"It was one of the most unexpected days ever," I exclaimed as we walked out of the building.
"You're right," Rose agreed with a nod. "First, we got to be the first ones to shoot our MV, then the announcement of the debut concert, and finally, the issue about song stealing. Everything was so unexpected. I never imagined the day would turn out like this."
As we continued chatting, Rose suddenly stopped in her tracks, causing me to almost bump into her.
I turned to her, confused. "What happened? Why did you just freeze?"
"Lyla, was it you?" she suddenly asked, her tone accusatory and bewildered.
"Me? What?" I replied, taken aback by her sudden question.
"Didn't Noah say all this because of you?"
I froze, my heart pounding at the unexpected accusation. What the hell? I thought to myself in a panic. "No! Why are you asking that?" I tried my best to mask my nervousness, though it was clear my voice faltered slightly.
"You're the baby sister of Crystal Miller, and Crystal is Noah Anderson's best friend. Did you rant about this injustice to your cousin, and she told Noah to do this?" she asked, piecing things together in her mind, her gaze narrowing as she tried to make sense of it all.
I felt slightly relieved that she didn't directly connect me with Noah himself. Laughing awkwardly to ease the tension, I said, "No, I've never wanted to use my family connections to achieve something. You know that. I didn't tell Crystal anything."
"But..." I added, pretending to think for a moment, "Aunt Nina knows about it. She usually keeps an eye on everything, but she's not the type to interfere in her kids' matters."
"Okay, alright. I was just wondering how Noah knew about this, especially since he just came back to the country," Rose said, her tone still thoughtful but less accusatory.
"Maybe he's already received complaints from other artists. You know it's not just us—many people have probably been suppressed by the upper management," I said, brushing off her concerns while letting out a silent sigh of relief. I could feel my heart starting to calm down as I spoke.
"Whatever it is, it's a good thing. You do have the backing if you ever feel suppressed and can't take it anymore. You could make them pay," Rose said, her voice softening. "But there are some artists, as I've seen, who are genuinely struggling and feel like losing that one opportunity could ruin their bright future."
Her words were tinged with a mix of empathy and understanding, and I could see that she meant every word. Rose came from a middle-class background, and even as an agent, she had her own struggles. The verses she shared often came from her own personal experience, and I admired her resilience.
"Alright, don't think too much about it. It's getting late; we should head back," I said, brushing the topic off as it wasn't a pleasant one to linger on for too long.
"Alright, let's go," she replied, sounding somewhat content with the conversation.
"You go ahead, I need to wait for my driver. Actually, I was dropped off by our driver today. My car is in for maintenance."
"Then let me give you a lift," she suggested, offering a smile.
"No, it's alright," I said quickly, shaking my head. "Actually, I need to go somewhere, so my driver will be here soon. I just need to find out where he is. You go ahead."
I tried to steer her away from lingering too long. I didn't want her to see me leaving with Noah. It was still something I wasn't ready to fully explain to anyone.
Speaking of Noah, he had already messaged me, letting me know that he was still at the company and would leave with me once I was ready.
"Okay, alright," Rose said with a smile, giving me a quick hug before walking away.
I took out my phone and messaged Noah: I'm near the parking lot.
A reply came almost instantly: Mr. Cheng is already there. Go ahead and sit in the car. I'll be there in five minutes.
I walked into the parking lot and spotted the familiar car with Mr. Cheng standing nearby, waving at me. I walked toward the car, and he opened the door for me. I slid inside, and after about ten minutes, Noah arrived.
"Hey, good evening," I greeted him as he climbed into the car.
"Good evening. How was your day?" he asked, his voice calm as the car started moving.
"Great. Hmm, and you?" I asked back, but my voice faltered slightly, betraying my curiosity.
"Me? What?" he asked, noticing my hesitation.
"I thought you'd go to Anderson headquarters today, but you were here," I said, unable to stop my curious heart from blurting out the question before I could filter it.
"Few days back, a little bird told me Mrs. Anderson has been wronged in the company. But you know, Mrs. Anderson never lets me take control of her grievances and revenge for her. Thinking about that couldn't let me sleep," he said dramatically, causing my eyes to widen in shock and embarrassment. I had thought he would just cover it up, saying that he needed to come here for some work or something. But instead, he was plainly telling me he was here for me.
"So I thought about it and made sure she wouldn't feel wronged again. But since she don't like the abuse of power, all I could do was give a warning to all those who try to manipulate power for their personal gain."
"So, how was it, Mrs. Anderson?" he asked with a grin, clearly amused by my shocked silence.
Still taken aback, my mouth couldn't form a coherent word at first. "It was a good decision. I like it," I finally said after what felt like a century, looking outside the window to cover up my embarrassment, though I could feel the warmth of his gaze on me.