Chapter 255 Not a Word About Responsibility and Love
"What's wrong with Layla?"
Someone who hadn't driven away yet turned back and saw Layla standing alone by her car, staring in another direction.
Looking from her angle toward that direction, there was nothing there.
Layla was startled, but only for a moment. After all these years in the entertainment industry, she had enough experience to handle situations like this. Besides, wasn't this the film school student she'd recruited and started training at the company half a year ago? Standing there covered in blood, looking like a complete mess—like a female ghost—it would be a lie to say it wasn't scary.
If she remembered correctly, she'd joined a production team a month ago. Layla had gotten her a small-budget web series role. She should be filming right now.
"Nothing, just forgot something. You go ahead!"
Hearing Layla say this, the person nodded and left.
Layla watched the last person drive away before opening the driver's door and tossing everything in her hands inside. She walked around to the other side and looked at the person crouching on the ground, clearly traumatized and out of it.
"Get in the car first."
After closing the door, Layla opened the car's center console, about to hand her wet wipes, then thought better of it and tossed them on the passenger seat instead.
She turned to look at the person in the back seat, hugging herself and shaking: "What happened to you? Aren't you supposed to be filming with the crew right now?"
"What happened?"
"Cager sent me to Director Esko's bed. I didn't want to, so the director hit me. I had no choice but to sneak out. I didn't know who else to turn to, so I just ran back to the company."
If Layla were new to the industry, she'd definitely call the police right now. But having seen how complicated the entertainment industry was, she didn't dare act rashly.
Hearing this, Layla was so shocked her mind went blank.
"Cager Mallory?" He was an agent the company had recruited, and yes, he handled several newcomers, but he wasn't that unreliable.
"Yes."
"Are you sure he's the one who sent you to Esko's bed?"
"When I finished filming, I heard him talking to Esko about me. There's no mistake."
Amanda Heste had an innocent look—different from Thalia's type who could be pure or seductive. She had an extra touch of vulnerability. When she cried, she looked pitiful in a way that would soften any man's heart.
Amanda's thin body was wrapped in long hair, looking exactly like a fragile female ghost who'd been wronged.
Layla stared at her, silent for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in her mind, then looked at Amanda and started to guide her carefully: "The company has never allowed this kind of thing to happen. If this was Cager's arrangement, we won't let him get away with it. But first, what do you want to do about this?"
Amanda was stunned, looking at Layla in a daze.
She froze for several seconds. When something like this happened, shouldn't talent agencies always protect the big fish, not the small ones? Cager brought more value to the company than she did. Yet Layla was willing to deal with Cager for her sake, and even asking her what she wanted to do?
Amanda was stunned for several seconds, unable to tell if Layla's words were true or false, and mumbled: "What do I want to do?"
"Yes."
Layla kept her expression unchanged, putting the initiative in Amanda's hands. Amanda had just left school, with no real skills or experience. No need to talk about life goals or dreams with her—just give her enough respect.
Young women entering the entertainment industry were all after fame and fortune, right? Wasn't it easy for her to handle Amanda?
"I don't want to work under Cager anymore."
"Anything else?"
Amanda thought for a moment and shook her head: "No, that's all."
She didn't want to make things too ugly. She'd just started her career with no resources or connections. Right now the company was willing to promote her and give her opportunities. If they stopped, what would she have left?
Layla was silent for a few seconds, sighed, and handed her the wet wipes she'd tossed on the passenger seat: "Wipe your face. I'll take you home."
After Layla took Amanda home and got her settled, it was almost dawn.
Thalia and William had finished having sex. She let William wipe her body with a towel, comfortable as a cat being groomed, about to drift off to sleep.
The urgent phone ringtone startled her awake.
She answered reflexively. At this hour, only Layla would call her.
"What's wrong?"
"There's trouble." After settling Amanda, Layla called Thalia while driving home, explaining the whole situation briefly and bluntly, cursing as she went.
Thalia held the phone and pushed William, signaling him to go shower: "Didn't we investigate properly when we recruited Cager?"
"That's exactly why I'm pissed—I didn't think to investigate in that direction."
"If our studio's reputation built over all these years gets destroyed by him, wouldn't that be a huge loss?"
"Find out where Cager is now. We'll settle this tonight."
Thalia hung up, went to the guest room next door for a quick shower, put on a black athletic outfit, and prepared to go out.
"Where are you going?" "An agent at the company sent a newcomer to a director's bed. I'm going to check it out. You sleep first."
William: .........
William was silent for a long moment: "Small place, lots of drama."
Thalia shrugged: "Isn't that all thanks to you capitalists who love playing with women in the entertainment industry?"
"Don't drag me into this." William glanced at Thalia and went into the walk-in closet to throw on a t-shirt and pants.
"I'll go with you."
Thalia was surprised. When she was with that coward Walter before, he'd hide whenever there was trouble. Now it seemed William's personality of facing and solving problems was a hundred times better than that coward.
In life, people are all different. Some stay clear-headed in relationships, while others lose themselves.
Thalia belonged to the latter. William never talked about responsibility or love, but everything he did pointed in that direction.
The modern web series was filming in the city. Esko had rented a hotel, with most of the sets completed there.
When Thalia and William arrived, they could see Layla from a distance, leaning against her car in the parking lot, smoking.
She squinted with tired eyes, several cigarette butts scattered at her feet. Seeing Thalia get out of the car, she stubbed out her slim lady's cigarette.
"Been waiting long?" Thalia asked.
Layla waved away the smoke: "Just got here."
She was about to say something when she saw William park his black Mercedes and step out from the driver's seat with long strides.
Layla was surprised: "Look at you! You can even boss around Emerald City's new elite now."
"Well, my status has gone up."
William pressed down his baseball cap. In his black polo shirt, his exposed arms were lean and strong. At first glance, he was more attractive than when wearing a suit.
Through the elevator mirror, Thalia glanced at William's lean forearms, her mind filled with scenes of having sex with him.