Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: A Bloody Heart

Ethan Austin was silent for a long while before he admitted reluctantly, "A little, I guess."

"Then I’ll take that as a yes. Get a resume ready and send it to me as soon as you can."

Ethan Austin grunted in acknowledgment, then asked casually, "Are Sophie and that Bo guy close?"

"They seem to be, I guess. I’m not really sure about the details."

After the wedding, Anne rushed back to Pinewood Studios to get back to work. Fortunately, the movie Nina Halloway was shooting this time was proceeding smoothly. It wouldn’t be long before they could wrap things up and return to Kingsport.

After hanging up with Ethan Austin, she had just slipped her phone into her pocket when she saw a shady figure creeping out of Nina Halloway’s dressing room.

The person was dressed in all black, with a hood pulled over their head, their face hidden by sunglasses and a mask. They even wore black gloves. Covered from head to toe, their appearance was completely obscured.

She stared at the person thoughtfully. From the build, it was a man—not particularly muscular and, she estimated, under six feet tall.

"Who are you?"

She shouted at the figure.

The figure froze, glanced back at her, and then bolted.

"Hey! Stop!"

She gave chase for a few steps but couldn’t catch him.

The man was fast. In the blink of an eye, he had blended into the crowd watching the shoot and vanished from sight.

She had only stepped out for a phone call, yet a suspicious person had already infiltrated Nina Halloway’s dressing room. Her mind immediately jumped to the mysterious packages Nina had been receiving lately.

She ran back to the dressing room and saw a small cardboard box on the coffee table. Just like the previous ones, it had no sender information, only Nina Halloway’s name on it.

When the last scene of the morning wrapped, Nina Halloway and her assistant walked into the dressing room one after the other. They found Anne standing frozen before the coffee table, staring at the box on it.

"Nina, another package came." The assistant’s face paled slightly. "Should we call the police?"

Nina Halloway shook her head, calmly walked over, and opened the cardboard box. Unlike the previous two times, this one contained not only a threat letter but also a small, square metal box.

According to the letter, the item in the metal box was a gift for Nina Halloway.

She lifted the metal box out of the carton, opened it, and was met with a splash of crimson. At the same time, an indescribable, foul stench flooded her senses.

Nina Halloway jumped, her face turning pale as she instantly threw the metal box away.

The bloody thing inside it fell out, looking like the heart of some animal.

"Nina, we should call the police," Anne said. "I saw someone slip into the dressing room when I went out to take a call. He was too fast, I couldn’t catch up."

"You saw him?"

"I did."

Still shaken, Nina Halloway had her assistant call the police.

The assistant ordered lunch, but when it arrived, Nina Halloway had no appetite. The mere sight of the "bloody heart" on the floor made her stomach lurch.

When the police arrived, they confirmed it was a cat’s heart.

Nina Halloway grabbed the trash can and threw up on the spot.

Anne patted her back and reminded the assistant, "Give the previous threat letters to the officers."

The assistant nodded, pulled the two previous letters from her backpack, and handed them to the police along with the one from today.

The letters weren’t handwritten; they were typed and unsigned. The content was largely the same—all expressing an almost fanatical love for Nina Halloway, as well as extreme displeasure and anger over the intimate scenes she had filmed.

"It could be a stalker fan," the assistant said.

The police took their report, asked for the full details, and then left.

’Calling the police was pointless,’ Nina Halloway thought.

Her scenes would be wrapped in a few days, and then she would be leaving. And while Anne had seen the man in black, the dressing rooms prepared for the actors near the set were just temporary structures, completely without surveillance cameras.

With no actual harm done or crime committed, reporting it was useless.

Seeing her looking so worried, Anne sat down beside her, patting her back gently. "Nina," she said, "I think it’s time you considered hiring more bodyguards."

"The bodyguards the company assigned abandoned their posts, and one was audacious enough to drive drunk. Even if I do hire someone, I’ll wait until filming is over and we’re back in Kingsport."

Nina Halloway disliked the bodyguards her agency sent. ’A bunch of useless oafs.’

"I’d like to recommend someone to you," Anne said, suddenly nervous that Nina Halloway would refuse.

"Who?"

"My brother." Anne bit her lip. "He’s a phys-ed major, solid muscle, and a really big guy. He studied Taekwondo in school and is already a black belt. Since graduating, he’s been working part-time at a boxing gym. He can really fight."

Nina Halloway nodded. "When we get back, bring him to my house. I’ll meet him first."

Anne was instantly overjoyed and squeezed Nina Halloway’s hand. "Okay, great! I promise he won’t let you down."

——

Meanwhile, Sophie Shaw drove to Heart of the Ocean.

She organized a meeting focused on a full-scale reform of the company’s future development and the creation of a new growth strategy. When the meeting ended, she had the heads of the Design and Planning departments stay behind for an hour-long follow-up about the company’s products and project proposals. freёwebnoѵel.com

Due to tight funds, Heart of the Ocean had never engaged in brand promotion. The Planning Department had created several proposals based on their products, while Damian Morgan had been busy trying to secure investment.

But as a small, new company whose products weren’t created by a famous designer, Damian Morgan had been unable to secure any funding.

Sophie Shaw wanted to change tactics. Her immediate priorities were to launch brand promotion and packaging, open online and brick-and-mortar flagship stores for Heart of the Ocean, and hire a top celebrity as a brand ambassador.

She already had the perfect candidate in mind. In terms of star power, the spokesperson had to be Nina Halloway.

However, the head of the Planning Department looked troubled. "Hire Nina Halloway? Her endorsement fees aren’t just high—they’re astronomical."

"I know. I will personally meet with Nina Halloway to discuss the endorsement. You just focus on getting the new proposal finished as soon as possible and open negotiations with the advertising firms."

"Alright."

After leaving the conference room, the two department heads exchanged a look, both thinking Sophie Shaw’s plan was completely unrealistic.

A little-known company without even a decent jewelry processing factory, just a small workshop rented in the suburbs with two jewelers over fifty years old...

"A new boss always wants to make a splash, but she should look at the state of her own company before trying to hire a superstar like Nina Halloway as a brand ambassador," the head of Planning said with a disdainful sneer.

The head of the Design Department gave a wry smile. "I heard from Yara Valentine that Sophie Shaw has a design background. She probably doesn’t understand much about management."

"By the way, why was Yara Valentine fired?"

"I don’t know. She was let go for no reason at all. In my department, Yara Valentine’s designs were the only ones that were any good. The others’ are just awful. With her gone, I don’t feel like this company will be around for much longer."

"A lot of people in my department are already looking for new jobs."

"Are you?"

"I’ve sent my resume to a few companies and am still waiting to hear back. I suggest you start making plans soon, too. There’s no point wasting more time here."