He raised an eyebrow.
"You think that just because you submitted some garbage script behind my back, I'd grit my teeth and polish it for you out of some sense of husbandly duty?
"You're wrong.
"Libby's script is the mainstream genre. I've already taken it on. I don't have time for yours.
"If you still won't back down after all this, then all I can do is wish you luck."
"So Mr. Stephens thinks I'm forcing you to help me with edits?"
I gritted my teeth.
"Aren't you?"
"Rest assured."
The fist I had pressed against the desk trembled faintly.
"I won't trouble Mr. Stephens to fix a single word for me. And until the results come out, I won't bother Mr. Stephens at all!"
He said nothing.
He only sighed and shook his head.
He left me with a look of pity.
Then turned and walked away.
My heart was pounding.
Until the phone rang.
It was my brother.
"Sis, I read your script. It felt really real to me. But I've got my college admissions exams on the day of the competition, so I can't make it. Wishing you a triumph in advance!"
"You always know just what to say."
I laughed.
"By the way, I couldn't get your brother-in-law's autograph for you, so you…"
"It's fine, Sis. Mom and Dad went back home. I… I don't want it anymore."
I let out a soft breath of relief.
"Okay."
On the day of the competition.
I sat in an unremarkable seat in the venue.
At the very front, the presumed winners were already lined up in a row.
Those were the writers the organizers considered most likely to have their scripts chosen.
And Libby Fox was among them.
Brendan Stephens sat beside her.
One of them sat rigid and upright, knees pressed together, nervous.
The other lounged with his legs crossed, waiting at ease for the announcement that would crown the assistant he'd backed.
Brendan's gaze drifted to me out of the corner of his eye.
He gave a mocking little smile and looked away.
"The writer awarded the adaptation rights this time is…"
Libby drew in a deep breath.
Her eyes were full of anticipation.
Brendan, meanwhile, looked indifferent.
The people he favored.
Everyone in the industry would give him face.
Libby's name had already been quietly cleared with the right people.
The winning script appeared on the big screen.
My head snapped up.
And so did Libby's and Brendan's in the front row.
Staring at the screen in disbelief.
