Chapter 363 Conspiracy (5) Cecilia Set a Trap
Lily rolled back to the company dorms feeling kinda jittery.
Even though she was a mess inside, she had to act like everything was cool when she got back.
The dorm was split between three people.
Each of them had their own room, a perk for those with a bit of fame, so they didn't have to bunk up in some tiny space.
When she walked in, her roommates Blair Silva and Thea Burgess were in the living room, doing yoga and watching TV. Blair looked up and said, "Hey, why didn't you come back last night? I called, but you didn't pick up."
Lily didn't even get a chance to reply.
Thea chimed in with a snarky tone, "Why would she answer? She was probably with her sugar daddy. Heard you got a supporting role. Must've been busy entertaining clients. What's the big deal?"
Lily just kept quiet and headed straight to her room.
She slammed the door a bit harder than she meant to.
Thea shot a look at the door and kept going, "What? Feel ashamed to admit it? You got a bit of fame from endorsing the Lockhart Group and doing a live stream, but you're sleeping your way up. Now you're acting all innocent."
"Alright, cut it out," Blair said, trying to calm things down. "It's hard to stay out of the mud in this field. You're no different, so why judge her?"
"I'm not judging her actions; I'm judging her for not owning up to it," Thea said, getting up from the yoga mat. "Hypocrite."
Lily lay on her bed, hearing every word through the thin walls.
Yeah, in their world, if you didn't have powerful connections, you often ended up on the casting couch.
Last night, she had dinner with some producers, and her agent kept hinting at her. She only drank with them and didn't give in. She even thought she'd rather drink herself to death than give in. But she didn't expect to be drugged. She crawled out and grabbed someone randomly, hoping they'd take her away. But...
Looking back, she almost wished she'd just gone along with the casting couch.
Her phone buzzed.
It had died last night and just got some juice.
As soon as she picked up, her agent's angry voice blasted through, "Lily, what the hell were you doing last night? Where did you go?"
"I'm back."
"Back? You were drugged, but you still came back? Tell me, who were you messing around with?"
Lily stayed silent.
"Lily, I told you when you signed the contract: no dating during the contract period. Be straight with me, are you secretly seeing someone?" the agent pushed.
"No."
"No?"
"Really, no."
"Then where were you last night?" The agent was losing it.
Lily suggested, "Let's reschedule for tonight. I'll entertain the clients tonight."
"No need!" the agent snapped, "The producers called this morning and said they've picked someone else. Your role is gone."
Lily clenched her teeth, finally showing some emotion.
"I'm telling you, Lily, if you don't play ball with the company, you'll be sidelined!"
The call ended abruptly.
Lily quietly put down her phone.
Refusing to play the casting couch game, her roles kept getting snatched by others.
Up until now, aside from endorsing the Lockhart Group, she still had no roles.
She hadn't been in the spotlight for ages.
Without exposure, no production team or TV station would touch her.
Lily started wondering why she even wanted to be an actress in the first place.
Half a month later, Cecilia wrapped up the contract for the South City New District project and started reporting to the board.
The report went off without a hitch.
Cecilia had this killer plan for the South City New District, pulling ideas from world-class cities and nailing every detail. When she finished her presentation, the room burst into applause.
Everyone was blown away, totally impressed.
Some of her high-tech ideas were mind-blowing, but once Cecilia broke them down, they made perfect sense and seemed totally doable, not just pie-in-the-sky stuff.
Most of the board was on board.
But then someone piped up, "The plan is top-notch, and it's been years since I've seen something this bold yet practical. I think the planning department would be crazy not to pick us. But with such a perfect plan, I think our bid is a bit too low."
Others started nodding in agreement.
Given how awesome the plan was, a construction cost of just $1.5 billion seemed like a steal.
Many thought this plan could easily go for $2 billion or more.
"I've thought about that," Cecilia said straight up. "If we were teaming up with another company, this bid would be low. But remember, we're partnering with the planning department. The Innovation Arc project has a public welfare angle. Sure, I thought about making bank on this, but would raking in the cash really be good for the Lockhart Group's future? The planning department has a new leader, and this is his first big project. He wants to make a splash. Why not give him a win? If he succeeds with our help, it'll be good for the Lockhart Group in the long run. Plus, by pushing this as a public welfare project, we can score some major public goodwill. So, I think we should look at the bigger picture, not just the money."
With that, Cecilia won over the board again.
"Theodore, Cecilia's vision is something else! We've been here for decades, and none of us have thought this far ahead. Truly impressive!"
"You're too kind," Theodore said, trying to be humble.
But you could see the pride in his eyes.
Theodore always knew Cecilia was smart, but he didn't expect her to be this brilliant.
Cecilia hadn't even planned on working at the company, but now she was killing it.
Theodore was stoked.
"If there are no objections, let's vote!" Theodore said, taking charge.
All the board members voted in favor.
Theodore announced, "The Innovation Arc project is approved. Cecilia, don't let the board down."
"Got it," Cecilia replied respectfully.
The meeting wrapped up.
Cecilia headed back to her office.
Rose followed her. "Ms. Lockhart, did the board agree? Did they think the price was too low?"
"Nope, it's all good," Cecilia said. "We'll bid next Monday. Let Andrew know he's coming with me."
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