CHAPTER 405: CHAPTER 405: GUEST LIST

Riley Osborne finished the interview and directly got into the nanny car at the court’s entrance.

Her manager sat beside her for company.

Many of her film academy classmates had signed with management agencies by the time they were sophomores, Riley was no exception.

However, she was previously a neglected nobody in the company. Now, her manager has changed, becoming one of the company’s top agents.

Who could have expected Ethan Hawthorne’s matter to have such significant impact?

Even Riley’s company didn’t expect that previously they had been worried she had mindlessly offended Young Master Hawthorne and would cause trouble for the company.

After all, Ethan Hawthorne holds a certain position in the entertainment circle, backed by the Hawthorne Group’s influence.

Who could have foreseen that Young Master Hawthorne would be brought down by a female student like Riley, and that the Hawthorne Group, one of the four major families, would also be on the brink of collapse?

But Riley’s boss isn’t a fool; he knows it’s impossible for Riley alone to have accomplished this.

After all, it’s the four major families, and with the Hawthorne Group in its current state, there must be capital games at play behind the scenes.

Although Riley doesn’t have representative work yet, she’s already approaching the popularity of top female stars. The company immediately focuses resources on her, promoting her not only to ride the trends but also to please the mysterious benefactor behind her.

"Xiao Rui, you performed extremely well just now; the latest comment on your Weibo has surpassed a hundred thousand. The company is negotiating prices for three dramas and five variety shows for you. Would you like to choose which ones you prefer?"

"My facial injuries haven’t healed, I shouldn’t be able to start work for the time being."

"No problem, going on variety shows isn’t affected. As for filming, we’ll press on with treatment to ensure starting before the case concludes."

Now everyone in the circle wants to piggyback on the heat from this incident, and our artist, being the event’s main character, of course, must ’use everything to its fullest.’

Yet hearing the manager’s words, Riley seemed somewhat distracted.

She tightly held her phone in her hand, and after contemplating for a moment, decided to send a text message to the number etched in her heart.

[President Sterling, today’s first trial went quite well. I truthfully disclosed everything I knew in court, but Ethan Hawthorne left me with a malicious glare, making me a bit fearful thinking about it. He said he wouldn’t let me go!]

After editing this, Riley deleted it word by word.

After contemplating, she decided to send this content: [President Sterling, today’s first trial went quite well. I truthfully disclosed everything I knew in court, but regarding Miss Thornton being kidnapped with me, I hid it! Miss Thornton was innocent and implicated by me, I can’t let her be entangled further.]

After sending the message, she waited and waited, for more than an hour.

Finally, she received a reply, just one word: [Hmm.]

Indeed, it was Conrad Sterling’s style!

Riley looked at that one word like a treasure and smiled.

As she continued smiling, her smile turned somewhat bitter.

It’s true, mentioning Miss Thornton seems to be the key to getting a response.

Riley seems to have grasped the essence!

Yet, another person hasn’t realized this key point.

Rainie Hawthorne has been exhausting efforts to meet Conrad Sterling lately.

She has been staking out near the Sterling Group headquarters for a week, finally spotting President Sterling surrounded by subordinates.

Rainie couldn’t care less about anything else and jogged towards him.

"President Sterling!"

"President Sterling, wait!"

"President Sterling, I only need to take five minutes of your time! No, two minutes will do! I’d like to discuss collaboration with you!"

Upon hearing this, the man striding ahead halted his steps and turned to look at the woman chasing him in high heels.

"Are you Hawthorne family, still have the face to talk about collaboration with me?"

"President Sterling, I know after signing the last project, it caused you certain losses. I’m deeply sorry, but that was absolutely not our intention."

After all, who could have expected that idiot Ethan Hawthorne would cause such a huge trouble at the crucial moment?

Not only did it deliver a fatal blow to the already struggling Hawthorne Group, but it also implicated Sterling Group.

Wasn’t that project invested by Conrad Sterling in Ethan Hawthorne?

But there’s no choice; that project is currently the Hawthorne Group’s only chance to turn the tide.

This is why Rainie came to find President Sterling with full confidence today, determined to secure a collaboration with the Sterling Group.

"President Sterling, could you give us another chance? I can guarantee that this time Hawthorne will certainly not disappoint you."

"Furthermore, to express our apologies, I am willing to offer a further one-third discount on the previously agreed profits."

Rainie said this, seeing Conrad Sterling’s expression unmoved.

She simply gritted her teeth and stated, "Additionally, I know President Sterling is quite interested in our Hawthorne’s top industries’ technology..."

Rainie is quite smart. She knows under current circumstances, she isn’t qualified to negotiate profit sharing with Conrad Sterling.

Therefore, the conditions mentioned afterwards touch upon the Hawthorne Group’s core.

There’s no other way; Hawthorne needs to pass through the current hurdle, ’No pain, no gain.’

Fortunately, President Sterling seems indeed somewhat interested.

Following Rainie’s request, Conrad Sterling granted her two minutes.

And Rainie didn’t waste it, reaching unprecedented concessions and securing further collaboration with the Sterling Group.

Although it was painful, Rainie was rather pleased.

Because it gave her more chances to interact with President Sterling; she especially enjoys dealing with a bright and charismatic man like President Sterling.

In the following period, Rainie frequented the Sterling Group under the guise of business.

She even offered Conrad Sterling an invitation, hoping to invite him as her escort at a charity gala hosted by the Hawthorne family.

It’s safe to say, during the time Ethan Hawthorne fell, Rainie stepped up entirely.

The public’s frustration hasn’t subsided yet, and online condemnation towards the Hawthorne Group is still overwhelming.

The Hawthorne men have all withdrawn into their shells, leaving only Rainie to stand forth.

Moreover, her status as a woman helps differentiate her from the two relentless beasts: Mason Hawthorne and Ethan Hawthorne.

Rainie indeed had some skills; after taking charge, she decisively displayed cutting ties with those two criminals.

Then, she took a series of measures to restore their reputation.

Among these, is the upcoming charity gala!

This charity gala is rather surreal; besides inviting top-tier elites in Aethelgard, some special guests were invited.

These guests are female artists from the entertainment industry, most of whom previously accused harassment or harm in Ethan Hawthorne’s case.

Among the invitation list, the most notable ones are Riley Osborne!

And Anna Thornton!