I thought that my contact with him was limited to those few seconds on stage.

Yet then he sat at our table under the crowd's adulation.

I felt like dying at once.

After sitting down, I could only lower my head and eat, afraid of meeting his gaze.

But things didn't go as planned.

Noah took the lead in toasting Ned.

Then the producers and actors at the table started to toast Ned one by one.

I was thinking about how to avoid a direct confrontation with Ned.

Suddenly, a cold gaze fixed on me.

Ned stared at me without moving.

I had to admit that Ned still had an extraordinary temperament on a social occasion like this.

I didn't have time to dwell on that. Instead, I tried to come up with something to deal with the situation.

Ned always yields to soft approaches, so, I should take the initiative to drama goodwill.

So, I held a glass of wine and stood behind everyone else to toast him.

Unfortunately, the stupid Derek was behind me.

He grabbed my sleeve and said loudly.

"Rita, I thought you disliked dealing with people like him the most!"

I glanced at him and then looked at Ned. Then I quickly said to Derek in a louder voice than his.

"I have heard about Mr. Grant for a long time. I've always wanted a chance to meet him.

"Moreover, I thought you showed a perfect CEO in the drama. But when I saw Mr. Grant, I finally understood what a real domineering CEO is. He's so handsome and noble."

Everyone around us froze, and the scene fell silent.

The corners of Derek's mouth twitched slightly as he couldn't believe I used him to praise Ned.

Even Noah, my archenemy, gave me a thumbs-up.

It was like he was saying to me he was impressed by my words.

I coughed affectedly and observed Ned imperceptibly.

Sure enough, he smiled.

At this moment, I happened to walk up to him and clinked glasses with him.

"Mr. Grant, cheers."

As the wine slid down my throat, I was choked.

Ned handed me a tissue and said, "Take your time. Savor the drink for a better experience."

My hand paused for a moment when I took the tissue. Experience? Is he suggesting something?

I was flustered but still tried to control the situation.

I said, knowing he'd understand, "Mr. Grant, you're right. It's not terrible at all!"

Meanwhile, I looked at him eagerly.

His cold eyes softened for a moment and then suddenly shifted away.

I felt a gentle tap on my back.

It turned out that Derek thought I was nervous and was soothing me.

I immediately looked at Ned's expression. He stopped smiling.

I straightened up and moved forward to avoid Derek's touch, but as a result, I got closer to Ned.

He curled his lips and looked at Derek with a hint of mockery.

The producer next to us spoke for me, "Mr. Grant, Ms. Fox is not good at drinking."

Ned turned his head and looked at me with a half-smile.

"Ms. Fox, is that so?"

He knew that I could drink, and I was a heavy drinker no less.

"It depends. If it's with Mr. Grant, I can drink a lot."

He finally changed the topic after I made him happy.

"Ms. Fox, my family are fans of the drama, too. But somehow, they always feel that the male lead is very familiar."

I was on the verge of collapsing. "Mr. Grant, I think the CEO I wrote is nothing compared to you."

Ned nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. He picked up his glass, took a sip, and then changed the subject.

"Why don't you guys start working on a new drama? It'll still be the same team. This time, I will provide additional investment as well as sponsor you."

The first person to get excited and stand up was the producer.

"Thank you, Mr. Grant. We will definitely live up to your support!"

Then the producer turned to look at me, the look in his eyes telling me that we'd be loaded.

Everyone in the room was ecstatic.

I was the only exception. My expression changed at once, and I cursed in my heart.

I put a lot of effort into writing this drama.

Now that he was gonna invest, I'd definitely have a lot of contact with him. Things would be troublesome.

I didn't expect that Derek and I would be the first to get into trouble.

The next day, I constantly received calls.

Derek and I became a trending topic online.

He got drunk last night.

When he left, he held onto my arm tightly and wouldn't let go.

I had to get into his assistant's car and send him home with his agent.

The paparazzi took photos of us.

There were also photos of us going out eating together on the set before.

His female fans were all cursing.

[He blots his copybook! He's just been popular! Why couldn't he cherish his fame?]

[The male lead and the screenwriter? Damn! showbiz is full of nasty people.]

There were also fans waiting for clarification.

Soon, my identity was exposed, and a lot of haters left comments on my Twitter.

Their words were very harsh.

I was in the company's senior management meeting room.

"Don't you know how famous you are now? How could you get drunk?"

"We must release a statement to clarify immediately!"

"It won't work. They've got proof."

Derek's agent, publicist, business manager, as well as the company's director and the public relations manager, were all around him, asking him to make things clear.

"Why are you two together in the middle of the night?"

I calmly explained, "I took him back with his agent, but the surveillance of me and his agent going downstairs was compromised.

"I think Derek's opponents have paid the paparazzi off, trying to smear Derek."

After speaking, I looked at Derek, wanting him to say something.

But he just smiled and lay on the sofa lazily.

"Let's make it public. And then we'll break up in a few days.

"Ms. Fox, you don't have a boyfriend now, right?"

I was shocked. Is Derek crazy?

His agent was also dumbfounded and frustrated.

My face stiffened, and I directly said no, feeling angry and speechless.

"First of all, rumors should never appear on top stars. You need to think about your fans and your resources.

"Secondly, we are never in a romantic relationship.

"Thirdly, this must be clarified. I don't want the final result of a TV drama to be labeled as gossip."

There was tension in the air as I looked at Derek, hoping he would be more mature.

"The surveillance video in my community should still be there. I will go find evidence now, which should take about two hours."

It was the time I could fight for.

Just then, the director received a phone call.

The headquarters of the group released a lawyer's letter and a clarification video.

In the video, Derek's agent and I were hailing a taxi together at the entrance of the community.

For some reason, my first reaction was that it was Ned who was helping us.

The next second, he sent me a message asking me to go to the top floor.

I had been with the company for two years, and I had no idea Ned was my boss.

When we were together, I thought he was an unemployed person. After all, he was out with me all day long without working at all.

Now I realized he didn't have to worry about money at all.

As I opened the office door, he was holding his phone screen, looking at himself, and adjusting his collar.

I cleared my throat and cautiously said, "Mr. Grant, you wanna see me?"

"Yeah," he replied coldly, bowing his head to start signing some documents.

I remained silent, not knowing what to say. After a few seconds, I said, "Mr. Grant, thank you for helping to clarify."

He obviously didn't expect me to be so straightforward. He put down the pen he used to sign the documents and looked up at me.

"I saw you send him home last night. What's your relationship with him?"