While Freya was working on her little task, Lantis and June were only walking behind her. Simon was closer to the mother, but he was just watching the woman chirp around like an excited bird. Moreover, he could recognize the symbol of the luxury car brand on the remote Freya was holding. If he was going to ride a Porsche, then he would behave well.
"…hey, what happened in that room? Did you sock Simon in the face?" June whispered at Lantis as he pulled the demon back a little, so they could talk among themselves. "Why did he pay for Mom's fees? What did you do?"
June chuckled in nervousness, trying to hide the excitement he had. "Hey, you're making too much luck for me. What are you collecting in return? You better not be snacking on random strangers…"
Of course, Lantis only laughed. He didn't want to tell June about it in detail. "Let's just say that I have convinced him that it was in his best interests to pay for her bills. Moreover, I understood your predicament, June. I will have someone else watch over her, while she heals her body. It's nothing new to you, but I can peer into her past. It must be hard for her to fall so hard."
"…yeah, she had to quit because she had me." June snorted before hesitating to show his own car keys. This demon just handed a Porsche car remote to his mother. How could his old Audi compare to that?
"Don't be too hard on yourself, darling." Lantis realized that the conversation was over as June only turned away from him. He then looked over a spot and saw his red Porsche 911 sitting at the side. When Freya pressed the remote again, it beeped as a response.
"I found it!" Freya gasped in glee and ran to the car. She just slowed down as she pressed the lock again. It was such a beautiful car. She then turned to them. "We're riding this? It's beautiful. Wait, June, are we going to drop June by his workplace as well?"
June was going to say something, but Lantis only shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ms. Verrier. It would bother June if he was seen getting out of a car like mine. We might be friends, but not everyone knows the cars I drive. Would you like to test it?"
At that, Freya only held onto the car remote. After looking at the red car again, she smiled and reached out the remote back to Lantis. "My license is already expired. I don't want to crash your beautiful car, Lantis. Also, my hands might be too shaky to drive."
As if Lantis knew what would happen next, he only glanced at the frail hands of the skinny mother. With a smile, his eyes struck Simon. The trembling man then carefully fished the remote from her bowl of hands. Under the gaze of the demon, the boyfriend said, "I'll drive. We can host him in our house, too…"
"Thank you, Mr. Grant. That's generous of you." Lantis only chuckled before nodding his goodbye at June. He waited for Simon to unlock the car, so he could open the door for Freya. Before he got in, he turned to June. "Don't be afraid to call me. I will be there."
"All right. Take care of my mom." June bent down to give one last wave at Freya before watching the red car drive away. He pocketed his hands before turning in a direction to see his silver Audi. "Man, I want to drive a Porsche in the future, too. Is there a chance that I can borrow his car? He should have a lot of them if he was posing to be a disgustingly wealthy man."
…
The drive back to Drawn Wings came after June dropped by his apartment. He changed into clothes befitting an actor and reached the agency in the next hour. The actor parked his car where he normally did and jogged up the stairs to enter the place. He didn't care much about the eyes thrown his way. Not only was he rumored to blow a Castelli, but he even threatened Reed with his car.
June was met by his manager at the elevator lobby. He frowned at the man. "Seriously?"
"June, don't make this any harder. You're making too much noise that the agency is going to have a hard time keeping you here. You do know that if you leave Wings, you won't get an agent ever again." The manager was calm and collected today. He even stood with the actor without hunching his back. "There's also a big production coming up. Don't waste this chance."
"…I know." June pocketed his hands. He didn't know how much cursing he would get from the boss if he still decided not to stay. At this, he began thinking about the circumstances again. He was being kept as a B-list actor, but when he decided to leave, he was being treated like a superstar.
When the two reached the conference room, June knew that Jonathan Stallis was up to something. He could make out multiple people inside. Was Jonathan making use of the humiliation to keep June from revolting? The joke's on him; June was learning to live lawlessly.
June popped his neck to relieve his own tension. With one of his hands inside the pocket of his coat, he used the other hand to push one of the doors. When the frosted glass door opened, the people inside all regarded him with their eyes. Even if June was ready to be stared at, he didn't think that he would see a lot of familiar faces to hold him back.
"Nice, very nice! You're also here!" The derisive tone of the slim man with a slick mustache echoed in the room, even before June could enter. He then gestured at one of the seats. "Go on, sit down and pretend that you're interested in the movie."
"…Director Gaza…" June's face twitched as he was subjected to the derision of the director. This Mariano Gaza used to like him so much. However, after leaving [Season of Paper Planes] abruptly and without permission from him, June had only suffered from the bad mouth of this director. It was good that his succeeding movies were all directed by someone who didn't listen to this guy.
"June, you're late, but that doesn't matter. Sit down." Jonathan had a smile on his face, but the smile was nothing kind. It was full of subtle mockery. He was even asking June to behave as if he was not leaving Drawn Wings at all.
However, June only continued to stand before the table. He gazed at Jonathan, and the glare in his eyes was not even afraid to show the longer he stared at the boss. This boss called over the director and some executive producers of big movies, along with Prudence and Reed, to talk about the star-studded movie. If June made a scene here, he might as well be blacklisted by the entire mainstream industry.
It's just that… something had long broken inside June. At the setup, he only laughed like he had the power to overturn everyone at the table. June then shook his head, his smile cold and murderous. "I'm done with you. You think I'm scared? If this kills my career, so be it.
"Sorry, Director Gaza, I didn't come here to sit down and pretend that Wings won't pull me out and replace me with some hotshot wanna-be." June grinned menacingly at Jonathan, even tilting his chin to look down at the man across the table. "I'm quitting Wings, and it doesn't matter how much you use the executives against me, Mr. Stallis. Have a good day."
With a spin, June retreated and pushed the doors open with both hands. Just like that, June left.