Free Web NovelChapter 256: Chapter 256 A Stage Built for Samantha
Diana listened in disbelief. “You’re planning a solo show for Samantha?”
Even top-tier A-list celebrities might not be able to secure such a project easily. The manpower and resources required behind the scenes were enormous. Samantha had only been in the public eye for the past two years, gaining a modest fan base through marketing and her appearance. What qualifications did she have to carry an entire show on her own?
Samantha rather enjoyed seeing Diana and the others look stunned.
It meant she possessed something Rose could not offer.
She curved her lips into a smile. “Yes. To be honest, I’ve recently been collaborating with medical schools across the country on a key national medical project at NYU. The university bears a great deal of responsibility in coordinating research teams from the nation’s top medical schools, and securing long-term funding is one of our major priorities. If my show gains popularity, it could also attract investment for the university. It’s a win-win situation.”
Rose immediately understood.
Ryan was paving the way for Samantha.
It would increase Samantha’s chances of eventually joining the National Center for Biomedical Innovation.
Raising the profile of this major medical project at NYU would also count as another significant achievement for Samantha.
Although universities across the country were collaborating toward the same research goals, the number of positions at the National Center for Biomedical Innovation was fixed. Selection would be based on contributions and accomplishments, meaning everyone would still have to compete fiercely for those spots.
So everyone would have to pull out all the stops.
Even if Samantha wasn’t particularly outstanding among the other prodigies, Ryan and his connections could make up for her shortcomings.
But hadn’t Oliver already discovered that Samantha had deceived him?
Rose had seen the anger in Oliver’s eyes that day all too clearly.
She had assumed they would have fallen out over it.
So what was going on now?
Diana never expected her own station to get dragged into this mess.
Especially when she saw Samantha’s smug expression. Although Samantha tried to hide her triumph, the occasional sidelong glance she cast at Rose made Diana seethe with anger.
“If you’re incapable of succeeding in your own field, I suppose you have no choice but to resort to underhanded tactics.”
Samantha’s smile faded slightly.
“The real underhanded tactics are using questionable means to seize a position that doesn’t belong to you while jeopardizing the students’ education and future.”
“I bet the way Rose became a professor is even more questionable.”
At the very least, Samantha believed she was far more legitimate than Rose.
Rose naturally understood the implication behind her words.
Diana couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
Rose had the Aetheris Medical AI, several top-tier journal publications, awards for new drug development, and, on top of all that, she was Aster. Yet Samantha still dared to question her qualifications.
Of course, Rose had no intention of wasting her time arguing with Samantha.
How Ryan and Oliver chose to support Samantha was their business.
It had nothing to do with her.
Rose immediately stood and said to Kevin, “I won’t keep you any longer. We can discuss the details of our advertising campaign later.”
Ryan sat across from Rose, casually playing the role of an indifferent bystander.
He made no comment about Samantha’s veiled remarks.
Nor did he take the initiative to speak to Rose.
However, the moment Rose stood up, he slowly leaned back against the sofa.
“This program will be Miss Hill’s personal column,” Ryan said. “It will be filmed over seven days and broadcast in three episodes. In the final episode, Miss Hill’s parents will appear as guest participants to promote KR. Company’s products and businesses.”
Rose’s ears rang.
Her movements froze.
Logan and Daisy were going to appear as well?
To present the image of a loving and harmonious family?
KR. was Logan’s company. This was clearly a strategy to elevate Samantha while increasing the Hill family’s public profile, promoting their businesses, and bringing enormous benefits to the family.
Rose could not remain completely unaffected.
Years ago, Logan had built KR. by using the Bennett family’s antique shop to generate capital, draining the Bennett family in the process. Yet when Samantha and her mother appeared, Logan transferred part of his shares to Samantha—a woman with whom he shared no blood relation—while abandoning Rose and her mother in a remote town to fend for themselves.
Now Ryan intended to support the Hill family.
As the future son-in-law of the Hill family, he was allowing them to step on her and her mother while presenting a glamorous image of family happiness to the public.
Rose felt as though all the air had been burned from her lungs.
Her lips trembled almost imperceptibly.
Her beautiful eyes looked coldly at Ryan, who sat firmly behind Samantha.
She had once believed that when there was no love between a man and a woman, there was simply no love. There was no need to dwell on whether hatred existed.
But now, she had never hated Ryan more than she did at this moment.
Back then, her mother had suffered a car accident shortly after Daisy arrived and K.R. was facing financial difficulties. That incident had always remained a thorn in Rose’s heart. She had long suspected it was no accident.
Yet now she had to watch them being praised as a happy family.
“As for this show...” Ryan glanced sideways, finally allowing his gaze to settle on Rose.
As he looked toward Diana, his eyes met Rose’s.
He saw the redness around her eyes.
Yet his expression did not change.
He addressed only Diana. “I hope you’ll take responsibility for it.”
Diana was so furious that she laughed.
“Me? I’m supposed to produce Samantha’s show?”
She was expected to work for Samantha?
Samantha smiled faintly. “Then I hope our collaboration goes smoothly.”
Diana’s expression darkened. “Did I say I agreed?”
Kevin looked at her with a complicated expression.
“Diana, if you agree to take on this program, I’ll promote you to deputy director after it’s completed.”
Diana froze.
At a station of this caliber, reaching the position of deputy director normally took at least ten years.
And now all of that was being offered simply because of Samantha’s show.
She clenched her teeth.
“I refuse—”
“Let’s leave it at that for now.”
Rose stopped Diana just as she was about to flip the table.
She knew Diana was only resisting because of her.
But this was a deputy director position.
Why had Diana worked herself to exhaustion all these years?
If she openly refused and defied Kevin’s arrangement now, would she still be entrusted with important assignments in the future?
The workplace was a complicated place.
Rose said nothing, refusing to spare Ryan even a single glance.
She grabbed Diana’s hand and headed toward the door.
Samantha noticed how tightly Rose’s hands were clenched, her knuckles nearly white, and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips.
She glanced back at Ryan.
Throughout the entire encounter, Ryan had not shown the slightest concern for Rose.
Her smile widened.
*****
After Rose pulled Diana outside, Diana finally exploded.
“What is Ryan trying to do? He’s doing this on purpose, isn’t he? He’s forcing you to swallow this humiliation just to disgust us!”
There were so many people at the station.
Why did it have to be her?
Rose raised a hand and rubbed her burning eyes. “You still have superiors above you. It isn’t worth ruining your career because of her.”
“Since Ryan brought it up, he must have planned this from the beginning. If you refuse today, Kevin won’t be able to explain himself to Ryan. You’ll have publicly embarrassed your superior, and he won’t trust you with important work in the future. All your years of hard work would be wasted.”
Rose had always been good at weighing the pros and cons.
She looked at Diana. “I don’t mind.”
“Perhaps Samantha is using you as a stepping stone, but you can use her as one too. There’s nothing wrong with getting promoted.”
After all, even if Diana refused, Samantha’s show would still happen.
It was better to be practical.
But Diana still felt uneasy.
She knew Rose was only looking out for her.
Yet in the end, this was all part of Ryan’s plan.
It was simply meant to elevate Samantha.
“Did you offend Ryan?” Diana asked, unable to understand.
Rose fell silent.
Was it all just a misunderstanding?
She could not understand what Ryan was thinking.
After urging Diana to focus on her own future, she left the station with the contract she had finalized with Kevin.
But just as she reached the entrance, she ran directly into Oliver, who was coming upstairs.
