Chapter 351 Calculating Against Eleanor
William came out of the study and caught a whiff of potato chips from far away.
Following the smell downstairs, he saw Thalia squatting on the carpet, eating potato chips.
The smell of junk food filled the entire house.
This cheap stuff really didn't fit with this mansion worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
William could never understand how Thalia, who grew up in such a well-off environment, could love this kind of junk food so much.
The man tugged at his pant legs and sat down.
He watched the variety show on Thalia's iPad - a countryside reality show, not exactly meaningful, but at least funny.
When Fallon came over with juice and saw this scene, she was a bit stunned. In this mansion worth hundreds of millions, William sat there in a white shirt, his long legs wrapped in black dress pants, looking dignified yet relaxed. Thalia wore a white palace-style nightgown, her freshly washed hair casually tied up in a bun on top of her head, holding a bag of potato chips in her hand.
This scene was peaceful and beautiful.
William's tolerance and Thalia's calm contentment had become the most praised story on Mistwood Hill.
"Does it taste good?"
Thalia didn't even look up, shaking her head. "So-so."
"Then why are you eating it?"
"Whether I like it has nothing to do with how good it tastes."
"If you're not eating something because you like it, then why?"
"Good question. Does my being alive have anything to do with whether I like this world or not?" Thalia turned to look at William, giving him a serious question in return.
William listened, thinking Thalia's counter-question was simply ridiculous.
In a world full of delicacies, she was eating this junk food, and it wasn't even because she liked it?
William had Fallon make him a cup of coffee. Mistwood Hill's coffee room was built at great expense, so if William wanted coffee, that would normally be the best place to go. But today, he sat behind Thalia with his coffee cup and watched an entire variety show with her.
The jokes came fast, and Thalia laughed until tears streamed down her face. When the show ended, she stopped eating the potato chips.
"Not eating anymore?" William asked.
"The show's over."
"Potato chips and TV shows are a perfect match."
William got it. He took a sip of coffee. So it wasn't about liking them, but about them being meant to exist together?
"Should I have someone install a TV in the living room for you?"
Thalia nodded. "Sure, that works."
Her eyes fell on the coffee in William's hand, looking at him eagerly, blinking like a little deer. "Does it taste good?"
He stared at Thalia for a long time without figuring her out. After thinking for a moment, he pushed the cup toward her.
Thalia took it and gulped down the whole cup of coffee, let out a burp, called Fallon to clean up, and shuffled upstairs in her slippers.
That cold, stubborn attitude after sex was something that would never change with Thalia.
...........
The next morning, as soon as Thalia arrived at the floor where the crew was filming, she heard a commotion from below.
She stretched her neck to look out the window.
A large crowd of fans had gathered downstairs, though she didn't know whose fans they were.
"What's going on?" The director had obviously heard it too and had to stop several times because the sound quality wasn't good.
Thalia sat to the side and looked at her colleagues on the crew, who shook their heads. "Not sure."
"Go check it out." The director told everyone to take a break. The atmosphere on set became tense for a moment - completely different from the previous scene.
Soon, someone came up from downstairs. "Director, someone posted photos of us filming online, and now fans from different groups have gathered downstairs."
The director's temper flared up immediately. "We've only been filming for a few days, and this happens?"
"Go investigate. Start with people on the crew and see who leaked it."
The post-production team took on this task, checking messages on their equipment.
They went through everyone's Facebook one by one. Finally, someone smart found the original Facebook post.
"It was posted by someone from the Mitchell Group. They mentioned which celebrities are filming at their company recently and included some candid photos."
Hearing this, Thalia raised her eyebrows.
Eleanor was in trouble now.
Violating the contract meant paying compensation.
"Did the director go find Eleanor?"
Thalia glanced at Layla, who was standing beside her cautiously. "There's no way he'd find Eleanor. With his status, he'd meet with a vice president at most."
"Eleanor wouldn't bother dealing with him anyway."
"Was it you?" Layla saw Thalia looking like she was enjoying the show.
"Was what me?"
"The world's greatest beauty is me?"
"Stop pretending," Layla rolled her eyes at Thalia, feeling like she'd done something bad.
"What am I pretending?"
Upstairs, Eleanor was a bit surprised when she heard the news. "Who leaked it?"
"Still investigating. The crew is very angry, thinking we didn't keep our promise. The situation is awkward now."
"It was going to come out sooner or later. Just because he doesn't say anything doesn't mean those celebrities' fans won't find out, right?"
"It's different. They would have announced it themselves voluntarily. Us saying it now means we really did break the rules."
Eleanor knew that, of course. She rubbed her temples with a bit of a headache. "Investigate and find out who leaked it."
"We found out, but the person says she didn't post it - someone stole her social media account and posted it. We're in a situation where..."
"What era are we in? Don't social media apps all require phone verification codes now? She says her account was stolen, and we just believe her?"
"Bring her out and hand her over to the crew. Have her apologize."
"Wait..."
Just as the vice president was about to leave, Eleanor spoke up. "If her account really was stolen, can we trace the IP address?"
"We can, but it'll take some time."
"Do it."
"Understood."
The crew's scenes today weren't going well. The director asked the company to extend the rental period. The Mitchell Group, feeling guilty, gave them two extra days.
So today they got off work early for once.
Thalia leaned against the van, yawning.
"Where to? I'll give you a ride," Layla said
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find William," Thalia said lazily.
Layla gave her a look. "You really don't miss any chance to spend time with Mr. Brown, do you?"
"Yeah, keeping a man happy can make you rich."