CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: WHO ARE YOU CALLING CHEAP?

Leaving Jane Jennings’s office, Mary boasted, "Anna, wasn’t my outburst just now quite impressive? We’re perfectly in sync, one playing the bad cop and the other the good cop. That Manager Jennings deliberately sending her assistant to Marilyn Ford’s manager to fetch coffee beans was simply to humiliate us, right? Your final comeback was brilliant!"

"But why did you cover half the assistant’s salary? You’re not exactly flush with cash yourself." Mary was mostly feeling a bit distressed.

The key point was that the assistant really neglected to host them, whatever the reasons, it was still dereliction of duty.

Having just returned to the country without securing a job yet, was it necessary to spend money like this on someone unrelated?

"Didn’t you see, Jane Jennings is simply trying to sow discord? Half a month’s salary for an assistant isn’t much; I consider it money well spent to eliminate a potential hurdle for myself."

Her reasoning made sense; for Anna Thornton and Mary, the primary goal right now was to establish themselves within this company.

Spending some money to avoid disaster—thousands aren’t a big deal to an artist like Anna Thornton.

But for an assistant whose rent, utilities, and living expenses rely entirely on work income, docking half a month’s salary is practically life-threatening! What a huge grudge that would cause!

"That Jane Jennings is truly vile!" Mary couldn’t help but complain, "What on earth did Marilyn Ford offer her to make her so hard on you from the start!"

"No, I don’t think her hostility towards me is just because of Marilyn Ford."

"Then why else?"

"Not really sure." Anna Thornton was just going by intuition that Jane Jennings’s dislike for her was not just self-interest, but also that kind of... woman-to-woman antipathy.

"Anyway, today was the first day we came into the company. We should make a gesture. How about I organize a gathering this afternoon to see who clearly stands with Marilyn Ford and who might be friends with us?"

Anna Thornton thought the outlook wouldn’t be promising but still nodded in agreement for Mary to give it a shot.

So, in the afternoon, Mary splurged on a very expensive afternoon tea, intending to invite all the company employees to come, eat, drink, and chat.

Apparently, Jane Jennings harbored a grudge over Anna Thornton’s remark about her being petty, as she continued to make things difficult. She assigned Anna Thornton’s makeup room and rest area to be merged with Mary’s office into a single suite in the corner of the third floor.

Rumor had it that the company had long ago set up a dedicated studio for Marilyn Ford, with a whole floor of rooms and staff just to serve her, directly above Anna Thornton and Mary’s head.

In the afternoon, while waiting for Mary’s ordered desserts, not a single colleague showed up.

Looking at the table full of exquisite pastries only to potentially feed them to mosquitoes, Mary shook her head ruefully, "Looks like you were right; the entire company doesn’t welcome us. How are we supposed to get through this?"

"If no one comes, so be it. Let’s eat them ourselves." Anna Thornton picked up a light-colored macaron to console her, "Share some around if we can’t finish them, and later we can pack them up and send them to a nearby welfare home."

Just as she was saying this, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Mary, hearing someone finally arrived, dashed to open the door: "Colleague, here for afternoon tea? Come in, we’ve got loads of snacks."

A middle-aged woman stood outside, adjusting the black frames on her nose. Without lenses, the rims accentuated her notably sharp eyes, bordering on harsh.

Sharon Langley didn’t enter but smiled at Mary, "No need. Our Marilyn invited the whole company for afternoon tea upstairs, and I came down already full. Here are some treats to celebrate us all being colleagues now."

"Aren’t you... Marilyn Ford’s manager?"

"My name is Sharon Langley, and besides Marilyn, half the current big stars in the industry were groomed by me."

Upon hearing the introduction, Mary, as a matter of course, introduced herself too, "I am Mary..."

"Not important!" Sharon Langley interrupted, shoving the elaborately packaged treats into Mary’s hands, "Take these, I’ve got things to do, gotta go."

"Oh, by the way!"

She took a step out, then suddenly turned back to glance at their room’s desserts and said, "You ordered your afternoon tea from that Hong Kong-style diner on Coridian Street, right? Ours is from the Michelin three-star restaurant opposite. Double the price, as Marilyn dislikes things that smell cheap."

"..." Mary, "Oh, come on!"

What kind of day is this?

Is everyone in this company lining up to bully us?

"Don’t get angry, don’t get angry!" Anna Thornton gave Mary another macaron, then unwrapped the dessert box sent by Marilyn Ford’s agent and closely examined, "Hmm, our afternoon tea, though we already splurged, still isn’t as exquisite as theirs."

"Ugh, what’s the point of looking good? It’s all about having a good family background. Honestly, hardware-wise, Marilyn Ford doesn’t stand a chance against you. Just look at how she doesn’t dare come down to face us directly, sending a lackey to mock us instead, what kind of skill is that?"

Mary was indeed enraged, speaking whatever came to mind.

What really irked her was Sharon Langley’s last remark—who was she calling cheap?

If she dared insult her artist again, dare she stay a moment longer, Mary would tear her a new one.

"Anna, I’m telling you, these snobs, if they knew you were already living with President Sterling, they’d probably go mad with regret! Why don’t we leak this news? I want to see if Marilyn Ford and her manager might die of anger, their reactions would be priceless."

Mary was just venting, but after she said this, suddenly a rose-gold dyed head peeked in from outside the door, "Who’s going to die of anger?"

"Ah!" Mary was so startled she jumped, "You, you’re... Florian Hollis?"

Mary had meant to ask who it was, but before the word "who" slipped out, she recognized his face.

"You’re currently the hottest male idol in the country, Florian Hollis, right? Wow, I just listened to your new song yesterday; I didn’t expect to see you in person so soon." Mary said excitedly.

Though, Dynasty Entertainment was founded by Conrad Sterling to promote Marilyn Ford, signing other male artists was just incidental.

But undeniably, their eye for signing talent was top-notch.

Besides Marilyn Ford, all their other artists were faring quite well in the industry. Particularly Florian Hollis, who signed on less than a year ago and has already become a major sensation known by everyone in the country.

Earlier when they entered the company, Anna Thornton noticed his poster hanging at the entrance, right alongside Marilyn Ford’s.

It was said to have been specially ordered by his fans and delivered to the company, so they had no choice but to hang it.

After all, in this day and age, traffic is king, and with popularity comes confidence.

Even Marilyn Ford had to show some respect, agreeing to have his poster the same size as hers to avoid offending Florian Hollis’s massive fan base.

"You were just saying, who’s living with who?" Florian Hollis asked.