Carson grabbed an autographed portrait of himself and handed it to Sienna. \u201cThis is for you. You\u2019re welcome.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sienna took the photo. She was surprised by how easily he made small talk with her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t bad\u2013looking, with flawless skin and features that made for an affable, innocent face. That being said, his eyes were slightly smaller and creased into lines whenever he smiled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carson suddenly leaned closer and studied her keenly. \u201cWhere have I seen you before?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sienna nearly laughed at the old\u2013fashioned, cheesy pick\u2013up line, but she had to commend him for his taste.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As if reading her thoughts, Carson held his hands up in exasperation and said, \u201cIt\u2019s true! I just can\u2019t put my finger on it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sienna humored him. \u201cWell, let me know when you do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, a commotion broke out at the entrance\u2013Clayton had shown up with his assistant to visit Melody on set.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In his impeccable suit, Clayton looked out of place on the rowdy film set. The crew called out to the others loudly and distributed the takeout Clayton had brought with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Clayton\u2019s gaze swept over the set like the beam of a searchlight, though it darkened when he spotted Sienna and Carson talking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to go.\u201d Sienna hurriedly bid Carson farewell, then left frantically with her iced latte and autographed portrait.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had just reached the doorway to the dressing room when a towering figure blocked her path.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clayton had appeared out of nowhere and now loomed over her. His voice was like icy granite as he bit out, \u201cThis is where you\u2019re working? Miles told me you were working here as a gopher, but I didn\u2019t believe him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sienna tipped her head back and met his stare. \u201cWhat, do you have some valuable insight to impart again, Mr. Hale?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou turned down the proper jobs I lined up for you so you could wait on these celebrities hand and foot? Are you proud of that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clayton\u2019s eyes drifted to the autographed portrait in her hand. Contempt colored his tone. \u201cWhere\u2019s the value in collecting such cheap trinkets anyway?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sienna wasn\u2019t patient enough to waste her breath on going back and forth with him. She gestured at the room next door. \u201d Mr. Hale, you\u2019re in the wrong room. Ms. Foster is getting her hair and makeup done next door.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No sooner had the words left Sienna\u2019s mouth than Melody hurried forward in her costume.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pearl\u2013encrusted clips in her hair glimmered under the lights, matching her dazzling smile as she crooned, \u201cClayton, you\u2019re here! You should have told me you\u2019d be coming over. I still have makeup on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As if on cue, Sienna turned and left, but not before hearing Clayton ask warmly, \u201cHow was the shoot? I hope you didn\u2019t cause the director any trouble.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Melody muttered coquettishly, \u201cNow you\u2019re making fun of me. The director told me my acting was superb and emotional. He said I\u2019d make it to the big screen without a problem.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She broke off in a short coughing fit. \u201cI accidentally swallowed some dirt while filming a scene in the mud today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCouldn\u2019t a stunt double have stepped in for you?\u201d Clayton demanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their conversation sliced through Sienna\u2019s heart like a dull blade. As it turned out, Clayton was happy to offer gentle concern to anyone but her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was hilarious how Sienna had been so moved when he gave her the strawberry candy last night. She chided herself for\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 72\u00a0<\/p>\n
being so weak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How could she have forgotten about the heartbreak, wounds, and scars he had caused just because he decided to give her candy on a whim?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She berated herself for being a fool, then returned to her seat absentmindedly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Michelle had her head bowed over her script as she memorized her lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When she looked up and saw Sienna\u2019s distressed expression, she leaned closer and asked quietly, \u201cWhat is it? You look\u00a0<\/p>\n
terrible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
212\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Sienna could answer, a few actresses burst into the dressing room excitedly and began to discuss in earnest, \u201cOh my gosh, was that Clayton Hale, the CEO of Hale Group? He\u2019s even more handsome in real life than in the pages of the financial magazines!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must have come to visit Melody!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, duh! Who else among us would have the honor of being in his presence?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Foster was coughing earlier because of the dust and dirt from filming a scene, so Mr. Hale immediately had someone buy an air purifier and set it up in her dressing room! He loves her too much!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Michelle rolled her eyes and interjected sarcastically, \u201cGoodness gracious, what a timely visit on Mr. Hale\u2019s part! He bought an air purifier just because Ms. Foster was coughing? Would he arrange for an entire ICU with oxygen masks and tanks the next time she sneezes?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She even copied Melody\u2019s high\u2013pitched, honeyed voice to a tee as she said, \u201cOh, Clay, I was just choking on dirt, that\u2019s all!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The actresses shot Michelle pointed, odd looks, then left the dressing room sheepishly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sienna cracked a grin at last. She poked a straw through the lid of the styrofoam cup and handed the iced latte to Michelle. \u201d Some latte to pacify your silver tongue, Michelle?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Michelle took the latte and sipped with gusto, getting more animated as she spoke. \u201cThose two deserve each other. I hope they stay together forever! There\u2019s no better pair than a bona fide cheating bastard and a scum\u2013sucking princess wannabe!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she spoke, she bit down on a few ice chips, then added emphatically, \u201cI think it\u2019s high time Clayton tattoo the word \u2018 scumbag\u2018 on his forehead!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say I should tattoo on my forehead?\u201d A cool, crisp male voice suddenly sounded from the doorway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She got the divorce and bolted 72 Carson grabbed an autographed portrait of himself and handed it to Sienna. \u201cThis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-she-got-the-divorce-and-bolted-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20146\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}