When She Stops Playing Nice (Hale Saxon)

Chapter 332

As she thought about it, Nancy suddenly felt envious of Gina for having such a wonderful man who loved her deeply.

"Are you deaf?" Aria raised her voice at Nancy.

Aria looked at Nancy, who was lost in thought.

Nancy gathered her thoughts, rose, and courteously poured a glass of water for Aria, saying, "Miss Torres, please calm down first."

Aria sneered and said, "Nancy, if you were half as good at acting as you were that day, you'd already be a big star, wouldn't you? So, you went through the trouble of pretending to be an idiot to brazenly enter the lounge and seduce Gabriel in broad daylight. It's you who wanted to exploit the opportunity to stir up the scandal between you and Gabriel. You're quite something. I really underestimated you."

Nancy allowed Aria to vent her anger and scold herself. "Miss Torres, I understand you're angry right now. Part of your anger stems from being friends with Miss Miller, and my mistake that day has made you feel guilty about your friend. The other part is your concern that if Gabriel gets angry, he'll retaliate against the entire Star Entertainment Company. But don't worry. With you and Miss Miller being friends, I believe Mr. Jackson won't take any action against Star Entertainment Company."

Aria grew angrier as she listened. "You're too scheming!"

Nancy nodded and admitted, "Yes, you're right about me. I'm indeed scheming, and that's all I have. Miss Torres. As you said, I'm not good at acting. I'm too replaceable in the entertainment industry. But it's different now, isn't it? And you have to acknowledge, at least I have some visibility now, even if it's negative. All my social media accounts have gained a million followers more. I've issued clarifications, stating that I have no involvement with Mr. Jackson, but the netizens don't believe me. I can't control their minds, can I?"

"You..." Aria didn't know what to say now.

Aria took a deep breath, unable to retort.

"Miss Torres, you shouldn't be angry. Anger is bad for your health. Businesspeople prioritize profit, and you shouldn't dwell on the guilt of involving her in the bad news. This scandal can generate more revenue than you imagine. The name 'Gabriel' carries more weight than any marketing campaign, right?"

Now, the public wouldn't overlook her as an unknown artist. She was the only one rumored to be involved with Gabriel.

"My offers are also increasing. Miss Torres. I'll work hard to make it up to the company. You shouldn't consider firing me or banning me either. I've become quite the hot topic now, you know? There are many people who are eyeing me for recruitment. I'm confident that if I were to entertain offers from another company, they will still hype my relationship with Mr. Jackson. At that time, Mr. Jackson will surely intervene. But there are always people willing to take the risk of making money, aren't there? If I were to switch companies, the speculation about an affair with Mr. Jackson would persist. I fear that's not the image Mr. Jackson and Miss Miller wish to promote. Their silence suggests they intend to handle this matter discreetly, don't you think? I've secured what I wanted. From now on, I'll keep a low profile and focus on my work. If Mr. Jackson and Miss Miller are truly upset about the news, I'll humbly kneel down and apologize to them. Miss Torres, I just want to be famous too much."

Nancy paused and then added, "I'm getting older now. The entertainment industry is a young person's game, and I don't have many youthful years left. If I don't figure out how to boost my popularity and save for retirement, I don't know what I'll do once I'm phased out due to my age. Moreover, if I'm banned now, the next narrative will be that Mr. Jackson abused his power to silence me. Then, I might transition from being a participant in the news to being a victim."

Nancy reminded Aria that there might be netizens who sympathized with her, feeling she's being oppressed by the powerful Gabriel.

Hearing what Nancy said, Aria was feeling a headache. "Enough. Leave. And don't even think about using Gabriel for publicity stunts. I'll speak to Gina about how to handle this situation. You know what to do."

Nancy nodded meekly and said, "Okay, Miss Torres."

With a confident stride, she exited Aria's office. No matter what, she had achieved her goal, and she was very happy now.

Aria called Gina.

Gina, who was in Gabriel's car, answered the phone, "Hello?"

Filled with guilt, Aria apologized, "Gina, I'm sorry. I had no idea that so many things would unfold when you and Gabriel visited my company. I'm really at a loss for what to do now."

"It's alright. Gabriel and I agree that it's best to put a stop to this and not let it escalate any further," Gina said.

"Then about Jackson Group's stock price drop..." Aria said.

"The stock price will slowly rise afterward, and if there's any recourse, it's going to be another unclear tug of war, so we don't bother wasting our time on it," Gina said.

Aria was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't manage the company and the artists well."

"It's okay. You don't need to feel guilty. Don't dwell on it. Let this matter pass. Gabriel and I don't want to pursue it," Gina said.

In the end, it was just a boring hype news. Gabriel and Gina didn't want to waste time on it.

Besides, Gina still needed to deal with her luxury cars being scratched. Colin wanted to contest with her, and she had to deal with it.

"Okay." Aria choked a little. "Thank you, Gina."

"I do want to ask, though. Can we still be friends from now on?" Aria asked carefully.

Gina was a little surprised when she heard Aria say this. She thought for a moment and said, "Of course, we're still friends. It's not you fault after all."

Aria's last uneasy feeling dropped when she heard this. She broke into a smile and said, "Thank you, Gina. That's very kind of you. I was really worried I'd lose you as a friend over this."

"It won't happen," Gina said.

Her words were like a reassuring pill to Aria.

"Then, Gina, I won't disturb you anymore. Bye."

"Bye." Gina hung up.

Aria's mood was much better. Nancy was lucky too. Luckily, Gina was too lazy to bother with Nancy. And most importantly, she almost lost Gina as a friend.

She really hated Nancy, but now she was the president of the company. In the end, it was impossible to handle things as she pleased or to disregard the bigger picture. At the moment, the best benefit for Star Entertainment Company was to have Nancy show up more often. But she wouldn't let Nancy mention Gabriel again. She was sure that Nancy, who planned everything, must also have this consensus.

*****

In the Jackson Group.

Harry stood in the hallway, smoking with a cold face.

"Harry!" A voice suddenly sounded

Harry's shoulder was tapped. He turned his head and saw Edward, a shareholder.

Harry's expression changed. "Edward, why are you at the company today as well?"Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.

Edward smiled bitterly. "I came for the stock price drop. Harry, you must have seen the news on the internet, right? I originally wanted to find Gabriel to ask what the situation is, but I heard he's not in today. It's his assistant who received me. I heard he's off today for a date?"