Chapter 292: Is This Deja Vu?

Richard rests his cheek on the base of his palm.

Reading the script Ambryan gave to him, his eyebrows slowly scrunched together while his gaze swept across the page. Both he and Ambryan sat together outside of a hotel's cafe. The porch spot provided a bit of privacy from the rest while providing a good view of the garden.

Ambryan waited patiently and sipped his black tea from his side of the round table.

The script had been finished with one day to spare. He actually felt proud of it.

"So…" Richard said after a while. He put the script down and stared at his best friend. "This story is about a woman who wanted a career change and met her boss on a dating site while using her stage name?"

"Yes." Ambryan nodded.

"Meanwhile, the boss has a nagging mother who struck a deal with him which is how he ended up on the dating site but doesn't recognize that the woman is his assistant?" 

His hands flinched under the table. "That is the basic premise of the plot, yes."

"Something about this bothers me for some reason." Richard turned his head sideways, closing his eyes and scratching the back of his neck. A sigh of frustration flowed out of his lips. "But I just can't put my finger on it."

Ambryan watched with an indifferent expression. He relaxed against the back of his chair and entertained himself for a bit. "Like you've heard of it before?"

Richard snapped his fingers and pointed one towards Ambryan. "Yeah!" 

Then, he let his hand drop. His face morphed into a worried look. "Which would be bad if I pitched this to the board. They would say it's been done before."

His heart nearly stopped when he heard they voted in favor of Peitho. It almost seemed suspicious but the production company had risen in the market recently, closing in on Eros for top gross revenue. It had come to the point where the board deemed their chances of suffering a loss wouldn't make a significant difference whether they chose Eros or Peitho.

It all came down to the attractiveness of the script.

And Peitho didn't want anything more than to crush Eros at their top genre.

Not giving himself away, Ambryan picked up a scone and said, "Maybe you recognize it because we based it on a true story."

That caught Richard's attention. His steel gray eyes bulged out. 

"A-A true story?" He blurted out, holding up the script. "This?!"

Ambryan merely shrugged. "Elements of it are."

Richard blinked and tried to wrap his head around this new piece of information. Propping his elbow on the table, he pressed his hand against his forehead, pushing up his curly bronze hair.

He stared at nothing in particular. "Who in their right mind would believe this is real?"

"You don't?"

His gaze shifted back towards Ambryan. "Should I?"

The latter merely drank his tea to wash down the scone. "Give it some time. It will come to you." 

Richard started muttering to himself. Now that Ambryan phrased it that way, it would hurt his pride if he didn't figure out what his best friend meant. His lips moved and repeated what he had mentioned before, 

"A nagging mother who forced her son to join a dating site…"

Then, a light bulb lit up above his head. His eyes snapped towards Ambryan, wide and surprised. "Yan…, you don't mean—are you saying—I—Holy cow."

'How could he had been so stupid?' Richard mulled in his mind. The answer had been staring at him right in the face—literally! He held the script with both hands, gaping at it. His body trembled from shock. Many people would do anything to get their hands on this.

It was pages of coveted details on the famous couple.

Good or bad publicity, thousands of people would want to know the contents.

"Is Evangeline really your assistant?" He asked as he flipped through the script again. He only read the beginning earlier. Knowing he now had access to this romantic story, he wanted nothing more than to devour it while he still could.

"I don't have an assistant, Richard," Ambryan pointed out as he finished his tea. "We just said that for dramatic purposes. But she was my employee before fully shifting to her new career."

"Ooohh," Richard trailed off. The corner of his lip curled up, resuming where he left off. "You took inspiration from Eve's resignation, I see. That's clever." 

He missed the deadpan expression on Ambryan's face—a habit the latter picked up from his significant other. "Something like that."

"A movie based on your romantic life…" Richard whistled after skimming through a few pages. He closed the script and never let it go, treating it like it was a national treasure. His mind continued to race and took everything in.

"This is going to sell," he concluded. Then, he leaned forward and looked at Ambryan dead in the eye.  "Do you realize how much PR this would gain just with that sentence? A glimpse at the private heartthrob CEO's life? Not to mention how this is another type of public attention towards your girlfriend especially with your own company would be producing it?"

"I don't want to hear you call me a heartthrob ever again."

"Yan, what I'm saying is—"

"I know what you're saying, Richard," Ambryan interjected. He didn't need to hear this. Another group of people did. "That's why you have that script in your hands."

Richard glanced down. One thought occurred to him, skipping to the last pages. "Does this script end with a wedding by any chance?"

"Wouldn't everyone like to know?"

He snapped the script shut and beamed. It was getting harder to contain his enthusiasm. "I'll pitch this just like I promised. You really went above and beyond this time. But I am very happy that you finally found someone. I can only envy you."

Ambryan gave a sarcastic smile in return. 

"I'm sure mother can make another website just for you."

"I don't envy you that much."

In Paris, Eve had gotten over the anxiety about the movie. The longest part was deciding the ratio between truth and fiction. The modifications were necessary to make it better suited for the big screen—which she found entertaining. 

By the time it would be released, her real name would be associated with Evangeline Reed. 

Then, it wouldn't take long for people to realize that 'assistant' actually meant 'secretary.'

The camp continued the week with activities involving the male models. Eve met several of them who she did collaborations with. She almost suspected that the camp directors planned to have everyone pair up at least once—if it weren't for how many they were.

The last activity was meant to be done in a group of six, three females and three males.

And, for this, they had a guest mentor.

"Group shots are much trickier than people initially think," Mikael started to explain. He stood at the front end of the runway, wearing a matching black dress shirt and trousers. "It's easy to become competitive and try to outshine the others. But that shouldn't be the case. Even if you don't communicate, you are meant together and produce a photo where you all belong in it."

Eve half-hid herself behind a male model. 

She was sure Mikael had already spotted her but it gave her a sense of security. They hadn't spoken since the news about her acceptance. At the time, she knew Rose hadn't contacted him so she was still safe. The same couldn't be said when it's been nearly two weeks since then.

Silent prayers floated out of her head and up to the heavens.

May a higher power have mercy on her soul.

"This is meant to go fast. The theme is the same for everyone so you'll be dressed and ready before any photo sessions begin. You are not allowed to talk during this time even while waiting. You will also only know your groups once your names are called for your turn in the photoshoot."

Mikael flashed a smile while scanning the crowd. "Give it your best. I'll be watching."

The models dispersed as staff members instructed them to the dressing rooms. The outfits came in a variety of bold colors. Since the groups would be random, no one knew what kind of color palette they would create together—posing as another challenge for them to overcome.

Only Mikael and the staff seemed unworried.

The photos would be printed in black and white anyway.

Eve had received a neon blue bodycon dress. It had a turtleneck and short sleeves. The fabric hugged her body like tight swimwear most surfers used—except it had a skirt. The hem stopped mid-thigh and her heels were brighter than her future.

She cursed under her breath.

It didn't have any pockets or other decorative designs. Nothing that she could use for ideas on poses. The silence in the waiting room suffocated her a little. Standing in front of a mirror, she did her best to work out possible poses so that she could adjust herself to what the rest of the group would end doing. 

When her name was called, she almost felt relieved. The studio had little to no furniture, only enough to create a 3D background. She and the rest had 10 minutes for touchup and last minute preparations. 

As the makeup artist lined the bottom of her eyes, a voice came up to her. "Having trouble?"

Eve clasped her hands together. "Just a little nervous, Mr. Davis."

Mikael raised his eyebrows. "That's something I haven't heard in a while."

Ignoring him, Eve refocused her attention towards the photoshoot. She recalled all the poses she had prepared and thought about small modifications. Her brown eyes flickered towards the set. She wondered if they could use the two cubes as props.

The only question left was who would use them.

An amused smile teased his lips, Mikael leaned in on her ear and said, "Break a leg, Ms. Reed."