Chapter 16: Pretending to be Kind

It was early in the morning, and Edie was woken up by the phone. Edie picked up the phone in confusion and saw the name Rhoda Hayes on it. "Edie, you remember the movie building's audition at nine o'clock this morning?" Rhoda was her assistant and had been with her for two years. Edie always goes to her auditions alone, so she didn't want Rhoda to come with her. She only allowed her to go with her when she had work for her to do.

Edie woke up and sat up from the bed and said nervously. "No, I am up." Then she looked at the alarm clock at the head of the bed, and it was seven-thirty. "Good, can I pick you up at eight o'clock, and we can go to the beauty parlor together? Does that work for you?"

Rhoda usually drove a company car to pick her up whenever she worked. So if she got Rhoda to pick her up, then she would definitely find out that she had gotten married? She couldn't allow this to happen. She had to think of something and fast.

Edie was a little flustered. "No, I can get there by myself. I have someone here that can take me. I will see you at eight." Rhoda quietly agreed without any hesitation. There was no time for Edie to fool around. She got up, took a shower, and got dressed.

When she went down the stairs, her breakfast was ready. Edie was in too much of a hurry to sit down. She quickly picked up a sandwich and said to Mr. Lamont. "Mr. Lamont, please ask the driver if he would mind giving me a ride. I am a little rushed this morning. I overslept, and I have an audition at nine."

There was no way that she could explain her car to Rhoda, so she just couldn't let her see it. "Okay, no problem Mrs. Yates." After telling the driver where to go, she took her breakfast with her and ate it in the car. She got out on the street next to the beauty parlor and found Rhoda waiting for her at the salon.

When Rhoda saw Eddie, she got out of the car immediately. "Edie, why didn't you let me pick you up today? You don't have any time to spare. We are running out of time."

"My friend dropped me off because it would take too long if I had gotten you to pick me up, so I just asked her." Rhoda looked at her with a strange expression. "Edie, are you in love?" Edie had no idea where this question was coming. She shook her head firmly and said, "No."

Of course, she was not in love. She was just married, but it was an agreement.

Rhoda was relieved to see her strong-willed face. "Well, now you are in a critical time in your life. Danny told me that you fell in love." Edie reluctantly laughed, thinking that she really did not fall in love. She just didn't know if Danny knew she had gotten married. It would kill her if she found out.

They walked into the salon as they spoke. Edie's everyday makeup was done by herself, her ability to do it herself was no match to the degree of any makeup artist, so she only went there when there was an essential job for her to do.

As they had made an appointment previously, when they came near to the door, the woman came up with a smile. "Miss Edie, it will not be here very long," Rhonda said. Edie nodded politely and then walked further into the beauty salon.

The beauty salon is dedicated to all the female actresses. The first floor was a dressing room. There was a beautiful armoire with a variety of dresses. The second and third floors were makeup rooms.

Edie just walked up to the second floor and heard some noise coming from inside. "Miss Zoe's skin is perfect. It's so wonderful that you don't need to put too much makeup on."

"I agree, how do you make your skin look so good? Miss Zoe, the Spring song you sang definitely put you in the limelight. You are such an attractive new actress. They should get rid of the lead actress. You would be much more than her."

Edie Walked inside the room and could see a woman was sitting on the sofa in front of the mirror. There were a dozen sets of cosmetics in front of her, and standing in front of her was the makeup artist who was putting her makeup on. The other two makeup artists were sitting next to her, giving her a manicure.

Edie knew Zoe Anna was the actress of a new TV drama. She was very popular and lovely. Her figure was slim, but she was short for her being an actress. She had been playing the second important character in the new drama. She had never been chosen to be the lead actress because some people didn't like her. They called her the Second ZOE in secret.

The makeup artist saw Edie coming in and greeted her with a smile. "Miss Edie is coming."

Zoe Anna lifted her eyelids slightly as she heard them greeting her. She looked at her and smiled, "Oh, it's Edie, the big unknown star."

You could see it in her face that her smile was filled with sarcasm and bitterness. Edie knew why she was so hostile. Last month there was a competition between Zoe and Edie. They were looking for an actress to play a part in one of the films. At first, Zoe took first place in the lead, but Edie just by chance posted a group shot on the internet, and she overtook Zoe and won the competition.

Zoe was her predecessor. She pretended that it was okay with her, although she felt a little consumed with jealousy. Edie was not interested in quarreling with her, but casually said, "Hello, Miss Zoe, how are you?" Then she turned her head to the makeup artist who was now putting powder on her face. "Lily, I will wait for you." Lily was the name of one of the makeup artists.

She knew Edie's face and had been doing her makeup for years. "Miss Edie, please sit down and wait for a moment. Miss Zoe is almost over." Lily laughed.

When Zoe heard what Lily said, she raised her eyes and said, "who said I am almost done." She was trying to get Edie into trouble. Lily's hand was in midair, and she was embarrassed by Zoe's actions. "Miss Zoe, your makeup looks great." Zoe looked in the mirror, turning her face from the left and to the right and said with a sneer. "Don't you think this pink eye shadow makes my eyes look swollen? I don't like it. I want a different shade."

"Miss Zoe, you said your makeup looked amazing today. You told me not to put a dark eyeshadow on you, and when I recommended this shade for you, you said you loved it."

"Do I not have the right to change my mind? I want a different color now!" Zoe was angry, and the two women manicuring her nails both stopped abruptly. They could feel a unique atmosphere surrounding them.

Lily had to force a smile. "Miss Zoe, I will let Cici help you change your makeup because Miss Edie had already booked in advance. She is in a hurry today." Zoe turned her head and looked at Eddie. She suddenly smiled and asked. "I don't know which drama you are going to try out for today?"

Edie could tell that Zoe was pretending to be kind to her, but she knew that she did not like her at all. She had a hard time holding back her words because showbiz relationships were very important. She definitely didn't want Zoe to discredit her as she knew there was no way that they could be friends with her. She was always trying her very best to be polite to her.

"Just a small drama, I work fewer hours than you do. You have many more resources than I do." Edie said without any expression on her face. "I have an audition for the second important character in the knight-Errant.