Edie was late for her audition because of Zoe. It was ten oâclock when she arrived at the Movie Tower. Rhoda stopped and parked her car in the underground parking garage. Edie took the elevator to the eighth floor to the audition. As soon as Edie entered through the door, she saw a large crowd of people gathered together.
There was a space in the middle of the floor with a three-meter platform. Not far from the platform, there were five or six tables, and chairs and three people were sitting together. To discuss what? Edie wondered.
A female actress was on the platform auditioning. The actress would nod her head whenever someone told her what they wanted her to do. Edie could only see the back of the actressâs head, so she had no idea who the actress was.
She whispered to an assistant next to her, "Whoâs auditioning?" The assistant glanced at her, and she could tell that Edie was not a big star. She said in a cold and impatient voice, "Janet Hayes."
Then she turned around and left without looking at Edie.
Edie couldnât recall the name Janet Hayes and estimated that even her status was inferior; she might be a new person. The assistant director held up his hand and shouted, "one, two, three, action!" As soon as she heard the assistantâs voice, Janet began to jump down.
"Stop!" The assistant director roared impatiently. "Janet, are you a piece of wood? Why would you jump straight down? You are a swordswoman! Not a zombie!" Janetâs eyes burst into tears. "Director Zack, just give me one more chance, please. "Iâll do it again. Iâm sure it will be okay." Janet said. "What a jump! Time for another one. Your audition is over." he said.
The assistant ordered her to be taken off the platform. Janet knew that this rare opportunity had been screwed up by her being so nervous. She left with her head down and tore flowing down her face. Edie figured Janetâs audition was eliminated within ten seconds from the beginning to the end.
Starting out fresh in showbiz, if you were not famous, then no one would ever give you a smile or another chance at an audition. She took a deep breath and made up her mind to be chosen. "Miss Cara, long time no see, I am sorry that Iâm late," Edie said shyly.
Miss Cara, who had been working in the movie industry for a long time, was not as snobbish as the others. She nodded to her, "Itâs all right. You have lots of time, come on in."
"Excuse me, Cara, when is it going to be my turn?" Miss Cara looked through the papers and said, "Youâre the eighth one in line. You are right after Hillary Janice. Iâll show you the script."
As she spoke, she handed her two pages. Edie thanked her and sat down to read the script.
Todayâs audition didnât seem to be too complicated. It was revolved around a fight. What they were looking for was the actressâs balance ability and physical coordination.
The story was about a woman who was hiding in a tree and just found out that her friend she grew up with was the one who killed her whole family. She jumped down from the tree and started to fight with the supporting actor. The supporting actor didnât come today, so it was a fight choreographer that was taking his place.
The three-meter platform was simulated to be the tree. There was a sudden uproar in the crowd, and then all at once, there was a stillness. Edie slowly raised her head.
A man came in from the gate. He was in a black suit. He was tall and had a fresh face. He had an impression on his face as though he was saying, "Do not get close to me." After a momentâs silence, everyone around him, excitedly said, "Oh, my God! How handsome he is!"
"Who is he?"
"I donât know."
"Is he the new actor?"
"Oh, my God! He is better than King Jay!"
"His power and presence are so intriguing."
"I couldnât see his eyes." Jessie thought to herself.
Stuartâs eyebrows rose slightly, and his eyes grew colder. Stuart approached as if infected by his apathy, everyone swallowed in and shut their mouth. As Stuart passed, everyone stepped back involuntarily, and the dense crowd split into two streams and made a way for him.
Edie looked up at the noisy crowd, and when she saw Stuart, her eyes widened, and she stared at him. Why was he here? Wasnât he on business in Hong Kong? When did he get back? Why did he come to the audition? Was he was coming for her, was he?
As soon as she looked up, she lowered her head at once. She even tried to bury herself in the crowd. According to Stuartâs character, he wouldnât be too concerned to pretend not to know her.
What if people found out about their relationship? There were many people here. If she was written up in the gossip magazines, what would she become, and what would the public think?
It was just half a year of a fake marriage, and she didnât want to end her acting career. She thought about it again. If he was trying to find her, why didnât he call her directly?
He didnât have to come here. He must have been bored and tried to find something to do. He would leave soon, she thought.
Edie slowly raised her face and peeped at Stuart with the rest of her sight. Stuart walked to the center of the room, and the assistant director stood up.
The other three people stepped out and greeted Stuart. They extended their hands to shake hands with Stuart. "Mr. Yates, Itâs been a long time since we have seen you last."
Stuart faintly said, "Yes."
The director smiled and said, "Mr. Yates, you are so busy, what brings you to the movie Tower today?" Anyone a little famous in the city knew who Stuart was, and it was no exaggeration to say he was the king of the city.
The whole L. N. Group was the business empire of the Yates family, and Stuart was the reason behind all the power of the Yates family. I stamped his foot, the whole city vibrated.
Not to mention the small companies of L. N. Group, like the Universe Entertainment. It was the first media company in the city, and this company found numerous famous stars.
There were hundreds of billions of dollars invested every year. In showbiz, if anyone had a relationship with someone in the Universe Entertainment, her fame would rise.
The infamous stars only stood by and watched, but they were nothing in front of those who had money and power. As usual, infamous or famous, they didnât have the qualifications to attend a reception with Stuart. So why did Stuart show up here today?
As for Stuartâs apathy, he had long heard that the assistant director didnât care about any of that, the people in showbiz were much more snobbish than the average person. Stuartâs status was that he was proud, and it was taken for granted.