Don't blame Nichole for arriving at the company with a clearly visible panda eye. Clearly Nichole hadn't been able to sleep since Nathan had called her in the early hours of the morning. Nichole kept a close eye on her phone and she read every news release that came out. As expected, the public has gone crazy and now they're accusing Nichole and Nathan of deliberately drawing up a new employment contract.
What kind of new contract? Even last night's meeting with Nathan only consisted of Nichole's protests which Nathan didn't respond to. As a result, the news that emerged was more varied and certainly more damaging to Nichole.
Nichole hurriedly entered the lift to meet Nathan on the top floor of the company. She didn't care about her messy looks with last night's leftover make-up. Nichole only had time to change because she had been bombarded by Miley's call. Yes, Miley had been at the company since early morning. She couldn't pick Nichole up because she was too sleepy and afraid of jeopardizing Nichole's safety. So Nichole had to get ready on her own.
There is a written rule in the company that no one is allowed to take pictures of the actresses or actors working here when they are not ready to be photographed. So there would be no additional news about Nichole's disheveled look. The other employees who were with Nichole in the lift were also very respectful of her privacy. They knew Nichole was not in the mood for any questions. That's why they didn't say anything including greetings to Nichole.
"I'm going to take a sword to that stubborn CEO," Nichole growled. She exited the lift with a fury. The CEO's secretary immediately opened the door for Nichole.
There were many people in Nathan's room. There was Miley, some senior legal staff and the senior IT team. With her current looks, Nichole wanted to curse Nathan even more.
"I hope you won't comment on my looks. Can we just get to the point?" Nichole asked.
Nathan invited Nichole to sit down. Miley quickly handed Nichole a sugarless coffee. "Drink this to open your eyes. You came here with narrowed eyes but didn't realize."
Nichole briefly looked up from her phone, it was true what Miley said. The coffee that Nichole usually drank in several sips, she could now drink in one sip.
"The IT team will pull all the news from the internet. If anyone refuses, then they will deal with the legal team," Nathan said in the end.
"That was my suggestion from the beginning. Why are you only doing it now?" asked Nichole.
"I have a lot of things to think about. Before this case, I never pulled news from the internet even if it was about me. Then if news about you suddenly disappeared, wouldn't it be strange? You just won an award too." Nathan gave a firm explanation to Nichole.
Indeed, before the news of this scandal emerged, Nathan never confirmed anything if he was rumored with the actress. But since Nichole also won an award and the public thought the award was Nathan's doing, confirmation was necessary.
"So what's my role here?" Nichole asked.
"You can see them working. Your schedule is empty anyway, right? From what I heard from Miley, you've had a month off." Nathan handed Nichole some scripts. "I'll give you the choice this time. Choose one of the movies."
Nichole was shocked at first because this was not the right time to give her a new movie in the middle of the chaos. Moreover, it was Miley who usually gave Nichole the script. It felt strange for the CEO to intervene directly.
But Nichole chose anyway. She read seriously and carefully from each movie synopsis. This is also the first time Nichole has gotten this many offers as a new actress.
While Nichole was reading the script she was going to choose, the legal and IT staff were doing their best to make the news disappear completely from the internet. As for Nathan, he was monitoring the company's falling shares. There was nothing favorable for any party over this scandalous news.
"By the way Nichole, don't you want to improve your looks first? Not to be mean, but out of respect for the other people here who are well-groomed," Miley said cautiously.
"You're right, I should fix my looks. Then I'll go to the actress' room. You stay here and help me pick out the script," Nichole replied.
"Why don't you use the restroom on this floor?" asked Miley curiously.
"I need to change my slippers too. There are slippers in the actress' room that I put in my closet." Nichole closed the few scripts she was reading and handed them to Miley.
"Ah you're right, you're still wearing your house slippers. Hurry up then."
Nichole closed the door slowly so that no one would be disturbed by her activities. Everyone was busy, Nichole appreciated their busyness.
Nichole was grateful to have a manager like Miley who always reminded her of kindness. Miley was a mature, unmarried woman. She wanted to dedicate her life to work so she wouldn't feel lonely. She became Nichole's manager after Nichole was cheated by her old manager. All the money from Nichole's contract with a well-known brand was taken away and has not yet been returned.
Upon entering the actress-only room, Nichole didn't see anyone here. There were usually one or two actresses sitting casually with sugarless coffee and a script in their hands.
"Everyone is busy filming," Nichole muttered.
Nichole replaced her house slippers with better high heels. As she looked in the mirror, she was shocked to see her own face. The mascara was smudged and the eyeliner was one side long due to her hand accidentally rubbing her eyes while sleeping. Nichole's look really needed an overhaul.
So Nichole grabbed her makeup case. However, when she sat down, Nichole's stomach was in knots. She couldn't help but go to the toilet.
Surprisingly, while Nichole was enjoying her activity, the toilet door was banged very loudly. Nichole knew very well that the other cubicles were still empty. Wouldn't it be better to use the empty cubicle instead of waiting for Nichole to finish?
"Who's outside? Isn't it empty next to me too?" asked Nichole in a rather loud voice.
But there was no answer. Obviously Nichole was not the type of person who was scared let alone attributed this incident to mystical things. Nichole was a bit annoyed because she had to rush when she was in the toilet.
When Nichole was about to open the door, the door wouldn't open. "Are you on purpose? Please open the door and we'll talk nicely, okay?"
"It turns out you're just like the other sycophants. You got the award because you have a relationship with the CEO. The proper place for you is here, not on stage."
"Everything you said is not true. I'll explain everything but open this door first," Nichole pleaded.
Nichole heard the sound of high heels getting further away. This meant she was not being listened to by the woman.
Nichole reached into her pocket for her phone. "I left my phone in that room."