billion book
Mommy 47
Kamryn knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. It must be a hard job as it was rewarding. But when she thought she was two months behind on her credit card payments, she gritted her teeth and said. “It’ll take it. When shall I start working?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. Meet me on the set with your makeup on, and I’ll take you straight there.”
“No auditions?”
“It’s just a minor part, a stand–in. Your face won’t be on camera!”
“Okay.”
Kamryn hugged her pillow after hanging up. She felt like she was on cloud nine when she thought she was gonna earn 2,000 dollars tomorrow.
At Glorise Consortium.
Charlie checked the time. The conference call had been canceled. If there was nothing else, he would leave the office and go to the hospital.
“Knock, knock.”
Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in”
Charlie didn’t look up. The door was pushed open from the outside. Then, he heard the sound of high heels hitting the floor. He looked up and saw Nicole walking into his office in a sult
“Nicole?”
Charlie was surprised. “What are you doing here?”
Nicole sat down opposite Charlie and asked with a smile, “Charlie, are you free this afternoon? I’ll buy you coffee.”
“No, Charlie replied.
“No way?!” Nicole didn’t buy it. “I just checked your schedule with your special assistant. You don’t have any plans coming up. Then why don’t you have time to have coffee with me?”
“Eugene is still in the hospital. I have to go back to be with him.”
“What’s the matter?”
Nicole immediately put on a nervous look, as if she really cared about Eugene. However, she cursed inside her, “This kid better be dead!
“He’s nothing but a burden to Charlie. With him around, Charlie doesn’t even have time for me.”
“He’s sick.”
“Huh? Nothing happened to him?”
Charlie glanced at Nicole with displeasure. “You want something to happen to him?”
“No, of course not! I’m worried, too! Why would you say that?”
Charlie said flatly, “If you were really worried, you wouldn’t ask like that.”
If it had been Kamryn, she would have asked nervously, “What’s wrong with him? Is it serious?”
D
Nicole froze, looking embarrassed. She had no idea Charlie was so observant. She immediately said, “Oh, that was just
a slip of the tongue! How about I go with you to the hospital to visit Eugene?”
“No need. He won’t be happy to see you.”
Nicole didn’t know what to say.
She pondered for a moment and then suddenly thought of something. “Is that girl in the hospital, too?”
“Who do you mean?”
“Umm… Kamryn!”
Nicole asked suspiciously, “Charlie, who is she to you? I think there’s something wrong with her.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “Speak your mind.”
“Remember that bag I gave her earlier? I was summoned by the police for it the other day. I was wondering what it was about. Turns out she showed it off around the set, so people thought it was a fake or she stole it. They called the police, and I was called to testify for her!”
Charlie frowned and said nothing, but Nicole continued, “It’s okay for a girl to be vain, but showing off someone else’s stuff feels cheap to me. It’s just a bag, and it’s not worth much. She’s really shallow.”
Charlie suddenly stood up. Seeing his unhappy face, Nicole ran after him in confusion. “Charlie, why do you look unhappy!”
“I don’t like gossiping behind someone else’s back.”
After that, Charlie ignored Nicole and left.
Nicole was shocked. She knew what she had said had been out of line. She tried to chase Charlie, but his special assistant came up to her and said, “Miss Duarte, can I make you a cup of coffee?”
“Get out of my way!”
The assistant smiled and said meaningfully, “Miss Duarte, don’t blame me for being long–tongued. Mr. Franco has been in a bad mood lately because of Eugene’s illness. I don’t think you should bother him at a time like this.”
Nicole felt embarrassed. “It’s none of your business!”
“Sure.”
Nicole pushed the assistant away, only to find Charlie in the elevator to the basement.
She stamped her feet in annoyance. Her features contorted with anger.
By the time Charlie hurried to the hospital, Eugene was already awake. After the immune globulin injection, Eugene leaned back on the bed while Kamryn fed him a diced apple.
Kamryn used the hospital’s sterilized kitchen to peel and dice an apple. Eugene had just woken up and had no appetite, so Kamryn thought of giving him an apple.
Kamryn brought the fruit bowl to Eugene. At first, Eugene didn’t want to try it, but after Kamryn coaxed him into a bite, he started to like its sweet and sour taste.
Charlie didn’t expect Eugene to eat when he woke up
Eugene used to wake up with no appetite, even though his stomach was empty. Charlie didn’t know what to do. There was nothing he could do about it.
To Charlie’s surprise, Kamryn knew what to do to get Eugene to eat.
“You’re back!”
Kamryn and Eugene spoke in unison.
Charlie walked to Eugene’s bed, relieved to see Eugene happily eating a diced apple.
The fact that Eugene was eating meant he was getting better.
Kamryn suddenly raised her hand.
“Oh, I have to take tomorrow off. I can’t stay here with Eugene.”
“What’s the matter?”
“A friend of mine offered me a job of 2,000 dollars a day.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow. Just 2,000 dollars?”
“That’s a lot of money, okay?”
Kamryn thought aggrievedly, “You really are from a wealthy family. You have no idea how much it means to an ordinary person like me!”
Charlie said, “Stay here with Eugene. I’ll give you 4,000 dollars a day!
“Why didn’t you say it earlier?” Kamryn wondered.
She had the urge to roll her eyes at Charlie,
“But I’ve promised him!”
“Just stand him up.”
“I must keep my word! I’ve signed up for it.”
Kamryn already found herself willful and very sorry for Dante when she quit her job as Jenna’s assistant. If she stood him
up,
she’d lose him as a career connection.
“What kind of job is it?”
“A guest actress!”
Charlie’s eyes glittered with excitement. “You want to be an actress!”
If Kamryn liked being an actress, Charlie would get all the entertainment companies Glorise Consortium invested in to boost her popularity exclusively.
“I’m not going to be a real actress. I think I’m gonna work as a stand–in for an actress.”
“A stand–in!”
Charlie had a bad feeling. “Usually stand–ins do work that actors don’t want to do. It’s hard work.”
“No pain, no gain. After all, it’s much better than a walk–on. A lot of walk–ons work harder than stand–ins.”
“You can’t take a job like this again, Charlie said.
“Okay!”
Kamryn’s heart began to race all of a sudden.
“Does he care about me?” Kamryn wondered.