Chapter 107: The Whole Family Knows You're Her Boyfriend
[Amelia]: @Sophia Calling mission control! We have an emergency!
[Sophia]: What's wrong?
[Amelia]: The bakery screwed up the cake design. And I mean screwed up—it's a HELLO KITTY! What do we do?
Thank God Amelia had checked in with the bakery ahead of time to see if the cake was ready and whether it looked halfway decent.
Otherwise, they never would've caught the wrong design!
Sophia stared at the Hello Kitty cake and laughed. [Ask them how long it'll take to remake it. If they can't meet the deadline, find another bakery that can. We need it by 5 PM, no later.]
[Amelia]: Got it!
[Wayne]: @Sophia, we've got a bigger disaster than the cake! Just looked at the streamers—the colors are hideous!
[Sophia]: The hotel should have leftover decorations from previous events. Ask the manager. Are the balloons okay at least?
[Wayne]: Balloons look great. I'll go ask the manager for streamers.
With Sophia's instructions in hand, everyone dove back into action.
Wayne rushed off to track down the manager.
"Move it this way—yes, yes, perfect!" Mary directed Ray as he stuck decorations on the wall.
Lucas was busy arranging all the snacks and drinks on the table.
Ethan commanded the hotel staff as they rearranged the room. "Sofa over here, facing this way. Now move the dining table there—will it fit? Seven people... no, no, no, not so close to the window! That spot's way too cramped!"
After calling the bakery to redo the cake, Amelia turned her attention to the hotel's wine cellar.
It's James's birthday—we need the '82 Lafite!
Wait, what if he doesn't like red wine?
Grab some champagne!
What if Ray doesn't like that either?
Better throw in some Hennessy!
...
By the afternoon's final scene, Sophia was perched on a small folding stool, chin propped in her hands, watching James film with the second male lead.
"Ms. Johnson, would you like some coffee?"
Sophia glanced up to find Alice smiling obsequiously as she offered her a cup.
"No, thank you." She declined politely and went back to staring at James.
Alice didn't seem bothered by the cold reception. She sat down beside Sophia and chatted away unprompted. "James and I have such great chemistry. I wonder if we'll get to work together on the next project."
"You won't," Sophia said flatly. Alice froze. "James needs to prepare for exams. After today's wrap, he won't be taking any more roles."
Alice felt a strange wave of relief. For a second, she'd thought Sophia had blacklisted her from working with James behind the scenes.
"Still, there's a long break after exams. We'll have plenty of chances to work together then."
A tall, gorgeous, rich guy with that sweet, refined heir vibe? No way I'm letting him slip away.
As long as there was another chance to star alongside James, she'd have more opportunities to develop their relationship. Sooner or later, she'd win him over.
Sophia smiled faintly but didn't reply.
She didn't waste energy on foolish people.
One more camera angle, one more take, and the scene was done.
With filming officially wrapped, the director rallied everyone for a dinner celebration.
Sophia pulled out her phone and messaged the group: [That's a wrap! Final preparations, everyone. I'm bringing him over now.]
Amelia replied immediately—everything was ready. All they needed was the birthday boy.
Sophia pocketed her phone, looped her arm through James's, and said politely to the director, "We'll head out first. We're having dinner with family tonight."
The director's mind conjured an image of "dinner with family"—an elite dynasty in designer gowns, clinking crystal glasses in a grand private dining room, discussing the latest business ventures.
He nodded quickly, not daring to interfere. "Of course! Go ahead. Our little gathering isn't important."
"See you later." James smiled and nodded in farewell.
He hadn't been interested in the dinner anyway. There was no one on set he connected with, and Alice's constant hovering made it even less appealing.
He'd much rather go home and have dinner with his parents.
A few minutes into the drive, James noticed something was off. "This isn't the way home. Where are we going?"
Sophia kept her expression perfectly calm, lying without a hint of guilt. "Celestial Peak Hotel—one of my properties. I need to handle something real quick, and I figured I'd give you a tour while we're there."
After half a year of discovering Sophia's various identities, James was only surprised for about a second before accepting that she owned Celestial Peak Hotel.
On the way, Sophia's phone rang.
James glanced at the screen. "It's Michael. Want me to answer?"
He wasn't sure if he should be listening in. If it needed privacy, Sophia couldn't exactly take the call while driving.
"Go ahead. Put it on speaker."
"Okay."
James answered and tapped the speaker button.
Michael's voice came through, warm and affectionate. "Hey, baby. What are you up to? Took you forever to pick up."
His low, velvety tone was enough to make anyone weak in the knees. James coughed awkwardly and turned to stare out the window, suppressing a laugh.
Michael immediately caught on. "Who's with you?"
Sophia sounded amused. "James."
Now it was Michael's turn to be embarrassed. He licked his lips and cleared his throat. "Hey, James. I'm Michael. Sophia's... boyfriend."
James's laugh was smooth and bright, like water flowing over stones. "Relax. The whole family already knows you're her boyfriend."
"Wait, what?"
"She posted about it on Facebook, didn't she?"
"She... didn't block her family?"
"Why would she? She told us in person before she even posted."
"..."
Michael was sweating now. Sophia was only eighteen. Did the Johnsons think he was some kind of predator?
Sensing Michael's silence, Sophia chuckled. "Did you need something?"
"Nothing urgent. I'll message you on Facebook later."
"Okay."
The call ended. Sophia bit back a smile. "Michael is the chairman of Cloud Group, and he gets nervous talking to you?"
In all the years she'd known Michael, she'd never heard him stammer like that.
James laughed. "It means he really likes you. He cares what your family thinks, so he's nervous talking to them."
Sophia's eyes darted around thoughtfully. "Is that how it works?"
She didn't quite understand. She'd met Michael's parents when she was little, and they'd known each other for years—she'd never had the chance to experience that kind of nervousness.
The car pulled into Celestial Peak Hotel's underground garage, and Sophia led James to the elevator.
As the elevator doors reflected their images, Sophia quickly concocted a plausible excuse. "I'll need about half an hour to handle this. Let me find you a place to wait."
"Don't worry about it. Just go do what you need to do."
"No way. You're my brother—if you're at my hotel, I'm taking care of you." Sophia tilted her head with a sweet smile, looking the picture of innocence.
Seeing James relent, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
They reached the top floor, and Sophia led him to a suite. She handed him the keycard. "This is my private suite. Go rest for a bit. I'll have someone bring you a drink."
"Okay."