Chapter 17

John shot a quick reply to Natalie and then took off from the set.

The moment he was gone, the crew swarmed around her, all grinning like they were her best friends.

"Miss Davis, when you and Mr. Windsor tie the knot, you gotta invite us to the wedding."

"Miss Davis, indeed, only you could snag his heart."

"Natalie is a Best Actress award winner; only a top-notch guy like Mr. Windsor deserves her. Not like some music producer who's clueless and thinks she can cozy up to Mr. Windsor."

While buttering up Natalie, they couldn't resist taking jabs at Zoey.

Zoey was about to leave when she caught those words and turned to face the girl mocking her. "Some people have such a thought but don't dare to admit it. They think stepping on others will make them noble?"

The girl turned red at Zoey's comeback but didn't dare to respond.

Natalie saw this and shot Zoey a mocking look. "Ms. Cavendish, why so worked up? Everyone's just chatting. You should really work on your attitude, or how will we all get along in the same crew in the future?"

Zoey's voice was icy. "If your ears aren't working well, go get them checked. Didn't you hear me say I wouldn't stay in the crew?"

Hearing this, Natalie immediately frowned and glanced at the director nearby. He shook his head, signaling he hadn't convinced Zoey to stay.

No way she was letting Zoey leave that easily.

Tears instantly welled up in Natalie's eyes. "Ms. Cavendish, if you have any issues with me, just say it. How can you just leave? That's too irresponsible to the crew."

Zoey was about to retort when James walked over. "Ms. Cavendish, can I talk to you?"

When the crew mocked Zoey earlier, James was one of the few who stayed out of it. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded.

Natalie noticed a few girls in the crew eyeing them with jealousy. She pretended to chat with her assistant. "James's truly impressive. It seems Ms. Cavendish might not leave after all. They're heading towards a puddle. Ms. Cavendish should be careful. It would be terrible if she accidentally falls into it."

Seeing a few girls immediately head towards Zoey after hearing her words, a satisfied smile crept onto Natalie's lips.

"Ms. Cavendish, I hope you can stay. You know the script for this movie is really good. If we nail it, it could win awards. As a music producer, you'd also gain more recognition." James genuinely hoped she would stay with the crew.

Zoey shook her head. "I won't stay where I'm not welcome. But if we get a chance to work together in the future, I'd still be up for it."

James looked regretful, but Zoey not cutting ties with him was already a win.

"Then I hope we get to work together again in the future, Ms. Cavendish."

Zoey and James walked out. As they passed the puddle, a few girls walked towards them, and one of them bumped into her.

Zoey didn't notice and stumbled into the puddle.

"Ms. Cavendish, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

Seeing Zoey in a mess, the girl had a gloating expression on her face.

Zoey got up from the puddle, and Claire quickly handed her a coat, shooting a glare at the girl who bumped into her. "You did that on purpose."

The girl shot back, "What makes you think I did it on purpose?"

Seeing Claire about to argue, Zoey grabbed her arm and stared at the girl with icy eyes. "Whether it was on purpose or not, we can check the surveillance. There are witnesses too. We can go to the police."

The girl's face went pale. She didn't expect Zoey to bring the cops into this.

She quickly turned to the girls beside her. "Did you see me bump into her?"

They all shook their heads in unison. "Of course not."

The girl then looked at Zoey smugly, but James cut in coldly, "I saw it. You bumped into Ms. Cavendish on purpose."

The girl looked at James, feeling wronged. "Mr. Garcia, how can you defend a woman like her?"

Zoey's voice was cold. "It's not your place to judge me. Now I'm going to check the surveillance and report you to the police for intentional harm."

"Ms. Cavendish, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it. Please don't hold it against me." The girl was scared and knelt in front of Zoey.

"Ms. Cavendish, what are you doing? Why are you making things difficult for a crew member?"

Natalie showed up at that moment, covering her mouth in fake surprise and looking at Zoey with reproach.

"If you want to defend someone who committed intentional harm, I don't mind you going to the police station to testify for her." Zoey looked at Natalie without backing down, successfully shutting her up.

As a big star, there was no way Natalie wanted to be seen at a police station.

Claire saw her silence and snorted, "So Miss Davis's kindness has conditions."

Natalie's face immediately turned sour.

"Ms. Cavendish, please forgive me. I just like Mr. Garcia and didn't want to see you two together. As a woman, you should understand my feelings. Please don't hold it against me."

The girl was forced to spill the truth, hoping Zoey would let her off.

James felt disgusted hearing this.

The director's face turned even uglier. Crew members causing trouble because of their crushes on actors was a big no-no.

If this blew up and hurt the crew's reputation, it could shut down the whole production.

Thinking of this, the director immediately decided to fire the girl.

Seeing the girl's devastated expression, Zoey felt no sympathy. She brought this on herself.

If she hadn't pushed Zoey into the puddle, none of this would have happened.

Seeing the girl punished, Zoey didn't push the matter further and left the set with a stern face.

Meanwhile, John got back to the company with the bracelet and reported the situation on set to Henry, also explaining what Zoey wanted.

Hearing that the crew treated Zoey poorly, Henry's face immediately darkened.

After a moment of thought, Henry made some decisions.

"Have someone buy that Heart of the Ocean necklace and bring it back by tomorrow morning at the latest. Also, cancel tomorrow morning's meeting; I need to visit the set."

That night, Zoey came down with a high fever.