Scarlett pulled her head away from Zara. "Damn, Zara!! Stop pinching my face." She glared at her before continuing, "You have known me for some time. You know my skin always likes this. Why are you asking again?"
"Haha, girl, you should be happy that I envy you. Your genes are really amazing! You should inherit this from your mother, right?" Zara said.
Scarlett was taken aback by Zara's words. She never thought about it. But maybe her fair skin and beauty came from her mother, not her father because she looked nothing like her father.
Even the color of her eyes and hair differs from her father's. When she was little, she often heard his father's family and friends insult her with these words, "Are you adopted!?" Every time she listened to those words, it broke her heart.
"Unlike me, I must try hard to hide my wrinkles and maintain flawless skin! Sigh!!" Zara said. She looked away to the road and enjoyed the scenery outside, not wanting to tease Scarlett anymore.
After a few minutes of silence, Scarlett suddenly looks at the back row. She was stunned by what she saw; Tyler was staring at his iPad, and he seemed to be reading an important file.
"Gosh! Ty, can you relax? No need to show off that you were a hardworking CEO before me..." Scarlett chuckled.
Before Tyler could answer Scarlett, Zara laughed, echoing in the car. Everyone was surprised to see her.
"Hahaha... Indeed, Ty really wants to show off to you, Boss!" Zara said.
"Zara, I don't have to do that. Our Boss already knows..." Tyler said calmly, and he looked at Scarlett. "Boss, I just checked the terms of our agreement with Studio Phoenix again." His voice sounded serious.
Zara shakes her head and again looks away to enjoy the view outside the car.
"Isn't it final?" Scarlett asked. She remembered that Carter said the final cooperation draft had been sent to their LA office a week ago.
"They revised something. I only noticed it two days ago, so I wanted you to know before I sign it tomorrow."
"Revised!? What is it?" Scarlett frowned. She didn't care about this kind of thing because she trusted Tyler. However, now that their client is Studio Phoenix, a company owned by the Riley Group, she is pretty involved.
"About the payment amount!" Tyler handed Scarlett his iPad, "You can read that for yourself."
After Scarlett saw what Tyler mentioned, she was shocked. "T-This... Why are they paying us so much?" She looked up and saw Tyler in the eyes. Confused!
"How should I know?" Tyler smiled. "You should ask Studio Phoenix instead!"
Scarlett gasped. Indeed, she had to ask Xander or Carter.
"What's wrong, boss?" Cruz, who had listened to Scarlett and Tyler's conversation, became curious.
"Didn't you also receive the draft contract?" Scarlett asked while looking ahead at Cruz.
"I do! But, that time I sent it to you and Tyler right away. I don't have time to read it!" Cruz frowned. Worried if there is something wrong with the contract.
"They increased the fees. Even though there was no talk about that before..." Scarlett explained.
"Ooo, about that, actually, I know. Didn't I tell you about that?" When Cruz saw Scarlett frown, he continued, "Well, it was Brother Carter's idea..."
"...Are you guys friendly enough to address him by his first name?" Scarlett rolled her eyes, amazed by Cruz's words. Before Cruz could say anything, she continued, "You never told me about that, Cruz! What the hell happened here? Why did they increase that much?"
Cruz gulped! He was close to Carter. They became drinking buddies after their first encounter at the Harvey Olson Party.
"Boss, Cart... I mean, Mr. Riley…He said that the price is what they promised when they tried to contact you. The exact same price." Cruz explained. "You better talk to him about it, Boss! I don't know if they will actually do that either."
Scarlett was speechless.
ραпdα nᴏνa| сom She didn't say anything else, just took a deep breath and texted Xander. After she finished, she closed her eyes to calm her mind. Still, a few minutes later, Cruz and Zara's conversation distracted her.
"Cruz, how's life in this city? It seems so fun. You don't even miss NY!? Not even a slight?" asked Zara as she poked Cruz's shoulder with her finger.
Cruz glanced at Zara sitting behind him through the rearview mirror.
"I rarely go out now because our Boss is torturing me. I don't know her plan, but she buries herself in her studio almost every day. Like she wants to finish her year's work in a week..." Cruz tells everything to Zara. He hopes Zara will scold Scarlett for working too much.
Cruz's complaint is not without reason; he was worried about Scarlett's health. He didn't want her to get sick like in the past. But, whenever he told her to slow down — not to push herself, his Boss didn't even care. After Rex returned to the US, she even slept in her studio and only came out when she needed to eat.
"She did it!?" Zara then looked at Scarlett beside her with a concerned look. "Baby girl, don't push yourself, okay? No need to work hard. You are already rich!"
Scarlett smiles, "I'm not rich! You know where my money end-up, right!?"
Zara laughed before continuing, "Oh my gosh!! Did you spend all your money buying a fancy restaurant? You are really weird, spending all your money like that. Can we just go shopping for some branded bags?" Her eyes beamed at Scarlett.
Cruz fell silent. He feels helpless talking to Zara. "Tsk! You're not helping Zara! I'm disappointed in you."
He then turned to look at Tyler with a pleading look. Out of the four of them, Tyler was the wisest; usually, Scarlett would listen to him.
"Ty... Can you tell the Boss!?" Cruz said.
Still looking at his iPad, Tyler raised his head when he heard Cruz call out his name, "Say, what!? Who?" His eyes looked confused.
Cruz's shoulders shrank. "Ugh! Forget it!! I just need to call my Idol. I'll tell him about it..." He shook his head while looking ahead. Yes, he needs to tell Xander. Perhaps, the man would scold his wife.
"Your idol?" Zara, who had just finished touch-up her makeup, looked at Cruz curiously. "Who is he or she!?"
Cruz's knees weakened as he caught Scarlet's murderous gaze.
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