Chapter 184 - 183
Simon Lockwood’s expression remained unchanged. "Joanie, you should just major in finance."
’Otherwise, he was worried that Joanna would one day be tricked into becoming the legal representative for some other company.’
Joanna: "???"
’Huh?? How did the conversation get back to this?!’
Afraid Simon Lockwood would make her do practice tests, she quickly changed the subject. "I’ve already told security. They absolutely won’t let your aunt in, but she might wait to corner you at the company entrance. You need to be careful for the next few days."
"It’s fine. The company has security, too."
"But I’m scared..."
The girl frowned, her eyes filled with worry and affection for him. A Joanna like this pulled at his heartstrings.
A smile touched Simon Lockwood’s lips. He lowered his gaze, placing a kiss on the corner of her mouth. His voice was low and pleasant. "Okay, I’ll listen to you..."
He leaned in close, his lips practically brushing against her ear as he spoke. His warm breath ghosted over her sensitive earlobe, making Joanna feel a bit light-headed. She tried to stand her ground. "Stop it. I have an audition tomorrow..."
Casting for that suspense web series was starting tomorrow, and Joanna needed to go through the motions.
"Mm, okay..." Simon Lockwood agreed readily, but his large, well-defined hand moved unapologetically to the girl’s soft, slender waist and began to knead it, neither too lightly nor too heavily.
He wasn’t sure what spot he’d squeezed, but he heard the girl let out a pained HISS. Simon Lockwood immediately straightened up. "Did I hurt you?" he asked.
Joanna shook her head. Feeling the scratchy, aching itch on her lower back, she recalled something. "It must be from the costume on the show. It was chafing me."
"Let me see." Simon Lockwood bent down and gently lifted the girl’s white sweatshirt.
In the light, the fair skin of her lower back glowed like fine jade, making the small, reddish patch stand out even more. It was so raw you could faintly see blood beneath the surface.
Simon Lockwood frowned, a flash of pain in his eyes. "Wait here. I’ll get the first-aid kit."
"You don’t have to," Joanna said, not paying it much mind. "It’s just from the chafing. It’ll be fine in a couple of days."
But Simon Lockwood ignored her, bringing the first-aid kit over in seconds. He took out a tube of erythromycin ointment, warmed a dab of it on his fingertip, and gently applied it to the reddened patch of her skin.
It tickled and felt a little numb, but Joanna resisted the urge to pull away.
When he was done, Simon Lockwood pulled her sweatshirt back down and said with a perfectly straight face, "You can’t wear pajamas to bed tonight."
Joanna: "???"
"The ointment will get on your clothes," Simon Lockwood explained.
Joanna was skeptical. "And you’re not worried it’ll get on the sheets?"
"You’ll sleep lying on top of me."
Joanna: "........."
’Joanna could hardly believe her ears. But Simon Lockwood looked so serious, it made it seem like she was the one with the dirty mind!’
When it was time for bed, Simon Lockwood really didn’t let her wear anything. Joanna tried to argue her case, but her protests were easily silenced. Blushing and practically steaming, she ended up lying in his arms, not daring to move an inch.
Simon Lockwood was true to his word and didn’t make a move on her. Before she knew it, Joanna had fallen asleep.
Feeling the girl’s light, shallow breaths in his arms, Simon Lockwood’s large hand, which had been resting on the small of her back, slowly slid lower. The feel of her skin was warm and exquisitely smooth, making him linger there, unable to pull away...
The next morning, Joanna woke up and was surprised to find that Simon Lockwood hadn’t gotten up early for his run. He was sleeping soundly, his arm still wrapped tightly around her.
Simon Lockwood smelled wonderful, and his muscles were perfectly defined. Joanna loved snuggling up against him. ’This must be what they call a visceral attraction online,’ she thought. While Simon Lockwood was still asleep, she couldn’t resist snuggling in closer.
But, of course, her nuzzling woke Simon Lockwood up.
The man’s long eyelashes fluttered twice as he slowly opened his eyes. They were shot with red, with dark circles forming underneath. His voice was raspy. "What are you up to?"
Joanna was startled by his appearance. "Didn’t you sleep well last night?" she asked dryly.
Simon Lockwood: "........."
Simon Lockwood refused to think about how agonizingly tempting the previous night had been. He closed his eyes, couldn’t help but pull her a little tighter, then released her. "Go get dressed," he said in that same raspy voice.
At his words, Joanna blushed again, this time with a bit of anger. "It’s not like I wanted to sleep naked! This is all your fault!"
She kept squirming as she spoke, and then she brushed against something. With a startled yelp, she shouted, "Pervert!"
Then she grabbed her clothes and dashed into the bathroom.
Simon Lockwood: "........."
Simon Lockwood was now intimately familiar with the meaning of "hoist by one’s own petard."
’If he didn’t have to consider that Joanna had work today...’
Simon Lockwood took a deep breath. ’Endure it. Just a little more. Maybe the agony will kill me in the next second?’
Joanna had nearly finished breakfast by the time Simon Lockwood finally came downstairs, unhurried. His hair was damp, and he smelled of fresh shower gel.
’Hmph. Serves him right.’
Joanna no longer felt the slightest bit of sympathy for the dark circles under his eyes. It was his own fault for being a pervert.
*
When Joanna arrived at the audition, she frowned at the sight of several other actresses in the waiting room, all rehearsing their lines.
Walter Young was surprised, too.
Normally, when a director personally offers an actor a script, it means the role is already theirs. The audition is supposed to be just a formality.
But from the look of things now, the director clearly intended for Joanna to compete for the role against the other actresses.
Walter Young’s expression soured. ’They go out of their way to offer us the script, and then they pull a stunt like this? Aren’t they just trying to mess with us?’
"Joanna, if you don’t want to do this, we can leave right now," Walter Young said directly. "We have plenty of other scripts to choose from. That movie script I saw is much better than this one."
’It wasn’t just "much better"; the two weren’t even in the same league.’
But Joanna genuinely liked the script for this suspense series. Although she felt a little slighted, she still said, "I’m fine, Walter. Since we’re already here, I have to at least audition."
’After all, she’d spent so much time on this script and poured a lot of effort into it. Giving up now would be too much of a waste. She might as well give it a shot.’
’If she got the part, great. If not, she could move on and prepare for the movie audition.’
After the actresses ahead of her finished, it was Joanna’s turn. The scene she drew was a particularly difficult one.
The female lead realizes she’s mentally ill and turns to give the police a faint smile—a smile that is at once insane and bewildered, yet tinged with an innocent cruelty.
If performed badly, it could easily come off as over-the-top. Joanna took a moment to compose herself, imagining the character’s unfortunate childhood and her path to becoming a killer. Then, she slowly let a smile spread across her face.
The director watching her performance had a flash of amazement in his eyes. ’This is exactly what I wanted!’
He had originally sent the script to Joanna’s agent because he was a fan of her acting. He had been thrilled when she’d agreed to consider the role.
’If this had been just one day earlier, these other actresses wouldn’t even be auditioning. What a shame...’
The director sighed silently. He looked at the girl before him with a hint of pity in his eyes but still had to say the words. "Alright. We’ll be in touch."
Joanna gave a polite bow and turned to leave, her eyes turning ice-cold.
’She could tell. She had no hope of getting a part in this series.’