Chapter 15

John was floored. What the heck was Natalie up to?

In the blink of an eye, Natalie had already pulled out a cup of coffee and a box of hot dogs.

Zoey noticed the familiar packaging and was momentarily thrown off. Did Henry actually go out of his way to her neighborhood to get this?

Why? What was Henry thinking?

Natalie saw the hot dogs and tossed them aside with a sneer, holding up the coffee cup and dramatically saying, "How did Mr. Windsor know I love this flavor? And it's even the hand-ground version by Leonard Scott."

There were plenty of high-end coffee shops, but this was Henry's private barista, who rarely made public appearances and only occasionally brewed hand-ground coffee at luxury events with Henry's permission.

The cups Leonard used were also pretty unique, so they were easy to spot.

Hearing Natalie's words, the other crew members rushed to grab their coffee.

Everyone in the industry had heard of Leonard's reputation.

Someone sighed, "We really owe it to Miss Davis, otherwise we might never get to taste this kind of coffee in our lifetime."

They were showering Natalie with praise.

Zoey rolled her eyes and picked up the hot dogs. Seeing she didn't have coffee, John didn't waste any time and quickly picked out a cup for Zoey, handing it to her personally.

Zoey took a sip, her face twisting in disgust, and waved her hand. "This tastes awful."

John caught the hint and immediately signaled the bodyguard to get something else.

Natalie, not wanting to be ignored, kindly reminded Zoey, "Coffee needs to be savored slowly. Chugging it down like water, what's the difference between that and a cow drinking water?"

Several crew members who had already gulped down their coffee looked confused, holding their empty cups.

Hearing her tone, John frowned and warned, "Miss Davis, watch your words."

If she pissed off Zoey or Henry, she would be done for.

Natalie didn't care and lightly apologized, "Sorry, I misspoke."

Natalie was almost certain Henry had a thing for her; otherwise, why would he send such fancy coffee?

But sending hot dogs? That was just cheap. He could've sent some other dessert to make people jealous.

Zoey had seen this kind of behavior in Catherine before, the desperate attempt to hog all the attention.

However, Zoey wasn't one of those celebrities who needed to keep up appearances.Zoey stepped closer, staring intently at Natalie's face. "Natalie, you don't need to do this. I'm not in the entertainment industry, and I don't care to compete with you. If you want to be the center of attention, go ahead. No one will stop you. Just make sure your skills match your ambition."

"I wish you the best in winning a real Best Actress award, not some meaningless, bought award," she added.

The winner of the Best Actress award was just a flattering title; it had no real influence or credibility, only hyped by marketing accounts and clueless fans.

This direct mockery made Natalie's smile falter, her body trembling with anger, her eyes glancing at the coffee in Zoey's hand. She pretended to be hurt and asked, "Ms. Cavendish, what do you mean by that?"

Then she secretly grabbed Zoey's wrist and splashed the coffee on herself.

The next second, Natalie let out a dramatic scream, frantically wiping the coffee stains off her dress. "Ms. Cavendish, even if you don't like me, you didn't have to splash coffee on me!"

"This dress is one of a kind in the world. I wore it specifically for today's shoot, and now..." Her nose turned red, and she looked like she was about to cry.

The director rushed over, looking panicked and unsure of what to do.

Natalie seized the moment to softly apologize. "Sorry, director, today's shoot might be delayed."

The director, now practically fawning over her, quickly said, "Don't worry about the shoot, let's take care of your dress first."

He then turned to Zoey and yelled, "You caused this mess, come clean it up yourself."

Zoey just watched their performance coldly, spreading her hands. "Take it off then."

Natalie only had this one dress, and if she took it off, she'd have nothing to wear.

Hearing this, she looked even more pitiful and said to the director, "Don't make things difficult for Ms. Cavendish. She didn't do it on purpose. I'll figure something out myself."

To be fair, her acting was pretty convincing, making the crew genuinely worried, as if it was a major disaster.

John was dumbfounded. It was just a dress, not something like Mr. Windsor's clothes. Was it really that serious?

Zoey disdainfully walked up to Natalie, arms crossed, bending down to look at her tear-streaked face. "It's just a dress. If it's dirty, wash it. Is that so hard? Now you cry, but when you grabbed my hand and splashed coffee on yourself, did you not think about how expensive this dress is?"

Zoey exposed all of Natalie's little schemes, leaving her speechless for a moment. Natalie looked pitifully at Zoey. "Ms. Cavendish, why are you slandering me?"

The crew almost all gathered around Natalie.

The director, growing angrier, shouted at Zoey, "Compensate her!"

Zoey smirked, looking at them like clowns. "Alright, show me the receipt."

This dress could be found in any mall in various sizes and colors, yet Natalie had the nerve to say it was unique.

Natalie hadn't expected Zoey to be so impervious, unlike the actresses she had dealt with before, and she gritted her teeth in frustration.

If investigated, the truth about Natalie's dress would soon be exposed.

She tearfully replied, "No need. Ms. Cavendish didn't do it on purpose. Just apologize to me. As for the promise to wear this dress to meet my friend this afternoon, I'll explain it to him later."

Hearing Natalie's words, the director immediately ordered Zoey, "Hurry up and wash it for her."

Natalie added, "This dress can only be hand-washed."

Considering the tight schedule, the director didn't hesitate and ordered Zoey in front of the entire crew, "Take it to the sink and wash it, then dry it quickly."

They treated Zoey like a servant.

Everyone looked at Zoey with a hint of reproach, as if she was being unreasonable and refusing to admit her mistake.

They were waiting for Zoey's response.

Claire was shocked and shouted in disbelief, "Are you guys serious? It's just an ordinary dress. Is it any special?"

Zoey raised her hand to stop her, her gaze sharp, staring at Natalie, and coldly said, "If you're insane, get treatment. I'm not a doctor."