Hollywood Zenith

" I have been thinking about why you haven\'t been picking up your phone, but I knew that you were \'working\' this hard." Lilly made a scary face when she met with Samuel. He had been neglecting everything for the past two, which was not entirely his fault.

" Ahaha, Why do you mean? I just forgot to charge my phone. " Samuel tried to downplay it. He had checked his phone after dealing with her.

" Really?" She looked behind him from where the girls were watching. They were just about to eat breakfast when Lily barged in and was curious about what it was about.

" Come out! I will not bite." When their eyes met, she called them over. They quietly sat beside Samuel while Lily inspected them curiously with her eyes.

" Not bad, not bad. We met before right?"

" Yes, I took them shopping. Should we move on our business? Why are you suddenly here?"

" Why are you butting in? I was asking them not you."

" Nice to meet you, I am Rosaline."

" Liliana. Pleasure." Liliana trusted Samuel, but from what she saw, the woman in front of her liked to pry, which she was not a massive fan of.

" No need to be on guard with me, I am not a bad person. I just wanted to check something. That\'s all."

" Don\'t believe her, I heard it directly from Aunt Amelia. She clearly said,\' Gossip is like a second nature to her!"

" How can she badmouth her best friend? It is baseless lies!" Lilly tried to defend herself.

" So, you didn\'t tell anyone about these two right?" Samuel asked abruptly.

" Thats-"

" I knew it!"

" Wait! Hold on, it\'s not like that. Are you comfortable with inviting them to the Armani press conference?

" Huh?"

" What does that had to do with us?" Liliana asked for both of them.

" He didn\'t tell you anything?" Lilly looked at Samuel, to which he shook his head to confirm her statement.

" Is that the reason why you are here?"

" Yes, the old man wanted to make a big impact through this unveiling party. He told me to find suitable partner for you for the ceremony but now that I see them, they could accompany you to the party right?"

" It\'s up to them if they want to come or not."

Lilly began explaining to them about their deal and how Samuel came to be the next model to represent their company. She also told them about the big press release the company would hold to showcase their future design.

" So, It\'s basically a fashion show. But doesn\'t that mean it will gather large public attention? I really can\'t be in the spotlight for certain reason." Liliana wasn\'t too keen on the idea.

" Me too; I am not suited for these things. I am just an ordinary girl." Rosaline, on the other hand, wasn\'t confident with herself.

" Nonsense, give me a few hours, and every girl in the event will be pale compared to you! It is my guarantee as a professional in this field. My eyes are never wrong!" Lilly was getting excited looking at her. Redhead, blue eyes, that destructive figure, she already began to plan which dress would look good on her.

" But I really don\'t think-" Lilly got up, sat beside her, and began observing her without giving her much chance to object. She didn\'t want to let go of this opportunity.

" Good, your skin is flawless. Those freckles we could cover it up or leave them be for a more natural and exotic look, next..."

" Miss Lilly, wait!..."Rosaline looked toward others for help, but Samuel was busy convincing Liliana.

" Can\'t you tell me? It will be good if you come with us, Rosaline will need you. It will also be good to accumulate some fame if you decide to accept my offer."

" It\'s not like I don\'t want to but I feel like you will be sucked into unnecessary things because of me."

" You can\'t expect me to sit still; I will find out sooner or later." Samuel warmly held her hand. He didn\'t want to push her, but going behind her back to find out about her past was not something he wanted.

Liliana looked into his eyes and knew she couldn\'t avoid it further; she sighed and composed herself.

" It\'s not that complicated, actually my father is..."

...

...

...

"Now that everyone is on the same page, we should move on to the next phase." It took some time before she could convince Rosaline. Only when Liliana agreed to do it, too, did she show some confidence?

" Next phase?" Rosaline asked.

" Yes, do you think it is to make clothes? We don\'t have much time before the party so we have to move fast. Everyone come inside!" She clasped her hand, and right on cue, a dozen people entered the living room.

" Whoa, where did they come from?" Liliana was shocked. On the other hand, Samuel knew about these people lurking outside, but as they didn\'t look like a threat, he ignored them until now.

" Now, now. They are my subordinates. Everyone, we have a change of plans, divide into three teams and take care of it! Make sure to mark every detail!" Like \'soldiers,\' they moved like clockwork; Rosaline and Liliana were taken to an empty room while the people followed suit with their equipment.

While Samuel was taken to a separate room to quickly stripped down to his underwear. Like Lilly ordered, no stones were left unturned, so much so that Samuel felt uncomfortable after a while.

Nonetheless, he endured it and met up with Lily in the living room. He was the first out of three of them.

" This could have been so much better if you came to the store voluntarily."

" Wasn\'t it scheduled for today? How can I be there before our appointment?"

" Or you could have picked up your phone too. Looking at when I came here, I don\'t think you would have made it regardless of it." She said with a smug expression.

" As I told you before I was busy. Leave it for now, don\'t you have something tell me?"

" What might that be?"

" Who do you tell it to? It could have been fine before, but the situation has changed a little." Samuel wanted to keep it under wraps before he resolved Liliana\'s worries. If people snooped around right now, he would not be able to attend the ceremony.

" That! I didn\'t tell anyone. I just might have mentioned it to Darren whom I met earlier. Oh, I forgot he told me he will be visiting you in the afternoon."

" Fuck! that\'s worse, no, it\'s fine. That idiot was due a beating because of the stunt he pulled earlier." Samuel thought. In the meantime, he only hoped Darren would not ask about Liliana.

" Good let him come. It is fortunate, I also have some scores to settle with him."

" Before that, you should check your phone."

" Shit! I forgot." He quickly excused himself and went toward his room to search for it.

"57 missed calls! FUCK!"