Chapter 53: Scheming Evie
Lily walked into the waiting room attached to the runway stage to see her team having a heated staredown with Evie’s team. Her brows furrowed as she continued to walk in. “What’s going on?” She asked and stood beside Celina and Avon.
“Oh, you are here; we’ve been waiting for you,” Mila declared with a polite smile as she turned to the confused-looking Lily.
Lily raised her brows and asked, “Who are you? What do you want with me?” She demanded coldly as she saw Evie standing behind the rest of her team with an indifferent expression.
“I’m Mila and the female model for team six,” Mila introduced, and Lily nodded in acknowledgement. “We wanted to apologise to you for the post circulating on the internet; it was immature of us to attack you that way,” she explained, and Lily’s frown deepened while she pretended she wasn’t aware of what was going on.
“What are you talking about? Wasn’t the post made by an internet user? What has that got to do with you and your team?” She asked with a confused tone, while Mila smiled awkwardly.
“I’m sure you already know the story. Besides, there is no need for us to keep beating around the bush. We just want to apologise and get this over with,” Bethel joined in with an indifferent tone, making Lily’s anger flare up.
She glared at the group with her hands crossed over her chest. “If you are so sorry about it, why not just take down the post? You are coming to apologise when the post is still thriving online. What do you take me for? A fool?” Lily demanded coldly.
Celina and Avon snickered as they took in the other group’s awkwardness. They had both been so enraged when the group walked up to them smugly, looking arrogant and haughty while demanding information about Lily’s whereabouts.
“It’s only logical you take down the post about her before you walk in here like you own it, bringing with you your fake apology,” Celina replied as she glared at Mila and the rest of the group.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.
“We are not able to take down the post, not that we don’t want to take it down.” Mila confessed, and Lily raised a brow in surprise. “And you thought I was the one that’s stopping the post from coming down?” She asked, and Mila shifted on her foot awkwardly.
Evie scoffed as she stepped forward, hating how the conversation was dragging on. She stood arrogantly in front of Lily, a smirk plastered on her lip as she demanded, “How much do you want for you to forget about this case?”
Hearing her words, Avon’s face turned ugly as he tried to step forward to give Evie a piece of his mind. Lily signalled for him to stay put. She stepped forward and stood in front of Evie daringly, her hands crossed over her chest as she looked straight into Evie’s eyes. “I do not need your filthy money; since you started the scandal yourself, please find a way to stop it yourself without dragging me into this drama.” She gritted out and walked away.
Evie stood there awkwardly for several moments, her mouth wide open in shock. Merissa had warned them to watch how they talked when addressing Lily, which was why Mila had been overly cautious while speaking.
As group six saw their apology fall through, they all turned to Evie with a glare and said, “I told you to allow me to handle it! Why must you butt in?” Mila demanded angrily. “You were taking so much time! It’s just an apology; does she have to accept it? It’s already annoying enough that I would beg someone like that!” Evie sneered.
“Can you hear yourself? If it was a matter that only involved you, I’d be glad to have you take care of it, but this affects the team! How do you expect us to settle this when you’ve only made it worse?!” Seb demanded angrily, while Evi shifted her feet awkwardly.
As the group argued amongst themselves, the guide came around to inform them that the show was about to begin. Mila and Seb hurried off to their dressing room, leaving Bethel and Evie.
“If she does not want to take down the post, why not just add another one to stimulate her? We just have to smear her name to the extent that she would not know where to start cleaning. What do you think?” Bethel asked with a mischievous smile. “What do you mean?” Evie asked, and I’m confused.
“She’s been arrogant and demanding because she thinks she is in control of the situation. Then we just have to show her that she’s nothing but a newbie in the circle. She does not have a scandal. We create an opportunity for her to have one! If not the first time, this will be happening in the circle.” He explained. “How can a newbie come from nowhere to drag your reputation through the mud?”
“Irrespective of who wins the first segment, there is going to be a party tonight; let’s arrange something exciting for her, one that she won’t be able to wash away even if she tries,” he suggested, and a sinister smile appeared on Evie’s face.
“We are indeed like-minded,” Evie chuckled. “We have the perfect opportunity to create a scandal for her tonight,” she voiced as several ideas came running through her mind.
“It doesn’t matter how we handle it, as long as we get results. I love your idea,” she chuckled. “I know someone who owes me a favour; I’m sure he won’t mind helping us play along; all we have to do is create more fake scandals and get the keyboard army to publicise them,” she announced with an excited giggle.
The two moved closer, trying to make sure that their scheme was not exposed or overheard by anyone. Unknown to them, Lily, who had come late to the show, had made some arrangements, and everything that had been happening in the waiting room was being watched live online.
Mr. Thompson slammed his hands on the table, his face pulled into an ugly frown, as his assistant showed him the live video of Evie and Bethel planning how to take care of Lily. “Call that brat for me this instant!” He bellowed, and the assistant scrambled around to reach his phone.
After the second ring, the call went through: “Young Mistress, Master would like to talk to you,” the assistant announced, and a low chuckle came out.
“Hmmm… I’ve been expecting a call from Mr. Thompson; please give it to him.” Lily’s cool and low voice came out from the other side of the phone, shocking the assistant, who immediately checked if he had dialled the wrong number.
“What happened?” Mr. Thompson asked as he noticed his assistant’s bewildered expression. Caspian, the assistant, removed the phone from his ear and awkwardly explained the situation. The crease on Mr. Thompson’s brows deepened, and he gestured for Caspian to hand the phone over.
“What do you want?” He demanded coldly, and Lily chuckled lightly. “Aren’t you a little too cold, Mr. Thompson?” She teased. “I’m sure you have a guess about what I want.”
“If you want money, I’ll give it to you in any amount. Stop the live video you are doing,” Mr. Thompson offered calmly as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the glass window of his office overlooking the city. “Whatever it is that you want, name it, and I’ll give it to you. All this is my daughter’s fault, and so you won’t take the blame for any of it, and I won’t pursue this issue,” he added.
Although the words sounded calm and patronising, Lily could feel the threat in his tone. She smiled at her reflection in the dressing room’s mirror. “You said anything I want?” She asked.
Mr. Thompson scowled, thinking she would ask for money or something related; however, his scowl fell the next moment after hearing her words. “I want to see Evie’s career in shambles like she does to others,” Lily declared, and Mr. Thompson’s face flushed in anger.
“How dare you?!” He demanded.
“I’m not asking you for permission, Mr. Thompson. I’m only telling you what I want.” Lily chuckled “You should see the comments online. I’m looking forward to seeing how you bring her career on track.”