anwhile...
"Oh no..." Pixy covered her lips, eyes glued to her phone. "Is this true?"
gan, sipping juice beside her in a café, arched a brow. "What is it?"
Pixy moved closer to her.
The two read the newest article about an actress. It claid she was the mistress of a married politician, whose children were the sa age as hers. There was also a photo of the actress entering a hotel, and another of the politician entering the sa hotel.
Although the photos were blurred, it was obvious who the article was about.
"Wow," gan said in awe. "What’s her role in Angel’s Revenge again?"
Pixy pursed her lips. "She auditioned for the sa role as lissa’s."
The two won exchanged glances; they didn’t need words to understand the situation. gan had already confird Lola’s story through emails and other evidence in Manager Kang’s laptop, and Pixy had been brought up to speed.
"gan, you’re sure about what you’ve seen, right?" Pixy asked quietly, glancing around. "You didn’t misread anything?"
"Pixy, do you think I would mistake sothing like that?" gan scoffed. "I read what I read. All those endorsents and small projects lissa had done in the past were originally offered to us."
Pixy sighed. "Do you think lissa knows about them?"
"Pixy, just the other day, you said you didn’t feel like lissa saw us as friends. Now you’re backpedaling."
"It’s just... I said that because I was feeling down about our careers, about how we’ve been treated," Pixy explained. "I didn’t think you’d sneak into Manager Kang’s office. What if you were caught?"
"He’s too busy trying to get lissa her role in Angel’s Revenge," gan leaned back.
"Still, why would lissa steal all our projects? They’re not even major projects," Pixy muttered. "Besides, she’s pretty and cos from a well-off family—"
"She’s a daughter of a mistress, Pixy," gan cut her off. "She didn’t co from a well-off family. The rich one in the Young family is Lola’s mother. Don’t you know that? If not for the Alberts, lissa is just like us."
Pixy pressed her lips into a thin line, staring at gan’s profile. She had to admit it scared her, but gan was tougher. Now that gan knew about Manager Kang and lissa’s sches, she wasn’t about to overlook the truth. Unlike Pixy, who would try to find an explanation for others’ actions.
"Then, what are we going to do?" Pixy asked. "Director Sarian’s assistant sent us the schedule for the screen taping. But if we go there, we’ll bump into Manager Kang."
"He’s not going to do anything once we’re already there. He wouldn’t just say he lied to Director Sarian," gan crossed her arms. "And with that article, it’s possible lissa will get the role anyway if they fall behind schedule."
She paused, facing Pixy. "Pixy, we’ve been struggling for a long ti, forced to live in other people’s shadows. I want to shine too. We ca to a big city to pursue our dreams, but until now, it’s been so far away—not because we aren’t trying, but because people we trusted have been blocking us."
"If we don’t act now, we’ll be stuck like this forever," gan added under her breath, squeezing Pixy’s hand. "Besides, why should we be the ones scared or ashad? When we did nothing wrong?"
Conflict flickered in Pixy’s eyes as she held gan’s hands tightly. She nodded, and gan smiled.
"What about lissa?" Pixy asked quietly. "Should we confront her?"
"No." gan smiled. "I have a plan for her, but first we need to get into Angel’s Revenge."
Ring... ring...
The two won paused, looking at gan’s phone on the table. gan picked it up and froze when she saw the caller. It was lissa.
"Don’t worry," gan reassured Pixy. "Just pretend this is part of the script."
Pixy nodded. gan drew a deep breath and answered the call.
"Oh, lissa!" she said with a smile. "What is it?"
Listening to lissa, gan slowly faced Pixy. "Of course, lissa." Her lips curled into a smirk. "No problem."
*****
"Lola, we’re leaving now!" Silo stopped at the door, peeking in. "You coming with us? Amala and I will eat outside."
Lola looked back and smiled. "No," she shook her head. "I have plans tonight."
"What plan?"
Before Lola could answer, Amala grabbed Silo’s nape. "Isn’t it obvious? She’s going on a date," she quipped, peeking at Lola. "Have fun."
"A date?!"
"Just co, boy," Amala clicked her tongue and dragged Silo. "I know how much you love her, but she needs to get married. That won’t happen if you’re around all the ti."
Lola chuckled at their voices as they left. She shook her head and returned to her swivel chair.
[To: Unknown
Dinner later? Your treat.]
She smiled, about to put her phone down, when a quick reply pinged on her screen.
[From: Unknown
I’ll pick you up.]
Lola bit her lips. "There’s no need. I’m wrapping up my office. I’ll head there once I finish," she replied, and he responded with: [Ok.]
"Gosh... I want to give him a hug," she whispered as she stared at their exchange. "And shower him with kisses."
Because of Penny’s visit, Lola appreciated Atlas differently. Not that she didn’t know he was reliable, but hearing it from Penny touched her heart. She felt like hugging him and showing extra love.
"And Penny did remind ... he’s my lover," she shook her head. "My boyfriend is Atlas Bennet."
Setting the thought aside, Lola sat behind the desk to check so things for tomorrow. Half an hour later, a look of satisfaction appeared on her face.
"Guess I should call it a day now," she mused, checking the ti and organizing her desk.
Without a second hesitation, she left to show Atlas so appreciation and love. On her way to the parking space, she played with her keys and humd.
"What should we eat tonight?" she wondered. "Will Penny be at Summit Partners? I heard her husband is there."
Shrugging, Lola stopped beside her car to put in her key, but it fell. As she straightened up after picking it up, the sound of a gun cocking echoed in her ears, and a round tal pressed against the back of her head.
A second later, a man’s voice was heard from behind her.
"Looney, we don’t want to hurt you. Do not give us a reason to."
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