I was really surprised that he would bring that up.
But I know, no matter whose favor it is, it’s best not to owe it.
Otherwise, just like at dinner earlier, when he snarked at in that roundabout way, I wouldn’t even have the right to snap back.
"Thank you, Uncle, but it’s already taken care of."
After I said that, I headed straight for the door and left the Sinclair Family estate.
On the way ho, Vera called .
I guessed she must have talked to Ian Sterling and had so news.
"So? What did Ian say?" I asked.
Vera sounded annoyed: "When Director Hollis and I contacted his agent, they said the crew of ’Marriage Heart’ had also reached out to him. He needs so ti to consider. But just now, I saw on X—Serena Sawyer pretty much implied Ian is already locked in as the male lead for ’Marriage Heart.’ We’re... hopeless."
I said, "As long as they haven’t signed a contract, there’s still hope."
Even though I had no real idea where that confidence ca from.
Vera said, "We’ll keep talking to them on our end. If I get any news, I’ll let you know."
After talking to Vera, I got ho and opened X.
Serena Sawyer had posted a photo of herself reading the script together with Ian Sterling. Both fandoms instantly exploded, celebrating together:
"Aaaah! What a godly combo! His side profile is killing ! Serena’s smile is sweet enough to lt hearts! This visuals pairing is legendary, okay? Who gets it—just from this pic I’m already hyped for the real thing!"
"So flop dramas need to quit trying to leech off us, okay? Like that ’Long Road to Marriage’ one next door—just the na is embarrassing, and they think they can poach our guy? They should know their place! Only thing they’re fit for is gathering cobwebs, they’re not even good enough to polish ’Marriage Heart’s shoes!"
"LOL I just saw so of Raina Ainsworth’s brain-dead fans screeching—just because their Ainsworth Bitch did a few shows with Ian Sterling, now they’re yelling about a fifth collab! Give it up, flop dramas—stop embarrassing yourselves!"
"..."
A lot of the comnts were obviously Serena Sawyer’s paid trolls.
Still, the hype was off the charts.
Jenna saw this scrolling pages, and the next day she showed up at my place, more worried than that our drama would get crushed by Serena’s crew.
After I gave her a rough rundown of what happened, she imdiately asked, "Do you have enough funds? If you need money, you have to tell ."
"I’ve got enough."
I smiled, "Rember when Timothy was hospitalized and I went to take care of him? Made quite a bit of money off him."
Jenna grumbled, "Serves him right! That guy deserves to go bankrupt and end up sleeping on the street!"
Right then, Vera called to say that Ian Sterling had accepted their dinner invite for tonight.
Vera reminded , "I know you hate socializing, but right now, we’ve got no way out. As the original author, you really should attend so Ian can see we’re sincere."
I paused, then wondered aloud, "Didn’t he say he’s planning to work with Serena Sawyer?"
Vera sighed: "Yeah, that’s the buzz, but they haven’t signed anything, so we’ve still got a sliver of hope. Let’s just et tonight and talk things out—give it a try!"
"Okay."
I agreed.
After I hung up, Jenna had this lovestruck look and asked, "Who are you talking about? You’re having dinner with Ian Sterling tonight?"
I said, "Not just , the whole crew, director, producer... probably a bunch of people."
"Heheheh..."
Jenna grinned, holding my arm, "Take along, okay? I’ve been a fan since his debut. If I can have a al at the sa table with him, that’s worth my whole life!"
I rolled my eyes, "Does Dr. Payne know you think like this? Won’t he get jealous?"
Jenna made a shushing gesture, "He can’t find out! Besides, he’s always busy with surgeries, hasn’t even gone on a date with in forever. I’m bored anyway, just take to et my idol!"
I couldn’t get rid of Jenna, so after talking it over with Vera, I agreed to bring her along.
Once Jenna knew she could finally et her idol at dinner, she spent the afternoon at ho picking out outfits and getting dolled up.
That evening, on our way to the hotel, Jenna was still fussing with her hair in the mirror.
"Stop looking, you look good enough already!"
I gave her a helpless look. "Just don’t get overexcited tonight, we’re here to talk business."
"Relax!"
Jenna winked at .
...
When the door to the private room opened, Zachary Sterling was sitting on the sofa, reading the script.
The beige sweater made him look especially refined, definitely matches the image of the male lead from my novel.
When he saw us co in, he and his agent both stood and greeted us politely: "You must be Screenwriter Ellison, right?"
I shook hands with him and his agent. "Thank you, Mr. Sterling, for giving us this chance."
Though Ian Sterling is at the top of the food chain, he doesn’t have Serena Sawyer’s arrogance behind the scenes.
Jenna tugged on my sleeve and I rembered—quickly introducing, "This is my close friend, Jenna Sutton."
"Nice to et you, Miss Sutton."
Ian nodded to her politely, and seed to... be taking interest in Jenna?
Jenna extended both hands to shake with him—I’d bet she’ll avoid washing her hands for days after this dinner.
Vera and the director were talking business with Ian’s agent.
But Ian kept glancing at the doorway, like he was waiting for soone?
After a while, he casually asked , "I heard Raina Ainsworth will be coming too tonight. Is there a traffic jam or sothing?"
Vera chid in, "Oh, Raina’s not coming tonight. She caught a bad flu and doesn’t want to spread it to everyone."
I could visibly see Ian’s eyes cloud with disappointnt.
Jenna leaned in and whispered, "See? Those rumors about him and Raina—maybe they’re not just rumors, huh?"
I pinched her lightly, signaling her to quit it.
Just after the small talk, the box door was pushed open again, and with the waiter showing the way, Julian Sinclair walked in.
Everyone was taken aback—even Vera, who organized the dinner, looked stunned. Clearly, no one expected soone as busy as Julian Sinclair to show up for sothing like this.
"President Sinclair, what brings you here?"
Normally, unless it’s at the law firm or he’s directly involved, everyone still goes with "President Sinclair."
"I had so business tonight at this hotel. Heard a Sinclair Group-backed crew was negotiating nearby, so I thought I’d drop by."
Julian took off his dark coat and handed it to the waiter, then sat in the main seat Vera had pulled out for him.
Even Ian Sterling had heard of Julian’s reputation.
In front of capital, even a top star acts like a properly trained kid, standing up and greeting Julian politely.
Just then, the food started coming in one dish after another, but with Julian’s presence, the whole table felt tense—directors included.
Julian spoke blandly: "Just ignore and carry on with your talks."
Only then did Vera ask Ian about his intentions to work with us.
Ian looked embarrassed, and his agent said, "Really sorry, maybe next ti. This ti, the Xavier Group... already gave us preliminary terms. And it’s not entirely up to Ian—he’s our agency’s artist, so he has to follow what the company decides."
The agent distanced Ian from the deal, probably not wanting him to make enemies at his peak.
Vera’s smile froze on her face. I felt deflated too.
Honestly, we all knew Ian Sterling would be hard to get. Inviting him to dinner was really just a last ditch effort anyway.
Right then, Leo Grant entered with a docunt folder in hand.
We never expected the folder to actually contain the cooperation contract with Ian Sterling.
Even Ian himself was confused, "President Sinclair... what’s this?"
No matter how big he is in the industry, Ian seed cowed by Julian Sinclair, shifting anxiously.
Julian is a cool character by nature, but there’s an inherent cold arrogance to him as a top-dog.
Almost like an order, he told Ian, "I’ve already talked to your boss on the way here. Sign this deal. Whatever resources you need, I can give."
Ian glanced at his agent, who received a ssage right at that mont.
Probably from the agency boss.
After the agent nodded, Ian managed a perfect little smile: "It’s an honor to collaborate with your company."
Even if Jenna and I could see his reluctance—after all, nobody likes being forced to play along.
But mostly, we were just excited.
With just one word, Julian Sinclair had untangled days of our issues and anxieties.
But...didn’t he say he was just dropping by out of convenience?
If it was just on the way, why show up so prepared with a contract and everything?
At this point, Jenna’s eyes had shifted from Ian Sterling over to Julian Sinclair, full of admiration.
After the contract was signed, Julian Sinclair clearly had zero interest in small talk. Or maybe he just felt we weren’t worthy of dining with him.
"I have other business. Enjoy your al."
He got up, the waiter rushing over with his coat.
The whole table stood up to see him off.
Only after the door closed again did the tense mood at the table finally loosen up a bit.
Vera and the director kept chatting with Ian and his agent, then started discussing the script again.
I was about to join in, but Jenna grabbed .
She squeezed my hand, clearly excited, and whispered, "Finally a guy who beats Ezra Payne in the appeal departnt! If not for Ezra, I’d definitely make a move! I could get used to being Timothy Xavier’s aunt, you know!"
I rolled my eyes, "Go ahead! Want to give you his WeChat?"
Jenna pouted, "If I run off with him, what about Ezra Payne? What about you though? Aren’t you even a little interested? Sure, he’s older, but he’s handso, steady, doesn’t even look ten years older than you! A guy like that would give you tons of security."
Dinner wrapped up around nine.
We’d just reached the club’s entrance when we ran into Timothy Xavier and Serena Sawyer also coming out.
They were chatting with other people—looked like the ’Marriage Heart’ crew, since I recognized a pretty famous director among them.
Serena had a sweet smile, saying sothing to Timothy I couldn’t hear.
But as soon as they clocked us together with Ian Sterling, both of their faces flickered with surprise.
Serena eyed us suspiciously, asking, "Ian, why are you with them? Didn’t you say you had sothing else on tonight and couldn’t make it?"
Ian looked a bit awkward: "Yeah, but I’d already made plans with Vera and them."
Vera’s a big-shot producer, definitely not new to the industry’s gas.
She clearly didn’t think much of Serena—her gaze was dismissive, not even bothering to look her in the eye—as she said to us, "I’m heading back to the office to file the contract."
"Contract?"
Serena blurted, "What contract?"
Jenna said with a mocking drawl, "The contract for the male lead of ’Long Road to Marriage,’ obviously! Ian Sterling signed with us tonight!"
Serena’s face drained of color as she looked at Ian, "But we already agreed on everything before, didn’t we?"
"Sorry."
Ian only gave her those two words calmly.
Jenna didn’t hold back her sarcasm, clicking her tongue: "So people, huh, what thick skin! Not even signed yet, and you dare post photos and brag about your lineup all over X. Looking at it now, talk about getting slapped in the face. But hey, thick skin’s an asset—doesn’t hurt even after a few more slaps."
Serena glared at her, lips trembling, then turned a pitiful look to the man beside her, calling softly, "Timothy... We were the first to talk with Ian, weren’t we?"
Timothy Xavier shot and Jenna a cold look, then glanced contemptuously at Ian: "Just an actor—who says his word is worth anything? The male lead isn’t irreplaceable anyway."
With that, he pulled Serena away without another word.
But honestly, as Timothy insulted Ian, he seed to forget that the woman next to him was just an actor too.
Ian looked embarrassed but could only endure it, giving us a quick goodbye before leaving with his agent.
Jenna and I made our way to the parking lot too.
She’d co with today, didn’t drive herself.
So, I drove her ho first.
On the way, she kept replaying those brief ten minutes Julian Sinclair had been present.
Jenna chattered excitedly, "Do you think Timothy would be furious if he knew it was Julian Sinclair who swooped in and snatched Ian Sterling from him?"
I chuckled, "Who knows? Whether he’s pissed or not—what’s it to ?"
Just then, Jenna suddenly leaned closer, lowering her voice, "Say... do you think Julian Sinclair was here tonight because of you?"
I instinctively gripped the wheel and denied it: "Stop it! You’re imagining things—no way."
But even as I said it, the words felt a little rushed.
I found myself digging my fingers into the steering wheel, not daring to dwell on the possibility in Jenna’s words.
These days, Julian Sinclair always finds a way to ss with whenever he can—why would he ever stoop to help out?
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