She was decent-looking, around twenty-four or twenty-five. Being young, her skin was fine, but in an entertainment industry teeming with beauties, her looks weren't exactly outstanding.
That's why, every time Holly met with the phony, she would either deliberately flaunt her bags, jewelry, and clothes, or find some new way to get the phony to pay for her.
Fortunately, the phony's income was limited. And while Holly herself was incredibly vain, her predecessor mostly just treated her to meals and occasionally bought her a couple of high-end lipsticks. No serious money was ever spent on her.
Riley Perry chuckled. "Alright, didn't you say you were treating me? Go ahead and order. I'm starving."
Holly Summers beamed. "Okay, okay, I'm ordering. Make sure you eat plenty later."
'Dammit,' she fumed internally. 'Eat, eat, eat, that's all you know how to do. If I'd known, I never would have suggested this place. The food here is so damn expensive.'
'Oh well. I'll just consider it charity. After all, Riley is the reason I've made so much extra cash.'
The food was ordered quickly. Holly Summers pretended to casually bring up Vernon Jacobs. "So you and Vernon Jacobs really broke up? Is there no chance of getting back together?"
Riley Perry scoffed. "He's a cheating scumbag. I would never take him back. Besides, if you hadn't been in my ear constantly singing his praises, I never would have given him a chance in the first place."
Holly Summers's face stiffened before she immediately switched to her sweet, wronged-friend routine. "Riley, you've been blaming me this whole time, haven't you?
"Back then, Vernon Jacobs really did seem like a great guy! And for Z-list actresses like us, marrying into a wealthy family like the Jacobs' is a huge step up. As your friend, I just wanted you to have a secure future, so that's why I said what I did."
Riley Perry quietly watched Holly's performance. 'Her act is pretty amateur,' she thought, but decided to play along anyway. "You didn't try to hurt me on purpose, so how could I blame you?
"Besides, I don't think being with Vernon Jacobs was me marrying up at all. It's more like he was punching above his weight with me!"
Holly Summers almost gagged. 'Others might not know, but how could I not?'
'Riley Perry is just a country bumpkin. Her parents are just simple farmers—and two real pieces of work, from what I hear. Honestly, if it weren't for that pretty face of hers, no one with any kind of family background would ever want to marry a girl like her.'
'If she hadn't gotten lucky enough to be cast in Director Warren's *Youth*, who knows where she'd have ended up? Probably sold off to some backwater village long ago.'
"As long as you don't blame me, I'm relieved! But, if you ask me, with a face like yours, your greatest fortune is yet to come."
Riley looked at Holly with a cryptic smile, making Holly's skin crawl. Fortunately, a waiter entered with their food just then, and Holly quickly said, "Come on, you said you were hungry, right? Let's eat. We can always order more if it's not enough."
Riley turned her attention to the food. 'This isn't the time to drop the act with Holly,' she thought. 'I can't just scare her off. Then where would the fun be?'
Holly also knew she had been too hasty. 'Riley just broke up with Vernon Jacobs, so she's obviously in a bad mood. If I push too hard, I'll just annoy her. I need to take it slow. She's just an idiot. As if I can't fool her.'
After the two finished lunch, Holly Summers dutifully paid the bill. They went their separate ways after leaving the restaurant. Riley Perry had to practice her acting in the afternoon, so she took a taxi straight to her company.
In the car, she didn't forget to send a message to Cole Sinclair, asking if he'd had lunch.
His reply was another "Mm."
'Riley was starting to realize that if not for the very sexy photos she sent him, Cole Sinclair's replies to her would be nothing but a string of "Mm"s.'
'It's fine. I'll take my time.'
'Patience was one thing she had in spades, after all.'
She stayed at the company until four o'clock. Just as she got downstairs, she received a call from Henry Hayes.
"Miss Perry, President Sinclair asked me to pick you up and take you to the apartment. I'm right downstairs from your company."
Riley held her phone and looked around the entrance, and sure enough, she saw Henry Hayes standing by a car.
She hung up and walked over.
Henry Hayes opened the rear door for her. Once Riley was settled in the back, he got into the front passenger seat.
"The apartment is very close, only about a five-minute drive." That was including time spent waiting at traffic lights; otherwise, it would be even quicker.
Riley said, "Actually, the apartment my company provides is perfectly fine. I don't really want to move."
Henry's forehead immediately broke into a sweat. "Oh, please, Miss Perry. I've been over there working for hours. If you don't go, all of President Sinclair's preparations will have been for nothing!"
Riley said, "Oh. Well, you've certainly worked hard, Assistant Hayes. I'll treat you to a meal another time when we're free."
'You might dare to ask, but would I dare to accept?' Henry thought.
Of course, he knew she was just being polite—it was like bumping into a friend and saying, "Let's grab a drink sometime!"
That "sometime" was wonderfully vague.
Take it seriously and you lose.
Soon, the car stopped at the gate of a luxury residential complex. Henry Hayes took Riley to register at the gate. The security here was extremely strict; entry required registration.
Back in the car, they drove around two buildings before stopping again. The driver stayed with the car while Henry Hayes led Riley upstairs.
The elevator stopped on the twenty-first floor. Henry Hayes entered the passcode and helped Riley register her fingerprint. The door opened, and he led her on a tour of the apartment. Well, it was actually two apartments. The building had two units per floor, but the magnanimous President Sinclair had simply bought the adjacent one as well and knocked down the wall between them. The entire floor was over four hundred square meters!
'An apartment over four hundred square meters... That's bigger than some small villas!'
"This is the walk-in closet President Sinclair had me set up. It's filled with this year's latest collections from major luxury brands, including shoes, bags, and jewelry. If there's anything you don't like, Miss Perry, we can have it exchanged. All it takes is a phone call."
Riley looked at the dozens of haute couture outfits, beautiful shoes, accessories, and bags in the walk-in closet. It gave her a renewed, crystal-clear picture of Cole Sinclair's wealth.
"You've really put a lot of thought into this, Assistant Hayes. Thank you."
'As the sponsor, and an incredibly wealthy one at that, all he had to do was give the orders. The one putting in all the thought and effort was definitely his special assistant, Henry Hayes. Riley's "thank you" was completely sincere.'
Riley flicked through a few of the outfits. "And you have excellent taste, Assistant Hayes. I love all of these."
Henry Hayes looked a bit flustered by the compliment but still spoke up for his boss. "I selected everything based on President Sinclair's instructions. I'm just glad you like them, Miss Perry."
Riley raised an eyebrow. "Were President Sinclair's requirements that all the clothes had to be demure and elegant?"
Henry Hayes asked, "How did you know, Miss Perry?"
Riley scoffed lightly. "Why don't you show me the other rooms, Assistant Hayes."
Henry immediately led the way. "This is your bedroom. It has an adjoining study. If you're not satisfied, Miss Perry, we can have it redecorated."
'The room itself was already huge, and it was right next to the walk-in closet. It was spacious and comfortably furnished. Why would it possibly need redecorating?'
"No, it's not necessary. This is wonderful as it is."
Seeing that Riley truly had no further requests, Henry Hayes gave her all the keys and key cards for the apartment and then left.
Riley went straight to the study. 'Everything is so well-prepared,' she thought. 'Forget just being able to move in with a suitcase; I could move in with nothing but my phone.'