Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Brilliant as You, My Heart Will Go On

A white silk robe lay on the nightstand, a matching set to the one Alaric Blackwood was wearing.

The man picked up the robe and helped her put it on. His long-fingered hands slowly pulled the two sash ties at her waist and tied them into a neat bow.

Sophie Shaw felt clean and refreshed. She knew Alaric must have given her a bath last night, though she didn’t remember much of it.

As soon as Alaric moved away, she quickly slipped on her slippers and darted out of the room.

She ran all the way back to her own room and dove into the bathroom.

Seeing her face in the mirror, as red as a ripe tomato, her heart pounded in her chest.

They had been intimate several times already, yet whenever Alaric got close, her face would flush and her heart would race uncontrollably.

’Have I really fallen for him?’

She turned on the faucet, cupped some cold water in her hands, and splashed it on her face...

After changing, Alaric went down to the first-floor dining room. He waited for a while before finally seeing Sophie come downstairs.

She avoided his gaze, pulled out the chair opposite him, and sat down, eating her breakfast quietly with her eyes lowered.

When she finished, she cleared her plate and utensils, grabbed her bag, and made to leave.

Alaric watched her silent, withdrawn figure, wondering if he had offended her by helping her get dressed. ’Why is she suddenly ignoring me?’

"Honey..."

BANG—

He tried to call out and ask what was wrong, but his only answer was the sound of the front door slamming shut.

Sophie drove to the office. During the morning meeting, the head of the planning department brought up the endorsement commercial scheduled for that day, as well as the brand ambassador, Nina Halloway.

"Nina Halloway is trending for all the wrong reasons, and it’s damaging her image. President Shaw, should we consider replacing her as our spokesperson?"

The question caught Sophie a little off guard. "Nina’s management agency was already handling the trending topic last night. Hasn’t it been resolved yet?"

"No, it’s that she’s trending again."

"?"

Sophie picked up her phone and saw that the topic about Nina cozying up with male models was no longer on the trending list; its popularity had dropped significantly. Now, the number one trending topic was a different viral post about Nina.

#NinaHallowayDrunkLateAtNight,CarriedAwayByMysteriousMan#

This time, it wasn’t something stirred up by the male models at the club. Instead, paparazzi had heard the news, staked out the area near the club, and snapped photos of Nina leaving. She was dead drunk and being carried out by a man.

The photos were taken from a distance and weren’t high-definition. The man carrying Nina was also wearing a hat and a mask.

However, just from his height and build, Sophie recognized him at a glance. It was none other than Ethan Austin.

Looking closely at the photo, she could also see Anne following behind him, carrying a bag and also wearing a mask.

"The endorsement contract hasn’t been signed yet, right? If you want to switch spokespeople, there’s still time."

Sophie thought for a moment, then rejected the department head’s suggestion. "We’re not switching."

"President Shaw, her personal life seems a bit messy. What if some other major scandal breaks later..."

"We are not replacing the spokesperson. That’s final."

Sophie stood up and left the conference room. Just as she returned to her office, Hannah Sutton came in with the brand spokesperson contract.

"President Shaw, the contract is ready."

"Just leave it here."

"Understood."

Hannah placed the contract on her desk. Just as she turned to leave, Sophie stopped her. "Notify the HR department. The legal department needs to hire a lawyer as soon as possible."

"Yes, President Shaw."

The morning passed in a flash. For lunch, Sophie ordered takeout and ate at the office.

The brand endorsement photoshoot was scheduled for two in the afternoon. Sophie took the contract and drove directly to the photo studio.

The studio had been rented in advance, and the film crew was from the advertising agency. When she arrived, Nina was in the dressing room getting her makeup done.

Having drunk herself unconscious the previous night, Nina didn’t look to be in good shape. She seemed half-asleep and kept dozing off.

As her makeup artist of several years, Anne was already used to her catching up on sleep while getting her makeup done.

"Nina, has your agency handled the trending topics online?" she asked as she walked over to Nina.

Nina looked at her through the mirror in front of them and shrugged. "Probably not."

"What’s going on with your agency?"

’They’re not being proactive at all about handling this crisis.’

"My contract with the agency is about to expire. They heard I want to take a long vacation and don’t plan to renew for now, so they’ve basically cut me loose."

Sophie nodded helplessly. "In that case, I’ll find a professional PR team..."

"No need. Let the topic trend for a while. The buzz is good for raising your brand’s profile."

"But all the comments online are negative toward you."

Nina just laughed it off. "It’s not the first time something like this has happened. I’ve been in the business for so long, I’m used to it. Don’t bother with a PR team, it’s a waste of money. Your company is just starting to take off; you need to spend your money where it counts."

Sophie suddenly felt a pang of unease in her heart.

Nina took one of her hands and patted the back of it gently. "It’s fine. It’s just a trending topic."

As a regular on the trending lists, Nina was accustomed to this kind of pressure. She was planning to leave the industry and take a break soon anyway, so she wanted to use this wave of traffic to help Sophie’s company make a big splash with its launch.

"Don’t worry!"

She smiled at Sophie. "A lot of people are speculating about whether I have a boyfriend. Just let them think that."

’Jaden will probably think so too.’

’It’s good this way—not interfering in each other’s lives, no more messy entanglements.’

"Then... let’s sign the contract."

Sophie handed her the contract. Nina took it and signed it without hesitation.

Once her makeup and outfit were ready, Nina chatted amicably with the production team for a bit, and then the shoot officially began.

Sophie watched from off-set for the entire duration.

She noticed that even though Nina had been a drunken mess last night, the moment she faced the camera, she came alive. She was utterly professional. She knew her lines by heart, and they got the shot in a single take without any need for retakes.

However, back in the dressing room, Nina changed back into her own clothes and collapsed into her chair. While Anne removed her makeup, she leaned back and was fast asleep in moments, snoring softly.

Sophie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Nina... well, what can I say? A pro doing what a pro does best."

Anne laughed. "She’s like this when she’s exhausted from filming, too. As long as it doesn’t affect the shoot, it’s fine."

After removing Nina’s makeup, Anne brought over a mask and put it on her. She then pulled the hood of Nina’s jacket over her sleeping head and called out to Ethan.

"Carry her. Let’s go."

With a sour look on his face, Ethan stepped forward and, without a word, hoisted Nina onto his shoulder.

The three of them walked out of the dressing room together.

While waiting for the elevator, Anne linked her arm with Sophie’s and said excitedly, "The slogan for the ad is really great! ’Every diamond is an unwavering promise of love. As brilliant as you, my heart will go on.’"

"Doesn’t that fit perfectly with the Heart of the Ocean? The diamond in *Titanic* was called the Heart of the Ocean, and as the movie became a blockbuster, the theme song ’My Heart Will Go On’ became a household name."

Sophie nodded. "It’s my favorite movie." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

That’s also where the name Heart of the Ocean came from.

As the two were talking, with a DING, the elevator doors opened.

Anne was about to pull her inside when she noticed someone was in the elevator.

It was the next celebrity scheduled to shoot a commercial here, Vianne Kane.

Seeing Sophie, Vianne Kane smiled slightly. "What a coincidence, meeting you here."

Sophie just nodded without saying anything. She waited for Vianne’s team to exit the elevator, but as she went to step inside, Vianne grabbed her by the wrist.

"Sophie, do you have a moment to talk? I need to discuss something with you. Something very important."