Chapter 15 More Scenes
What did it feel like to wake up only to find out someone had just confessed their feelings in public for you out of the blue?
Graciela would share her most genuine feelings if she was asked such a question.
“What the heck? Can someone tell me what happened?”
She was completely stunned.
She took a longer nap than usual after watching Morton and Betty’s impeccable performances online.
When she woke up and picked up her phone, she was slack- jawed to see dozens of missed calls, hundreds of WhatsApp messages, and thousands of Twitter notifications.
Her gut told her this might not be a good thing. After all, she was public enemy number one in the eyes of the netizens right
now.
To be on the safe side, instead of answering the calls, she checked the trending topic list.
The topic topping was eye–catching.
“Leanna’s endorsement goes down the drain! Mr. Morrison openly calls her a two–faced phony”
Graciela was stunned, thinking, “Mr. Morrison? Ambrose?
What’s his business with Leanna?”
She was about to click on it when Emery called her.
“Hi, Emery. Yeah, I was sleeping. What? Me and who? Ambrose? Nothing. We ate together. That’s all. What did you say?”
Emery said with a smile, “I said you were so charming that Ambrose fell for you after just a meal. He’s quite decent, you know. He got hurt in that car accident as well and was hospitalized for half a month. He reached out to me as soon as he was discharged, saying he wanted to apologize to you. He’s got some taste. But, I still gotta warn you don’t say yes to him just yet. Men never appreciate what comes too easily. You know what? I suggest you test him a few times. Maybe you can…”
Graciela frowned while Emery nagged.
Not being able to stand it anymore, she couldn’t help but chime in, “Emery, the last time I checked, you’ve been single ever since
you were born, right?”
Emery fell silent at once.
Υ
ou ingrate!
I’m just looking out for you, OK?”
“Yeah, yeah. If you really want what’s good for me,
find
a
girlfriend and get married. All my college mates are already someone’s aunts or uncles, but though I have three brothers, I’ve never had any sisters–in–law…”
“That’s it for now. I’ve gotta deal with something, so I’m hanging up. Just remember what I said–don’t say yes right away. If you need any help, let me know. Bye,” Emery said quickly and then hung up.
Graciela let out a derisive laugh as her gaze fell upon the phone screen. She thought, “He’s avoiding the subject again. It’s so typical.
“None of my brothers can manage to find themselves a wife. I guess I’ll have to step in. Well, I gotta choose carefully for their happiness.”
Just then, Nora sent her a WhatsApp message.
“Grace, good news! Leanna lost it on set and smashed everything
in the makeup room.”
She replied to Nora with three question marks.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know what has happened.” Apparently, Nora was even more dumbfounded than her.
She texted, “But I don’t. I just woke up and saw the whole
confession thing. And Emery called me before I could find out
more.”
Nora replied to her after a few seconds, “Check this out.”
Graciela clicked on the video and heard Ambrose’s confession with a four–hour time difference between them.
She was so shocked that she spat out the water she had just sipped when he said, “Ms. McLean is excellent, but her image doesn’t match my design.”
She thought, “Impressive! I had no idea he could be this sharp- tongued.
“His words cut deeper than direct insults!”
“I finished watching it,” she replied to Nora. “It’s a great relief to know Emery isn’t the only guy in this world who isn’t fooled by
Leanna’s little act.”
“It gets better,” Nora texted her back right away. “After it
became a trending topic, everyone online is wondering if
Leanna has been keeping a facade all this time. Otherwise, why
would Mr. Morrison say something like that in front of all the reporters? She used to be his brand ambassador after all. Someone bullied by Leanna and her assistants before is taking the chance to complain. They’ve bombarded her Twitter page!”
“Really?” Her reply piqued Graciela’s interest. “I’ll go take a look!”
She clicked on Leanna’s Twitter page. Sure enough, there were complaints among the fan–controlled comments.
Netizen A: “I used to work for Leanna on set five years ago. She was just a nobody back then, but she sure knows how to put on airs. I had so many things in my hands and didn’t get her water in time, and she poured it over my head!”
Netizen B: “Girl, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. I used to do her makeup, and when her jewelry was missing, her assistant claimed that I stole it and wanted me to pay for it! Thankfully, it was later found in a corner. But they didn’t apologize at all.” There was even an emoji with a sarcastic smile attached.
Netizen C: “I can finally say this out loud now that I’m on a burner account. Does any remember clickbait accounts‘ posts,
saying Graciela didn’t want Leanna to coach her when doing the
jumping–into–water scene? The fact is that Leanna was
deliberately giving her a hard time, insisting that she jumped
ten times, even though the director was pretty satisfied with her performance. I was there and saw it with my own eyes. Please don’t try to find out who I am. I still need the job.”
After scrolling through the comments, Graciela thought, “Karma treats everyone fairly indeed.”
Nora texted her again, updating her, “Leanna has just left the set
hastily. Grace, your Twitter followers have blown up.
Everyone’s apologizing to you. Oh, the crew’s calling me. I gotta go clean up Leanna’s mess. Talk to you later.”
“OK,” Graciela replied.
She then closed WhatsApp and opened her Twitter page. Sure
enough, her Twitter was flooded with comments such as “I got
you wrong, Miss Perfect. Please forgive me!” and “Graciela,
you’re both pretty and kind. No wonder Mr. Morrison falls for
you.”
She couldn’t help but grin.
It indeed felt good to be praised!
As she was enjoying the feeling, Helena called her. “Grace, Mr.
Ignacio said he’d like more scenes for you. If it’s OK with you,
he’ll have the screenwriter revise the script right away. What
do you think?”
“Really?” Graciela curled her lip. “Nora told me yesterday he wanted to cut my scenes.”
“That’s true. That’s why I’m calling you now–your crisis is over,
and you’ve been gaining popularity. I’ve got calls from several
crews and shows, inviting you to work with them. If you’re not
happy about Mr. Ignacio’s offer, I’ll go turn him down.””
After pondering for a while, Graciela said, “No. I’ll do it. No
matter what, the script is great. I think the audience will love it!”
“Great minds think alike!” Helena said with a smile. “This is how
you do things in showbiz–never make enemies no matter what
because, frankly, who knows what might happen in the future?
Well, I’m gonna call him now. Get ready to return to set.”
