Chapter 84 Seeking Samuel
Grant's hands had clenched into tight fists at some point.
Even veins were visibly bulging on his forehead.
"If you knew the reason, why didn't you tell me earlier, tell Lucas?"
Yasmin pressed her lips together and said, "Because this person is someone I can't afford to mess with."
"You!"
Just as Grant was about to explode, Yasmin cut him off directly.
"Grant, stop wasting words. Just answer me - are you doing this deal or not?"
Grant bit down hard on his back teeth, anger nearly bursting out.
Yasmin suddenly softened her tone.
"Grant, just this once. Please, I'm begging you."
Grant closed his eyes, struggling internally.
He knew he shouldn't cover for someone like Yasmin, and Amelia would be disappointed in him too.
But when it came to Lucas, after struggling with himself, Grant finally spoke,
"Go ahead. I agree."
Hearing this, Yasmin smiled with relief.
"Actually, all you need to do is have Lucas switch talent agencies. If he really doesn't want to switch companies, changing agents would work too."
Grant stared into her eyes and asked, "Is it Lucas's agent who's behind this?"
Yasmin wagged her finger.
"How could an agent have that much power? He's just following orders from his superiors."
"Higher-ups? Someone from Aurora Media's management?"
"You could say that. But the person isn't actually Aurora Media management. Julie Crawford - do you know her?"
"I do. She's Samuel's cousin."
"That's her. When Lucas rejected her advances, she found ways to get Aurora Media's management to suppress him. That's why he's been stuck playing supporting roles and never really taking off."
Grant trembled with anger.
He knew Julie. A few years ago, Julie had even visited their home.
Back then, Quinton and Natalie had welcomed her warmly.
But Lucas had never been interested in her.
Later on, Julie stopped showing up.
He thought Julie had given up, but it turned out she'd been suppressing Lucas behind the scenes all along!
"You should have said something about this earlier!"
Yasmin shrugged.
"What good would saying it earlier have done? Lucas signed a ten-year contract with Aurora Media. To leave, he'd have to pay an astronomical penalty fee. Besides, do you think Lucas doesn't know? He's just been enduring it. But it won't be much longer - in three more years, Lucas can leave Aurora Media."
Grant laughed bitterly.
"Lucas? An actor - how many three-year periods does he have?"
Age is crucial in the acting business.
Lucas signed with Aurora Media at eighteen, giving them his best years.
He just rejected a girl's advances - he shouldn't have ended up like this!
Not liking someone isn't Lucas's fault.
"Why are you taking it out on me?" Yasmin pursed her lips. "She's called the Crawford family's little princess. Lucas was just dumb - even if he didn't like her, he could have dated her, gotten the benefits, then broken up. Instead he made her love turn to hate. Doesn't Lucas's way of handling things have problems too?"
"I can't communicate with someone as shameless as you."
Grant threw out that line and turned to leave.
Yasmin hurried after him.
"I've already told you about this, so don't go back on your word. And I need you to go explain to everyone right now. Say that you often practice painting with me, so our styles are similar. As for copying your painting, you remembered wrong. And you need to voluntarily withdraw from the competition because of this, understand?"
Grant looked deeply at Yasmin, walked around her, and left.
Yasmin smiled smugly.
Although she and Grant had always been at odds, she understood him well.
Grant was a simple, honest person.
Once he promised something, he wouldn't go back on it.
She let out a long breath.
From the moment she saw Grant at the venue until now, the heavy weight in her heart had finally settled.
Yasmin tidied the stray hair by her ear, put a smile back on her face, and walked out.
Steven and Bobby happened to be looking for her.
Seeing her coming from the conference hall area, they quickly approached.
Steven spoke first: "Yasmin, where did you go?"
Yasmin said calmly, "Grant just asked to talk to me about something. Why? Did you need me for something?"
Bobby spoke up: "Did you hear the announcement? What does it mean that the championship is disputed? Aren't you already the champion? Did something happen?"
Yasmin had already prepared her explanation.
"This competition is mainly for the Crawford Group to find a lead designer for their new energy vehicles, but there can only be one lead designer, so the championship needs further discussion."
Bobby frowned.
"So you're saying you might not be the champion?"
Yasmin said, "Mr. Sullivan, please trust me. I'm confident. Grant just came to me about this too. He knows he's not as good as me, so he tried to use our past sibling relationship to pressure me into withdrawing from the competition. But I refused. However, this already shows he's panicking."
Bobby's frown deepened.
"I thought everyone in the Richardson family was like Ms. Richardson - honest and upright. I didn't expect Grant to be this kind of person."
Yasmin felt a bit uncomfortable hearing Bobby praise Amelia.
But she suppressed the discomfort and said, "It's actually understandable. The Richardson family's situation isn't great right now, as you know. So he really cares about winning this championship."
Hearing this, Bobby understood a bit more.
"The Richardson family does really need this championship right now, but people should still do the right thing. With Ms. Richardson there, the Richardson family won't fall too far. We'll help them too. Tell Grant not to worry - even if you win the championship, the Sullivan family can hire him as a designer at our company."
Yasmin nodded perfunctorily.
She didn't care at all about the Richardson family's future.
In fact, she hoped the Richardson family would stay as down and out as they were now.
That way, it would prove her decision to leave was right, and the Richardson family wouldn't have a chance to mock her.
At the same time, Amelia found Grant.
"Grant, where did you just go?"
Grant said somewhat guiltily, "Yasmin just asked to talk to me about something."
"What about?" Grant hesitated for a moment, then said, "About Lucas."
He then told Amelia the general situation.
"Julie?" She glanced in Samuel's direction.
Samuel seemed to sense it and looked her way too.
But Amelia looked away the next second.
"What's her relationship to Samuel?"
"She's Samuel's cousin."
No wonder she could get Aurora Media's management to do things for her.
Aurora Media was one of the Crawford Group's subsidiaries.
With countless popular artists under contract, it was one of Phoenicia's largest entertainment companies.
"I understand." Amelia nodded. "I'll handle it."
Grant instinctively glanced in Samuel's direction too, lowering his voice to ask, "Amelia, how will you handle it? Are you going to ask Samuel for help?"