Startled, Catherine turned towards the sound. Not far from the hotel entrance, Nancy stood with her arms crossed, a rare scowl on her face as she glared at the man in front of her. The crew's location manager, Mark Seed, was sweating profusely, gesturing wildly as he explained, "I'm really sorry, Miss Nancy. The property owner had initially agreed to let us use the place and even signed the contract. But he has an urgent matter and needs to use the house. He's willing to pay the penalty fee, which caught us completely off guard."
"Didn't you have a backup plan? Did you not consider what would happen if something went wrong when you rented the house?!" Nancy asked sharply.
Mark waved his hand and finally lowered his head, dejectedly saying, "No, we didn't consider that."
It seemed there was an issue with the filming location for tomorrow. Catherine pinched her chin thoughtfully. The crew had always had a good atmosphere, and it would be unfortunate if this issue affected everyone's mood and the filming schedule. She knew exactly what kind of house was needed, and solving the problem was simple but risky. Well, if she was careful, it should be fine.
With this thought, the young girl hurried over. "Hi, Nancy. Is something wrong?"
Nancy turned and saw Catherine. She forced a smile. "It's nothing, dear. Nothing major."
"No, Nancy. I heard you talking. It's because you couldn't secure the filming location for tomorrow, right?" Catherine blinked.
Nancy glanced at Mark, who still had his head down, and sighed. "Yes."
"Well, maybe I can help you with that." The young girl straightened her chest and said.
"You?" Nancy and Mark both asked in unison, surprised.
"Of course. Remember, my mother is British." Catherine said with a mischievous smile.
"You mean your family has a house in London we can use?" Mark asked eagerly.
"Mark! That's rude!" Nancy frowned.
The little girl shrugged and waved them over. "Follow me. Even though it's Sunday and already five o'clock, I'm sure that guy is still at the office."
The three of them came to a red phone booth. After the person inside finished their call and left, Catherine took out a coin, inserted it, and began dialing a number. The dial tone rang for ten seconds before a sweet but formal female voice answered, "This is the president's office of Ekrik Architecture. Today is not a working day. Please call back tomorrow. Thank you."
Catherine frowned. Had the secretary changed again? She quickly said, "Hello, please connect me to Mr. Frank Albert. I know he's in the office."
"I'm sorry, miss, but—" the formal voice started to say, but Catherine interrupted, "Tell him DA is calling."
The authoritative tone of the young girl stunned the woman on the other end, who hesitated before saying, "Alright... please hold on."
Soon, the call was transferred, and a familiar male voice came on the line. "Hey, Catherine, my dear little angel, is that you? What makes you call at this time?"
"Dear uncle, did your secretary Lily resign?" Catherine asked lazily.
There were a few awkward coughs before he replied, "Catherine, that's not something a good child should discuss."
"Alright, Uncle Frank. Do you have time now?" The young girl got to the point.
"What's going on?"
"Well... I'm in London right now." Catherine decided to be honest.
"God, you're back in London? Why didn't you come see me? Did you just arrive? Are you on summer vacation? Does your grandpa know?" A barrage of questions made the young girl hold the receiver away until she heard, "Hello, are you listening?"
"Alright, dear uncle, it's just me in London. Mom and Dad aren't here," Catherine answered.
"You're alone? Oh my! Did you sneak out again? And come back to London? Catherine, go to your grandpa's house immediately. This time I won't cover for you."
Catherine couldn't help but roll her eyes dramatically. "Am I the kind of child who disregards her parents' feelings and just causes trouble?"
"Absolutely!" came the unequivocal reply.
It took Catherine a moment to calm down. She gritted her teeth and said, "Can I finish speaking? Dear Mr. Albert!"
Sensing the child's anger, he chuckled softly. "Alright, go ahead. I'm listening."
"To put it simply, I'm in London shooting a film. Our crew has run into a bit of trouble. The house we were supposed to film in tomorrow can't be used because the owner has some issues and needs it back. I remember you have a private house on Oak Street, two stories with a small garden. It would be perfect for our filming. So, we want to rent it," Catherine explained succinctly.
"Wait, wait, I don't understand. Filming a movie? What movie?" Frank asked, sounding confused.
"Alright, my dear uncle, let's not talk about it now. Meet me at the corner of Oak Street in 30 minutes. I'll explain everything then, okay? And bring your lawyer," Catherine suggested.
"Fine, I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Wait, don't tell anyone that I'm in London, especially Grandpa, okay?"
"Hey, Catherine, that's really impolite."
"Oh, come on, Uncle. Just don't tell anyone, including your new secretary!"
Catherine hung up with a click, then stuck her tongue out at the phone playfully before stepping out of the booth. She turned to Nancy and said, "It's all sorted, Nancy. Let's head to the corner of Oak Street. He'll be there soon."
Oak Street, located in the southwestern part of London in Kensington near St. Mary's Gate, is a charming, tree-lined residential area, highly favored by its residents.
After getting out of the taxi at the corner, they waited for less than five minutes before an all-black BMW pulled up across the street. A man in his early thirties, with short brown hair and a gray suit, stepped out. Despite his formal attire, he exuded a warm and approachable aura, with a faint, constant smile on his face.
"Haha, my dear little angel, it's been months since I last saw you!" The man laughed as he approached, lifting the young girl into a bear hug and planting a big kiss on her cheek.
"Uncle Frank, you got your slobber on my face again! I'm telling Mom!" Catherine pretended to be upset.
"Oh, I'm really sorry, dear. How about I give you a few more kisses to make up for it?" Frank teased, opening his mouth as if to bite her, making the girl squeal and cover her face, which only made him laugh harder.
Catherine wriggled out of his grasp, pouting, then made a funny face at him before introducing Nancy and Mark.
"Thank you both for looking after my little niece," Frank said with a smile, shaking hands with them. He then pointed to a nearby café. "If you have time, shall we discuss this over there?"
Over a cup of coffee, Catherine quickly explained the situation. After the initial surprise, Frank readily agreed. "No problem. If you want, we can go check out the house right now."
Nancy, having heard the description from the young girl on the way, knew it was perfect for the film, "The Parent Trap." She politely declined, "No need. If possible, we'd like to draft an agreement right now."
"No problem, Miss Nancy. I can give you the keys now. However, my lawyer, Mr. Andy, is on vacation, so the formal agreement will have to be delivered tomorrow morning. Rest assured, I agree to let you use the house free of charge," Frank said with a shrug.
"When did you become so generous?" The young girl sipped her juice, narrowing her eyes.
"What do you mean? Do you think I'm a Scrooge?" Frank spread his hands innocently.
"Aren't you?" Catherine challenged him with a sly smile.
Frank sighed and bent down to whisper in the girl's ear, "Dear Catherine, regardless, I'm helping you. Speaking ill of me is quite rude."
"I'm not speaking ill of you. I'm stating a fact," the girl said with a smile, her eyes twinkling with mischief: Come on, spill it. Why are you being so generous?
"The fact is you're lying. Children's noses grow when they lie," Frank raised an eyebrow, saying nothing more.
"Alright, if you promise not to tell anyone I'm here, and not to call Mom to say we've been in contact before I go back to Los Angeles, I'll keep quiet," Catherine bargained, still smiling sweetly.
"Deal!" Frank snapped his fingers and then stood up straight. He turned to Nancy and said, "So, Miss Nancy, even if something gets damaged, it's fine. The house needs a renovation anyway."
With that, he handed over the keys. Nancy accepted them gratefully. "Thank you very much for your generosity, Mr. Albert."
"No problem at all. Catherine is my niece, so of course, I'll help her out," Frank said nonchalantly, knowing the bill would simply go to Susan. Generosity at someone else's expense? Perfectly normal.