely, “Thank you for what you did today.”
Bryce just leaned back in his seat casually and raised an eyebrow. Then he asked, “Where do you want to be driven to?”
Natalie thought about it and decided to go to the office rather than the hospital, not wanting to disturb Gina’s rest. She said, “The office, please. And thank you again for your help.”
Bryce opened his eyes wide and said, “Natalie, there’s no need to be so grateful. I’m happy to take you to your office.”
Natalie quickly said, “I think you misunderstood me. I didn’t mean that.” She wondered how Bryce could think that she’d been referring to the lift to the office. Sometimes it seemed that smart people didn’t have much common sense.
Bryce shrugged, then closed his eyes and leaned back again as if he was prepared to ignore Natalie completely. She was confused by his actions. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that he was truly temperamental. They drove on in silence, the city passing by the windows, and it wasn’t until they arrived at the Star Entertainment building that Natalie realized Bryce had probably felt embarrassed when she’d thanked him. If so, then why didn’t he just tell her that directly? Ugh, he really was an awkward person.
Natalie found this a bit funny but decided not to say anything more. The car stopped, and she got out, saying goodbye to Bryce coolly. Once she got inside the building, she was surprised to find that Tony was in the training room, working out vigorously. She was puzzled. The part in The Crossing 2 had been secured, and his sister had just undergone surgery and needed taking care of. What was Tony doing here?
When she walked into the practice room, Tony saw her and greeted her with a smile. “Natalie, hi.” He was the only one in the training room.
Natalie asked him in surprise, “Why are you here so early? I thought you’d be with Gina, helping her with her recovery.”
Sensing Natalie’s concern, Tony was moved. He explained, “I’ve hired a private nurse to take care of Gina. Now that The Crossing 2 is about to be filmed, I can’t afford to miss my training, so I came over here.” For him, Natalie was his savior. No matter how much he had to work, he would not let her down.
Natalie nodded in understanding. She was very touched that Tony wanted to do all this work, so she said, “It’s okay to train, I guess, but Gina has just started her recovery, so you should be with her as much as you can. Otherwise, she might feel lonely.”
Tony nodded and felt more motivated. Natalie didn’t say anything further and went to her office. There was a lot to do. She had to check Tony’s social media for messages and news, as well as check for news from elsewhere. Two days ago, Tony’s popularity had soared, and he had gained a lot of loyal fans. Although the frenzy of those two days had calmed down a little, there were still a lot of people discussing his role in the new movie. Seeing this, Natalie decided to strike while the iron was hot. This was the ideal time to get the biggest response to any promotional activities she undertook.
She picked up the phone and called Bernie Rostov, the director of The Crossing 2. Bernie enthusiastically asked her when they could meet. They went through the administrative details, and then she changed the subject, saying, “So Bernie, the cast has been finalized. Can you do something with your people to formally reveal Tony’s involvement in the movie in advance?”
Bernie was an experienced showbiz industry operator, so he naturally understood Natalie’s intentions and immediately agreed to her suggestion. “No problem, Natalie, let’s do that. I’ll set the promotional wheels in motion. Now, let’s cooperate and make this movie massive.”
Natalie agreed happily. Not long after, the movie’s official website posted the news that casting for The Crossing 2 had been completed. The site administrators also posted a message tagging Tony Bovel which read, “Tony, you are the one and only Zeb Ballard. It’s an honor and a pleasure to work with you.”
Bernie Rostov immediately reposted this message on his personal accounts, saying, “Tony is a great actor and a massive star. I love this guy. For Tony, the sky’s the limit. Rock on, Tony!”
When Natalie saw these posts, she thought for a while before forwarding them to Tony’s social media accounts. Tony’s response read, “Thank you to all my friends and fans for all their years of support. I won’t let you down.”
Shortly afterward, Tony began to trend again on social media. After all, the original Crossing movie was a classic, and now that the news of Tony’s return had been confirmed, the fans’ excitement was rising. The fans’ comments went wild:
“Recently I’ve stayed up late to rewatch The Crossing. Tony’s acting is amazing.”
“He’s not just a good actor, he’s a hunk too!”
“I’ve been a fan for years. All power to Tony!”
“I’m so looking forward to this new movie. I can’t wait!”
Seeing all this activity and these warm sentiments, Natalie was truly happy for Tony. He was a hot topic on the internet again. She thought that Tony was going to be delighted when he saw all this activity.