Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
The next day, she followed the SOP and swapped the other B-list actress with Jasmine. Following that, she made another announcement online with similar content to yesterday’s explanation. Once again, the update sent the Internet into a furor.
‘I’m first! Wow. Callum Winthrop is indeed the best wealthy bachelor in town. He’s so good to his fianc?!’
’30 million? Who’d spend that money just to make his woman happy?’
’30 million? So what? It doesn’t affect me at all. I’m still taking home 300 monthly and surviving on ramen.’
‘I’m envious of Jasmine McGrath! Why am I not her?’
‘After Arthur Winthrop spent 11 million for his female best friend, Callum Winthrop caught up with his 30 million spending on his fianc?. We can never understand the world of the rich.’
‘See that? The Winthrops are romantics.’
‘But isn’t the CEO of Azure Corporation the ex-fianc? of Callum? Won’t they feel awkward?’
‘Gosh, you’re clueless. This must be Jasmine asserting her dominance over Elspeth. After all, Callum was good to his ex before…’
‘Oooh, the drama! I’m here with my popcorn.’
‘What drama? Elspeth is the smartest of them all. She hasn’t even paid for the advertisement and has already earned 41 million from the model placement. Do you think she’s a fool?’
…
With a brush between her teeth, Elspeth scrolled through the comments and nodded in satisfaction. The more drama, the better. More comments mean more attention to the advertisement, which will be good for jewelry sales.
After a quick washing up, she put on sophisticated makeup and changed into a professional suit to meet up with the two devils. That morning, she woke up to Arthur’s message, requesting a meeting on their collaboration.
Elspeth had to give it to him. She always turned him down no matter what he invited her to, but he managed to find a way to meet with her-one that required her to show up professionally.
Not only that, she had to meet Callum along with Arthur and could hardly imagine the outcome of this interesting combination.
The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt. She pushed aside the thoughts and put on the brightest shade of red lipstick in hope that she would appear more authoritative.
Then, she drove to the cafe where they agreed to meet. When she was at the door, she noticed a couple that stood close to each other. Callum had arrived before Arthur, and not only that, he brought Jasmine along, putting on an overt display of affection. Tsk, aren’t they ashamed of doing so under all the watching eyes?
Elspeth pushed her sunglasses up her nose bridge and walked into the cafe while dodging the two. They seemed to only have eyes for each other and probably did not notice her.
‘I’m envious of Jasmine McGrath! Why am I not her?’
She did not move far before she heard a voice dripping with honey from behind. “Elspeth! Why didn’t you say ‘hi’ when you saw us?”
Jasmine had an arm around Callum and flashed her a victorious smile. She was smiling so widely that Elspeth felt sick just looking at her.
Still, she tightened her brows and kept a smile on her lips. “Oh, my apologies. Well, you two are leaning into each other. I mistook you as a teen couple doing PDA.”
At first, Jasmine thought Elspeth would have been envious. She was about to assert her dominance before Elspeth’s teen-couple comment knocked her off her feet. Her expression fell, and she said, “What do you mean?”
“What do I mean?” Elspeth chirped. “It’s not that deep. Or did you fail your language classes in school?” She was launching subtle attacks relentlessly.
Of course, Jasmine had not forgotten about Elspeth’s slap. She had thought Elspeth would get along with her in Callum’s presence, but she was dismayed to find her acting hostilely, dismissing her attempts at reaching out amicably.
“Miss Lynwood, that’s too much. I didn’t say anything bad about you. How could you embarrass me with your words?” Tears shone in Jasmine’s eyes, and she pouted to appear pitiful.
Callum’s expression darkened. “Miss Lynwood, please mind your words.”
Elspeth removed her sunglasses to reveal an equally unfriendly gaze. “I can say anything I want in the way I want. I don’t need you to censor me.”
She noticed that Jasmine was putting on a pitiful act, as though someone had wronged her. She announced, “Miss McGrath, if you find me unacceptable, we can cancel our collaboration. The money’s not been transferred yet, and we can always call it quits.”
Jasmine’s only motive was to upset Elspeth, and she was not done yet. She wiped away her tears and muttered, “Alright. I won’t make a fuss.”
“Yo! What the heck are we having today? What was that rotten smell from afar even before I stepped into this place?” Arthur’s sudden appearance and bold remark immediately dampened the mood.
Jasmine’s eyes turned bright crimson as she looked at Arthur, who appeared fearless with a bright smile. “What exactly do you mean?”
He gaped in surprise, replying, “I said nothing. Why insert yourself, Miss McGrath?”
I didn’t explain anything, so why did she overthink it?
Her fury was palpable, but she could not come up with anything to counter him, so she could only smile uncomfortably and say, “Sorry, I overthought.”
“Yes, Miss McGrath. Please don’t have too many conspiracy theories that everyone is out to get you.” He smiled as he stared at her. His statements were light-hearted yet loaded with implications.
Jasmine was taken aback by his remarks and could only swivel her head to gaze at Callum beside her, looking for cover. However, he pursed his lips tightly and pretended not to hear anything. “Alright. Let’s not waste our time here. Our purpose today is to discuss our collaboration. Let’s enter the room.”
Elspeth was relieved to see Jasmine deflated, but she did not come today to argue with her ex’s fianc?; she was here to sign off two big contracts.
Callum was the first to enter since he was silent and unable to acclimatize to the circumstances, while Jasmine trailed behind him after seeing him entering the cafe without her.
Arthur, on the other hand, was not in a hurry. He looked at Elspeth with a teasing smile. “I’m surprised to see the always outspoken Elspeth getting insulted in front of her ex. Your counterattack earlier was subpar.”
Although his words were mild, he was insinuating that Callum was not ready to defend her when she was cornered, indicating that he did not love her anymore.
“Don’t put your finger in the pie.”
She was about to enter the cafe when Arthur purposely blocked her path. “I just helped you. Shouldn’t I get something in return?”
After seeing his smirk, Elspeth trod on his shoe violently. “Get out of the way!”
His face immediately lit up with a big smile. Ouch. That hurts!
He gritted his teeth and stood up straight, his right fist signaling he was in pain. “Oh, to be taken for granted.”
“Did I ask for your help?” She scowled.
Arthur was frustrated but helpless. All he could do was stand there and watch her walk away nonchalantly, not even looking back to give him a concerned look. Despite his sore foot, he staggered into the room in despair.
Everyone had arrived, so it was time to discuss the agreement. Elspeth pulled two contracts from her bag and handed them to Callum and Jasmine. “Please let me know if you have any questions about the contract. If there are no concerns, you may sign it right away.”
Following that, she handed two pens from her backpack to them. Callum took the contract and examined it, which appeared to have no issues. He was about to sign when Jasmine grabbed his hand and asked, “Wait a minute. Can I read it?”
Elspeth grew enraged when she saw her dolly features and questioned, “Did you graduate with a finance degree, Miss McGrath?”
“No, I’m an arts graduate,” Jasmine replied, surprised by the question.
“In that case, reading it is futile since you won’t understand them.” Elspeth’s remarks were harsh and nasty, piercing Jasmine’s heart.
As the daughter of a wealthy businessman, Jasmine’s education ironically had little to do with finance, and she struggled to comprehend contracts in general. “I merely want to look over the contract. Why are you being so aggressive, Miss Lynwood?” She bit her lower lip as tears welled up in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Callum remained unaware of her weeping and handed her the document, stating, “No one is stopping you from reading it. Here, have a look.” He suddenly raised his head and gave Elspeth an angry stare.
Taken aback by this gaze at first, she rapidly recovered. He was warning her not to offend Jasmine once more. After some consideration, Elspeth became furious and commented almost nonchalantly, “You know what? There are some issues with the contract.”
Even Arthur, who was about to sign, paused and inquired, “What’s wrong?”
“I believe Mr. Winthrop’s forced introduction of a spokesperson, who has nothing to do with entertainment and is not even well-liked, would result in significant losses for our firm. I’m hoping he can raise the price to forty million.” Her lips raised, twitching with a subtle cunning.
“Did I ask for your help?” She scowled.
Arthur was frustrated but helpless. All he could do was stand there and watch her walk away nonchalantly, not even looking back to give him a concerned look. Despite his sore foot, he staggered into the room in despair.
Arthur noticed it and figured Elspeth was trolling them, so he stayed muted and focused on the show.
Arthur noticed it and figured Elspeth was trolling them, so he stayed muted and focused on the show.
“Forty million? That’s daylight robbery!” Jasmine was immediately dissatisfied. Thirty million is already over the budget. Although I am overjoyed that Callum is willing to spend so much money on me, I’ve reached my financial limit. Isn’t it a ruse to ask for forty million?
“What’s the matter? Why are you so agitated, Miss McGrath? It’s not even your money,” Elspeth rebuked vehemently.
Jasmine indeed had no say because she would not be spending a penny on this deal. She was only able to come here today because she kept pestering Callum.