I turned to Kendra and said, "Eliza, I hope you understand that what matters here isn't which makeup style fits better, but the cooperation between our teams. According to the contract, Miss Summer is supposed to work with us during the endorsement shoot. You changed the makeup and styling without consulting us first."
Just then, Lilian spoke up. "Alicia, I'm so sorry. I forgot to let you know. Actually, I talked to Alexander a while ago, and he already approved this change."
I froze.
My lips moved, but my throat went dry, as if I had swallowed sand. At that moment, all the reasoning and arguments I had just made suddenly felt insignificant, as if I were a fool who had gotten overly emotional for no reason.
It turned out that Alexander had already agreed.
I suddenly found the situation utterly ridiculous.
For Lilian, Alexander kept interfering in Éclat Beauty's affairs.
For Lilian, he kept disrupting my carefully planned projects, only to leave me to clean up the mess.
The marketing plan I had prepared was ready to be executed smoothly, but because he unilaterally changed the brand ambassador, it became useless. He didn't even acknowledge the effort I had put into maintaining the current situation.
He only cared about how to please Lilian.
As for whether that would complicate things further—well, that was my problem.
How could he possibly care?
Sophie was in disbelief when she heard this. "CEO Blackwood agreed? Why would he care about something so trivial?"
Isabella smiled. "Miss Sophie, you know this is just a small matter, which is why Alexander told me to handle it."
Sophie couldn't help responding, "Miss Summer, when I say 'small matter,' I'm comparing it to CEO Blackwood. Makeup and styling are crucial for a shoot, and I hope you understand that. I'm just questioning why CEO Blackwood would involve himself in this matter."
Kendra chimed in, "So you're saying Lilian is lying? Director Alicia, if you don't believe us, you can always call CEO Blackwood for confirmation. This decision came straight from him. We'll follow through with the plan, and the rest is up to you. If you can't handle it, we'll terminate the contract. Lilian isn't exactly lacking in brand endorsements."
Lilian stood quietly off to the side.
Sophie was so furious she could barely speak.
Once we stepped outside the makeup room, she slammed her palm against her other hand. "After all these years in makeup, working with so many stars, this is the first time I've dealt with someone so shameless. If she didn't need this endorsement, why take it from Lily Avery? She's trying to have it all—acting like a saint while playing dirty behind the scenes. It's disgusting!"
Sophie was a well-known makeup artist in the industry and had worked with countless celebrities.
Sandra, who had been quietly observing, spoke up to comfort her. "Don't let it get to you. We need to think about how to move forward. If she insists on keeping this makeup, we might have to change the entire shoot."
Sophie turned to me and asked, "Alicia, what are you going to do about this?"
I thought for a moment before making my decision.
"Let me call Alexander," I said, taking out my phone.
I walked to the studio's waiting room and found a quiet corner.
"Hello."
Alexander's steady voice came through the phone.
"CEO Blackwood, did you approve for Miss Summer to bring her own makeup artist?"
There was a brief silence.
"CEO Blackwood?" I called again.
"Yes, I did. Is there a problem?"
"CEO Blackwood, I've already arranged everything for this shoot. Any sudden changes could ruin the entire plan. When I tried to talk them out of it, they even threatened to terminate the contract with us."
"Is there a misunderstanding here? Why would they threaten to terminate the contract?"came Alexander's cold voice.