A Night of Desire

After a long moment, Faye Jennings turned to look at Holly Summers and said coolly, "I’m sorry."

With that, she turned and walked away. Holly Summers didn’t seem to mind. A smile touched her lips as she called out to Faye’s retreating back, "I’ll forgive you for now, for Assistant Childs’ sake!"

Faye Jennings didn’t break stride, but her hands were clenched into tight fists!

Once Faye Jennings was out of earshot, Holly Summers giggled and slapped Chase Childs on the shoulder. "Assistant Childs, did you see the look on her face? Ah, that was so satisfying!"

Chase Childs turned his head as well, his gaze falling on the fair, delicate hand resting on his shoulder. Her fingers were long and slender, bringing to mind the phrase "hands as elegant as jade."

Holly Summers felt his gaze and realized she had been too forward. Even though he had told her his secret, that didn’t mean she had the right to get all buddy-buddy with him.

Holly Summers quickly snatched her hand back from his shoulder and gave a sheepish smile.

When she pulled her hand away, the warmth from her palm gradually faded from his shoulder, and Chase Childs suddenly felt an emptiness in his heart.

"Um, Assistant Childs, thank you for just now," Holly Summers said with a smile.

Chase Childs’s gaze returned to her face. When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, which he found very lovely.

"Don’t mention it. It was the right thing to do."

Neither of them spoke, and the air grew quiet. Holly Summers suddenly felt awkward. ’What was that saying? The worst thing is when the air suddenly goes quiet!’

’I should say something to break the silence,’ she thought. But after racking her brain, she couldn’t come up with anything. ’I’m usually so talkative around other people. Why am I tongue-tied in front of Chase Childs?’

She fidgeted with her earlobe, then blurted out, "Assistant Childs, don’t worry, I’ll be sure to keep your secret safe!"

Chase Childs froze. ’My secret?’ he thought. ’What secret?’

Holly Summers cursed herself inwardly. ’Why did my big mouth have to bring that up?’ She forced another awkward laugh. "Well, Assistant Childs, I’m going to head back. We’re about to start shooting. Bye!"

Without waiting for Chase Childs to respond, she turned and dashed off like the wind.

Watching her rapidly retreating figure, Chase Childs suddenly thought, ’A woman like her... is actually pretty cute!’

...

「That afternoon on the film set.」

After the last incident, both Director Liam Keane and the prop master had become extraordinarily cautious. They guarded the props much more closely and checked them over and over again before shooting began.

But even though Director Keane and the prop master repeatedly assured him that nothing would go wrong again, Seth Quinn insisted on inspecting the prop gun himself. Only after confirming the gun was loaded with blanks did he feel at ease and give the go-ahead to start filming.

Seth Quinn’s gesture confirmed one thing for everyone on the crew: their President Quinn was deeply in love with Clara Grant, and Clara Grant was an incredibly happy woman!

The shoot went smoothly. As usual, Clara Grant nailed her scene in a single take, delivering a performance that was both spot-on and deeply moving. Everyone watching was captivated, and some of the more sentimental actresses and female crew members were even crying their eyes out.

Director Keane was thrilled. After yelling "Cut!", he was the first to start applauding.

’Clara really is a natural-born actress,’ he thought. ’I’m sure that, if all goes well, she’ll surpass her seniors and become an A-list star in less than two years.’

’My eye for talent... oh, no, President Quinn’s eye for talent is truly amazing. If he hadn’t recommended Clara to me, I might have missed out on such a phenomenal actress.’

After Clara Grant finished her scenes, she urged Seth Quinn to head back, but he lingered for quite a while before finally agreeing.

Before leaving, Chase Childs made a point of finding Holly Summers to tell her to be more careful in the future and not let anyone bully her.

Watching Chase Childs’s retreating figure, Holly Summers recalled how he had so assertively stood up for her, and now he was so thoughtfully looking out for her. For a moment, she thought that this serious, unsmiling Assistant Childs was actually a pretty great guy.

But then a sudden jolt snapped her back to reality. ’What am I thinking?’ she chided herself. ’Assistant Childs is into men!’