Chapter 68
Harper kept pushing, "Do you get all jittery when you see her? Or do you want to be near her but can't drop your ego? Why are you so hung up on status? Why not just talk to her like a regular person?"
Nathan grabbed his black suit jacket from the chair, totally ignoring Harper, and strode out of her office.
He thought Harper was talking nonsense. He only felt disgust towards Caroline.
He drove out to the suburbs and just sat in his car for a long time.
That night, when he had dinner with Ryan and Sophie, he hugged them, and Sophie's orange blossom scent hit him again, messing with his head.
No doubt, that scent had been bugging him for ages.
On the way back, Sophie mentioned Caroline's new show, "Thunder 2."
Nathan had a lightbulb moment; the annoying second female lead in the show also had that orange blossom scent.
Some pieces started to fit together; time would tell.
He loved Ryan and Sophie to bits but felt nothing for Caroline. He thought she was manipulative and had hidden agendas.
He decided to wait and see.
Today, after confirming Ryan and Sophie were Nick's kids, Nathan felt a deep sense of loss.
It seemed like he was about to lose feelings he'd held onto for years.
Lost along with the feelings was that scent, though scents fade easily.
But for Nathan, it wasn't just a scent; it was like his nose was under a spell to keep that scent. Now, he felt that spell was fading, and the scent wasn't just his anymore.
Maybe he didn't have the right to chase that scent anymore.
This sense of loss was absurd, even to him.
After Harper's analysis, it felt even more ridiculous.
In the afternoon, Nathan suddenly showed up on set, no assistant, no heads-up.
No one knew when he appeared behind the camera.
It wasn't until a scene ended and everyone took a break that they noticed Nathan was there.
William's legs almost gave out.
Nathan signaled for everyone to keep filming.
But Nathan's presence threw everyone off.
The third female lead, Megan, got so nervous she stuttered and forgot her lines.
Roxanne tried her hardest, hoping for Nathan's approval, but her performance was painful to watch.
In the three-person scene, only Caroline stayed cool and nailed it.
Her movements, expressions, lines, and eye contact were spot on.
She seemed born to act, and her deep understanding and immersion in the character were impressive.
Sadly, the other two's weak performances dragged down the whole scene.
Nathan frowned.
He wanted to rewrite the script to cut Roxanne's and Megan's parts to save the show.
But that wouldn't work; their parts were already tiny, and cutting more would leave almost no supporting roles, making it impossible for the lead to carry the show alone.
Replacing them wasn't a good option either; actors with buzz had mediocre skills, and those with good skills lacked buzz, which wouldn't boost attention and would just lead to a flop.
"Mr. Kennedy, what do you think?" William asked, looking for some guidance.
Nathan stayed quiet.
He had come alone, without Jack to play messenger, and he wasn't in the mood for talking.
"Mr. Kennedy, are you unhappy? Do we need to reshoot?" William asked, clearly nervous.
Nathan waved it off, signaling it wasn't necessary.
He knew Roxanne's and Megan's acting skills were what they were; reshooting a thousand times wouldn't change that.
After a short stay, Nathan was ready to leave.
Everyone saw him off respectfully, except Caroline, who kept her head buried in the script like Nathan wasn't even there.
Nathan glanced at her, feeling a surge of inexplicable anger as she acted like he was invisible.
Was she really that good at playing it cool? Could she really be that unbothered?
From start to finish, Nathan never got close to Caroline, and he didn't catch that orange blossom scent again.
The next morning, during breakfast, Sophie was glued to the TV.
The news reported that Nathan, the head of Kennedy Corp, was getting sicker, causing the stock prices of several of his companies to tank. Experts estimated Kennedy Corp had lost billions.
"Nathan is sick, Ryan!" Sophie shouted.
Ryan looked worried.
"It's weird. He seemed fine the other day; how could he be sick?" Sarah muttered.
Caroline watched Ryan, Sophie, and Sarah closely.
Their concern for Nathan was obvious. Did they really need to be so worried about him?
"I want to see Nathan," Sophie said.
"Are you close to him? Why do you want to see him?" Caroline was surprised.
Sophie replied, "He buys us yummy food, toys, and treats us to big meals. Of course, we're close. He's sick, so I definitely want to see him."
Caroline was confused. "Big meals? He treated you to big meals?"
"Not just me, but Ryan too. Mom, didn't you also eat the food Nathan had specially packed and sent over?" Sophie suddenly realized she had said too much and quickly covered her mouth, looking at Caroline in fear.
"Covering your mouth won't help; I heard everything! That big meal was from Nathan. What else have you been hiding from me?" Caroline scolded sharply.
Sophie's big eyes blinked innocently at Caroline, then she glanced at Ryan. This was her ace; when caught, she would act pitiful. Since she was younger than Ryan, Caroline would naturally question Ryan first.
Ryan, not good at lying, just lowered his head and avoided eye contact.
"Speak up!" Caroline shout so loud that Ryan and Sophie started.
"Don't be like that; you'll scare Ryan and Sophie!" Sarah quickly stepped in.
"So, you're the mastermind behind this, right? Sarah, you need to explain everything now!" Caroline stood up, pointing directly at Sarah.
Sarah said, "Caroline, sit down and calm down. You're scaring not just Ryan and Sophie, but me too!"
Caroline demanded, "What's going on? Sarah, I thought we were friends. I trusted you with Ryan and Sophie, and you used them to make deals?"
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