I stayed behind and asked my assistant to bring me my laptop so I could continue working there.
A few hours passed, and just as I had predicted, my assistant finally came to inform me at 11:30 that Lilian and her team had arrived.
I closed my laptop and stood up.
When Kendra saw me, a smile curled on her lips as she walked over.
"
Director Alicia, I'm terribly sorry. We had an early meeting at the company, and it ran longer than expected. My phone was with my assistant, and he must have hung up on you by mistake. I don't know why he didn't notify me or even send a message, but I'll definitely have a word with him. I hope you don't mind."
Although her words sounded apologetic, there was no sincerity in her expression.
"Alicia, I'm really sorry," Lilian added. "Something came up, and it took longer than we expected."
I smiled calmly.
"I was just about to head out."
Eliza returned the smile.
"Don't worry, Director Alicia. You can go. We'll take care of everything here."
"Actually, the photographer and the makeup artist stepped out for lunch since you didn't arrive earlier," I replied. "So we postponed the shoot to 1 p.m."
I glanced at my watch.
"It's also my break time, so I'm going to take care of something as well. I'll return with them in about an hour."
Kendra's smile immediately faltered.
"What does that mean? Are you expecting us to wait here for an hour? It's already noon. If we only start at 1 p.m., when will we even finish?"
"I'm sorry, Kendra," I said evenly. "They needed a break after waiting for hours. For a moment, I thought your team wouldn't show up at all."
I gestured toward the set.
"Everything is already prepared, so you can use this time to double-check things. I'll be back in an hour. But if that's inconvenient for you, we can always reschedule."
I began walking toward the door.
"For now, though… I have something important to attend to."
I said it all with an innocent smile before leaving the studio.
Behind me, Lilian and Kendra stiffened, but I didn't care. By then, I was already outside.
I called Sandra and asked for their location. They told me they were at a nearby restaurant, so I joined them for lunch.That was petty—I knew it. But sometimes you have to stoop to their level to play their game.
Third Person POV
"She's something else. Who knew she'd be so clever?" Kendra said, still staring at the door Alicia had just walked through.
Lilian smirked. "I told you—she's not someone you can outsmart. Think about it. After I left, she's the woman who managed to win over Alexander. She can't be ordinary."
"So what do we do now?" Kendra asked anxiously. They had already used the excuse of being late today. If they tried it again,it wouldn't work.
"Alicia just trapped us in our own game."
Lilian lifted her phone calmly. "I'll call Alexander."
She knew very well the only person who could influence Alicia was Alexander.
Alexander had just finished a meeting and leaned back in his chair, exhaustion settling in. Just then, his phone rang.
He glanced at the caller ID before answering.
"Hello."
"Alexander," Lilian's soft voice came through.
"Are you done with the shoot already?" he asked, glancing at the time.
"Not yet. We haven't even started."
He frowned. "Why?"
"We were delayed at the company. When we arrived, Alicia said the shoot was postponed to 1 p.m. Then she left, saying she had something urgent to handle and would return in an hour. We don't know what happened."
There was a faint trace of dissatisfaction in her voice.