Chapter 418
Karla came from the Churchill family. She even owned shares in the company they worked for now, so as long as you stayed in her good graces and didn’t stir up trouble, you were set.
Oakley had caught her attention for two reasons. First, he was crazy talented. Second, he actually listened and never half-assed the work.
Elena, never subtle, leaned closer and teased, “Oakley, aren’t you even a little curious? Karla just took that new girl under her wing. Aren’t you worried she’ll forget about you p>
Oakley barely gave her a glance. “Why should I be? I’m a guy, she’s a girl, so we’ll never be going after the same opportunities.” He grinned, confidence all over his face. “Besides, I don’t think I need to compete with a rookie anymore p>
He nodded toward Elena. “Honestly, it’s you other newbies who should be nervous, now that Karla’s bringing someone fresh in p>
Karla’s only ever managed three people: two who’d won Best Actor and one Best Actress. No one could rival that record.
Elena tried to act unfazed. “What do I have to be scared of? Karla didn’t sign me anyway.” She sent Oakley a little flirty look.
Oakley acted like he didn’t even notice.
He was thinking about a scene when Karla walked onto set, Claire trailing behind her. The director was in the middle of shooting with one of the supporting actresses, so the male and female leads were relaxing off to the side.
Karla’s assistant handed out hot milk teas to the crew while Karla went over to say hi to the director.
Their director this time was Osborn. In the film industry, he was basically a legend.
Everything with this shoot had gone smoothly, except for the female lead. The reason was obvious. The main actress was a young starlet, pushed into the role by investors. No matter how hard Osborn tried to steer clear of industry politics, there was nothing he could do about it. Luckily, she’d been pretty well-behaved, so it could’ve been worse.
“Karla’s here,” Osborn said with an easy smile. He and Karla went way back.
“I heard you brought a new face with you today,” he said. “Are you going to introduce us p>
Karla smiled, pulling Claire forward. “This is my niece, Claire. She’s not here to act, just wanted to see what a set is like since I was visiting today p>
Hearing that she wasn’t trying to sneak another actor into his project immediately lightened Osborn’s mood. But once he actually got a look at Claire, he looked genuinely surprised.
“Karla, you’ve been hiding a niece this gorgeous p>
If he’d known Karla was bringing
someone like Claire, he never
would’ve cared about her adding someone to the cast. If Karla
to wanted the lead for her, he honestly, might have given it to her.
Karla only laughed. “No secrets here. Claire just won first place in the math
competition preliminaries. I brought her out for a break p>
“Don’t get any ideas. She’s not interested in acting p>
“She’s about to take her college entrance exams p>
Karla knew how stunning Claire was, and how quickly she’d get snapped up if people in showbiz got interested. But she’d do anything to protect her family, and Claire would never want to get dragged into the mess of the entertainment industry. Cóntent
Even if Claire wanted to, Padgett would never agree to it.
Osborn grinned. “So she’s taking her exams, so what? I actually have a part-the male lead’s long-lost childhood sweetheart, that neighbor girl who passed away years ago Claire would be perfect for accameo.
What do you say p>
“If you’re up for it, we can shoot this afternoon. Once it’s done, I’ll give you a big red envelope p>
He looked at Karla, but from her reaction, he could see she couldn’t really speak for Claire. So Osborn turned directly to Claire.
Elena was still listening nearby, anxiety twisting in her chest.
The first time she saw Claire, panic rushed through her. With looks like that, if Claire joined the industry, what chance did any of them have?
When she heard Claire was just Karla’s niece, a math genius there to look around, Elena felt instant relief.
But the second the director started inviting Claire to do a cameo, Elena felt her nerves skyrocket all over again.