Chapter 60
“Mr. Massey, how can you have such high expectations of me before we’ve even begun filming? What if I play the role of the first crush like some pretentious woman?” Whitney asked.
Faye and Roland exchanged bewildered looks. They obviously didn’t get what Whitney meant.
“I’m certain you’ll do well in your role!” Finnick replied confidently.
Pursing her lips, Whitney picked up the pen and wrote two words on the paper.
“Well, since Mr. Massey has declared it so, I will sign it and hold you to your word,” she said.
“Thank you, superstar! I shall be your first fan!” Finnick exclaimed.
“Then I’ll be your second fan!” Faye chimed in.
“I’m fan number three!” Roland, too, joined in the fun.
Whitney grinned and shook her head. Although they had not known each other for a long time, they got along like old friends.
“One, two, three! Look, you’ve got yourself a fan club already!” Finnick chirped.
Just then, Finnick looked at the two words in his notebook and mused, ‘The handwriting is beautiful as if she had practiced it. The penmanship is strong, yet soft and elegant. The more I look at it, the more interesting it looks. However…‘
“Isn’t your name Whitney? But your signature…” Finnick trailed off.
Naturally, Whitney understood Finnick’s confusion and quickly came up with a random excuse. “Don’t superstars usually use stage names?”
She thought, ‘Truth be told, it’s not a stage name but my past.
‘Although it’s somewhat unbearable to look back, what has already happened can no longer be changed.’”
Before returning to the Greene family, Whitney had taken her adoptive father’s last name and had been called Winslet Sykes.
During that time, the family had been impoverished because of Whitney’s adoptive father. However, her adoptive mother treated her well and gave her all kinds of delicious treats.
Whitney reminisced about the eighteen years that had been filled with much bitterness and joy.
Next to her, Finnick stared at the two words in a daze.
He thought, ‘Winslet Sykes sounds like the name of a woman from a quaint town.
‘Compared to the name Whitney Collins, it sounded more artistic and suitable for the role of this play.‘
In Finnick’s opinion, Whitney’s beauty was enough for her to land the role of a female lead. Unfortunately, the role was already taken and could not be changed.
As he imagined Whitney dressed in the movie’s costume and appearing on the camera, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
An inexplicable emotion surged uncontrollably in his heart.
“What are you looking at?” While Finnick was still indulging in his imagination, Faye chided him
Chapter 60
TOO
Finnick smiled awkwardly. “N–Nothing. I was just thinking that the role suits Whitney perfectly. I’ll get someone to prepare the contract and we can sign it in a few days.”
“Don’t I have a good eye? She’s much better than the actors you chose,” Faye said proudly.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Just wait until she’s famous. Then you’ll be known for your excellent judge of talent”
Finnick added.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the private room reverted to its initial harmonious state.
In total, the meal took four hours to finish. When Finnick finally checked the time, he became aware of how late it was.
“Mom, Mr. Atkins, I’ll send Winnie home. The two of you can go back by yourselves.” After several hours of interaction, Finnick and Whitney had familiarized themselves and thus addressed each other more comfortably.
“I see you no longer care about your mother when you’re smitten with a girl,” Faye whispered in Finnick’s ear as she stole a glance at Whitney.
Finnick felt slightly embarrassed after hearing this.
Although it was his and Whitney’s first meeting, he really thought she was nice and well–suited for him.
“You’ll have to work hard or else she’ll become someone else’s wife!” Faye winked at Finnick.
Finnick sighed. “Mom, don’t be ridiculous. Go on now!”
As he spoke, he pushed Faye out of the door.
“Mr. Massey, I’ll be leaving first. You can call or text me if you need anything.” Whitney couldn’t bear to disturb the mother and son when she saw how lively they were. She took out her car keys and prepared to go home.
“Winnie, I already told Mom that I’ll send you home. If you go back by yourself, she’ll nag me!” Finnick wore an aggrieved expression, behaving as though Faye was utterly terrifying.
“You can’t come back if you don’t send Winnie home!” Faye added,
Staring at the two people in front of her, Whitney had no choice but to agree. Thus, she put away her car keys and got into Finnick’s car.
As the car headed toward the studio, Whitney had no idea how to converse with Finnick without Faye and Roland around. Hence, she could only pretend to look at the scenery.
Not a single word was spoken until she got out of the car.
“Thank you, Mr. Massey!” After saying that, Whitney turned and walked into the front door of the condominium.
Although he wanted to say something, Finnick could only mutter goodbye in the end. He stared at Whitney’s retreating figure as if it had some sort of magical hold on him, completely unable to tear his gaze away.
He finally drove away after she was completely out of sight.
At this time, the staff at the studio were already off work, and Whitney expected the place to be empty.
However, a figure suddenly appeared and startled her when she opened the door.
“Jonah? What are you doing here? Why didn’t you say anything? Are you trying to scare me to death?” Whitney rolled her eyes at Jonah.
Jonah glanced at his watch and said, “I’ve been waiting for you for hours.”
Whitney would have returned much earlier if she hadn’t been held up. She asked, “What’s up?”
Jonah fished something out of his pocket and tossed it to Whitney. “Nothing much. Here you go! Your car’s fixed.”
Whitney caught the key and exclaimed, “Thank you!”
“How long has it been since you last got your car serviced?” Jonah asked disgustedly.
Whitney peered at Jonah with a doubtful expression and shook her head in response. “I don’t remember”
She was telling the truth. Since she had been so busy, she had long forgotten about it.
After seeing Whitney’s unfazed look, Jonah sighed. “Don’t you know that a car requires maintenance? If it’s not well maintained, issues could arise. This time, it refused to start. What if your tire bursts and oil leaks next time?”
Jonah began to nag at Whitney.
While Whitney knew he was doing it for her own good, she still found it incredibly annoying.
When Jonah saw that Whitney wasn’t listening, he said helplessly, “I don’t even know what to say anymore. Life sure is fair. When one door closes, another door opens.”
Whitney knew that he was saying that she couldn’t take care of herself in daily life.
However, since Jonah had helped her, she wasn’t angry. She was already used to being chastened by him anyway.
“I feel like you haven’t been having the best of luck recently. Would you like to grab a drink? Maybe it will help you relax a little,” Jonah asked with concern as he finally ceased his nagging.
M4
Whitney thought, ‘Go for a drink? Now that I think about it, I had to deal with Thiago, Quincey, and even the issue of plagiarism! It’s been one trouble after another.‘
