Chapter 24 The Entertainment Headline


    William strode out of the hotel and immediately ran into Victor,ing back from a film shoot.


    William nodded to Victor in greeting before he spotted Frank in the distance, leaning against a car


    and smoking. Victor turned to look at what caught William''s eye, saw Frank, and chuckled to


    himself.


    "Of course, he''d be here. You''re a lucky guy, Mr. Lan." Victor winked at William knowingly, walked


    past him, and disappeared into the hotel.


    William pursed his lips and said nothing. He turned his attention back to Frank and walked over with


    a warm smile.


    "That was fast," Frank said upon seeing William, looking quite rxed in a T-shirt and jeans.


    "Why are you here? Couldn''t wait for me toe to you?" Frank''sid-back look put William in a


    good mood. He stretched out a hand to muss up Frank''s hair yfully.


    The affectionate gesture left Frank beaming happily.


    "You look good when you smile," William murmured wistfully. His eyes gazed at Frank but somehow


    seemed to be seeing another person. William caught himself staring, cleared his throat, and


    motioned for Frank to get in the car as he got into the driver''s seat.


    The sleek car left. Neither of them noticed the discreet shes of light in the darkness.


    Mary opened her eyes to gentle sunlight streaming into the airy room. She had been so tiredst


    night, she went straight to sleep as soon as she finished shower.


    She propped herself up, yawned, and stretched her arms. Then it dawned on her there was


    someone missing.


    "William?" Mary called out. Her voice echoed in the empty room.


    Where was he? The opening ceremony was over. He didn''t leave any instructions to her. Was he


    mad at her again?


    Ding dong! Ding dong! Mary jumped at the sound of the doorbell.


    She hurriedly threw on a bathrobe and slipped her swollen feet into soft slippers before rushing to


    the door.


    Mary swung open the door. "Kevin? What are you doing here?" she asked, puzzled upon seeing


    who it was.


    A harried-looking Kevin pushed past her and into the room. "Is Mr. Lan here?" he asked with panic


    in his voice, looking around wildly. Mary knitted her brows in concern and closed the door after him.


    "No. He was gone when I woke up. But what''s wrong?"


    Kevin groaned in frustration. "His phone is turned off, so I thought he''d still be asleep!" He turned


    desperately to Mary. "We''ve got a problem."


    Mary leaned over the table as Kevin showed her an article on an entertainment website on the


    laptop.


    "Biz boss'' moonlight tryst!" the headline screamed. Mary frowned as she studied the apanying


    photo.


    It showed William smiling warmly at Frank, hand running through his hair.


    "How long has that been up?" Mary asked Kevin, suddenly serious. She cursed the website in her


    mind. How could they just run baseless gossip like this? Did they not care whose reputation they


    would ruin? Well! She wasn''t going to let them get away with it!


    "It was posted at eight o''clock this morning." Kevin pulled at his hair,pletely stressed out. He


    was used to dealing with pressures at work, but this was out of his range. "What should we do?"


    "Don''t worry. I''ll handle it." A dark cloud descended over Mary.


    She whipped out her phone and dialed a number. Her face was grim as she waited for someone to


    pick up on the other end. "Yes, hello? Is this Chief Editor Xia?" Kevin stared, taken aback by the


    sharpness in Mary''s voice. She seemed like a different woman.


    Mary started pacing back and forth in the room, her ck aura growing more intense. "Manager


    Lu!" Chief Editor Xia''s groveling voice eximed at the other end of the line, feigning delight.


    "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Mary snarled into the phone. "Chief Editor Xia, we''ve


    known each other for far too long now. Do not test my patience. You know why I''m calling!" she spat


    out.


    On the other end, a chill ran up Chief Editor Xia''s spine. He decided to stop ying dumb. He opted


    to appeal to Mary''s sympathy instead. "Manager Lu, You know how it is in our business, " he


    whined. "We really were after Victor, but we couldn''t get anything new on him, but we came across


    Mr. Lan and..."


    "I don''t want to hear it!" Mary snapped. "Take down the story now! Or I''ll see you in court!"


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    "We don''t need to go that far," Chief Editor Xia pleaded. "Besides, this is still publicity for your


    company, right?"


    "We publicize our stars, not our CEO!" Mary said, gritting her teeth. She took a deep breath. "Chief


    Editor Xia, if you don''t clear this matter in half an hour, you can say goodbye to exclusives with the


    stars from ourpany. I trust you''d choose wisely." "Manager Lu, please don''t..."


    Click!


    The phone hummed with the sound of a line going dead.


    Mary fumed silently and punched angrily at the air. She could kill those assholes!


    At that moment, William pushed open the door and saw Mary swinging at the wind, her face


    contorted in fury. He couldn''t help but crack a smile.


    ''So she has a fiery side, too. Always full of surprises.''


    "Mr. Lan!" Kevin shot up as he saw Williame in. "You''re back!"


    Mary froze. She whipped around and met William''s amused eyes.


    "Yes. I saw everything." Before the mortified Mary could respond, William turned to Kevin.


    "Everything is fine. Just go back to your work." Kevin nodded briskly. "Yes, sir." He gathered his


    things hurriedly and walked out.


    As soon as Kevin was out of earshot, Mary started questioning William. "Where have you been?


    You''ve been gone sincest night!" Mary demanded.


    "I went to get drinks with Frank." William raised a brow at Mary''s bathrobe. "You really had a guest


    over looking like that?"


    "What?" Mary followed his gaze. She looked down and found that she hadn''t wrapped the bathrobe


    tightly enough. Her cleavagey bare. "Oh, my God!" Mary gasped in horror.


    She ran to the bedroom, leaving William standing alone in the living room, chuckling.


    His eyes inadvertently drifted to the photo on theptop screen. His smile dropped.


    "You have no idea of the trouble you''ve caused me today! Such a headache so early in the


    morning!" Mary chided as she changed inside the room.


    William smirked. "It doesn''t look like it pained you too much. You''ve handled it quite well."


    "Handled it?" Mary walked out, having changed to her day clothes. "I haven''t handled it at all! I was


    just bluffing! What if he doesn''t take down the story?"


    "He will."


    Mary stared at him incredulously. "How can you be so calm about this? This can ruin thepany


    and make you aughingstock!"


    "And what exactly will they beughing at?" William asked nonchntly. "My supposed affair? Or


    my being supposedly gay?" Mary shook her head, stumped. She felt like William was asking her a


    riddle she couldn''t solve.


    "Will youugh at me?" William asked, fixing a steady gaze on Mary.


    "What do you mean? Why would I do that?" Mary asked him, eyebrows knitted.


    "Laugh at me if I were gay."


    Mary rolled her eyes. "But you''re not."


    "But what if I were?" William studied Mary''s face. "Will youugh at me, too?"


    Mary''s face remained nk as she processed his words. Then her eyes widened. "Are you? Are


    you really gay?" Mary asked in a low voice, her mouth agape.


    William walked toward Mary. As he passed her, he smiled and leaned in to whisper in her ear.


    "Got you." As William closed the bathroom door behind him, he could hear Mary shouting in


    exasperation outside. "I cannot believe you! Can you not prank me today?! I''m already on edge as it


    is!"


    As Mary continued to rant outside, William stared at himself in the mirror. A somber face looked


    back at him.