Maid outfit

Room 302

Julia Avery returned to her room and let out a deep sigh. Bailey Avery would never let her off the hook, so the filming period was bound to be tough for her.

She had already memorized the script inside out, and there were quite a few scenes where she had to act opposite Bailey Avery.

Fortunately, her role didn't require her to stay long—at most, she'd be here for a month. "Just one month, I can endure it," Julia Avery reassured herself.

This was her first role, and she couldn't let Bailey Avery ruin it for her.

With nothing else to do, she sat on the bed and opened the script again.

As the saying goes, "Reading a book a hundred times reveals its meaning." The more she read the script, the more she could grasp its deeper nuances.

The door opened. Unaiza walked in, her hands behind her back. She glanced at Julia Avery, who was engrossed in her script, and immediately went to her own locker. She placed the face masks Bailey Avery had given her inside and locked it.

Julia Avery knew that Unaiza would likely side with Bailey Avery. After all, given Bailey Avery's current status, no one wanted to offend her.

Julia understood this, so she didn't make things difficult for Unaiza and didn't speak to her.

Unaiza, however, sat down on Julia Avery's bed. "Julia, don't take today's incident to heart. You know Bailey Avery is going to be the future Mrs. Artis International. I can't afford to offend her either."

Julia Avery looked up at Unaiza and gave her a small smile. "I understand."

Hearing Julia Avery's words, Unaiza let out a sigh of relief and relaxed her tone.

"Honestly, I think Bailey Avery is way too arrogant and overbearing. But, everyone is too afraid to say anything because she has Artis International backing her."

"The most reliable support one can have is oneself. In this world, you can't depend on anyone but yourself. Bailey Avery knows exactly how she got her backing."

Unaiza's interest was piqued, and she leaned closer to Julia Avery. "How did she get it? Come on, you're her sister. You must know Harry Edwards, right? Could it be that she and Harry Edwards..."

Julia Avery placed her script beside her pillow. "Stop guessing. I'm not close with Harry Edwards. Now, get some sleep. We have an early shoot tomorrow."

Unaiza didn't press further. Julia Avery went to the bathroom. She would never admit it, but she and Harry Edwards had been a couple for five years.

Bailey Avery, like her mother, was a homewrecker who stole someone else's love.

She could have exposed the truth and branded Bailey Avery as a "homewrecker," but she no longer wanted any entanglements with Harry Edwards or Bailey Avery.

Let the past stay in the past. She considered herself blind for not seeing it sooner.

The next day marked the official start of filming, and Julia Avery felt a bit excited.

To her surprise, the lead actress was Vivian!

Over the past five years, Vivian had been a top-tier star.

She debuted at seventeen and won Best Actress at twenty, becoming the youngest to ever win the award and shooting to fame.

At the height of her career, you could turn on the TV and see her starring in different shows on multiple channels. Her movies were both box office hits and critically acclaimed.

She was beautiful, talented, and had high emotional intelligence. Even girls like Julia Avery idolized her.

Unfortunately, Star Sovereign International, the agency she signed with, had been struggling in recent years and lost ground to Artis International.

As a result, Vivian couldn't get good roles, and her popularity started to decline.

However, thanks to her previously accumulated fame, she was still doing okay, just not as brilliantly as before.

The filming over the past few days had been manageable. After all, the crew hadn't fully settled into their routine yet, so Julia Avery found it relatively easy-going.

That evening, she unexpectedly received a call from her classmate, Linda.

"Julia, can you do me a favor? I have something urgent tonight and can't make it to the nightclub. Could you cover for me just this once?"

Julia and Linda were good friends. Linda came from a less fortunate background and had been working part-time since she started college. She worked at a nightclub selling drinks.

"I'm on set filming right now. I don't think I can make it."

"It's just for tonight. You can definitely make it back by the next day. Don't worry, my job is just to serve drinks. The commission is really high. If you're lucky, you can make around $1,500 in one night. Even on a bad night, you can still make $400 to $600."

Julia was stunned by the numbers. She knew Linda made good money at the nightclub, but she hadn't realized it was that much.

"Julia, trust me, I wouldn't put you in a bad spot. We just sell drinks and occasionally keep customers company. I never do anything inappropriate."

Julia was still hesitant. "Plus, we wear masks while working, so no one will recognize you. Please, I really can't make it tonight."

Unable to resist Linda's persistent pleading, Julia finally agreed.

The most important reason was that she needed the money. Even though she was the third female lead in the film, her pay was tied to her fame. She was only getting around $15,000, and only a small portion of that was paid upfront. The rest would come after the filming was completed.

Every time her brother Grady had a medical emergency, it cost thousands of dollars.

Recently, he had been admitted to the ICU, which cost several hundred dollars a day, quickly depleting her savings of nearly $15,000. The money in her hand was running out fast.

**Obsidian Empire***President's Office**

Royce Butler had just come out of the conference room, feeling inexplicably irritable today. He had lashed out at several people during the meeting for no apparent reason.

He couldn't understand it himself. His chest felt tight, and he had no appetite.

Back in his office, he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He stood up abruptly and began pacing back and forth.

Dorian stood to the side, barely daring to breathe, feeling as if an invisible fire was slowly burning in the room, ready to engulf him at any moment.

Suddenly, Royce Butler stopped in front of Dorian. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Dorian broke into a cold sweat. Did he dare to speak?

"Uh... President Butler, are you feeling unwell? I've noticed you haven't been eating much these past few days."

"Can't eat? Do you want me to force it down? The meals you've been ordering lately are terrible!" Royce Butler roared.

Dorian felt like crying. The meals had always been the same, and this was the first time Mr. Butler had complained about the taste.

"President Butler, maybe you should go home and rest for a bit? The weather has been quite hot lately; perhaps you're not adjusting well to it."

Home?

Royce Butler immediately thought of Julia Avery, that woman!

"Why isn't Julia Avery back yet?"

Dorian finally realized the reason behind Royce Butler's unusual behavior.

"President Butler, Mrs. Butler has only been gone for three days to shoot a film."

"Three days?" Royce Butler's eyes widened as he looked at Dorian. "Only three days?"

"Yes, three and a half days, to be exact. At most, it'll be four days."

"Why does it feel like she's been gone for half a month?" Royce muttered to himself.

Dorian lowered his head, trying hard not to laugh.

Their mighty president was missing his wife...

Feeling even more agitated, Royce waved Dorian away and walked over to his computer. He picked up his phone and sent a message to Lionel Gonzalez.

"Tonight, 10 PM, July Blossom Nightclub."

July Blossom Nightclub******

Compared to a bar, the July Blossom Nightclub at eleven o'clock at night was even more bustling and lively.

The entire nightclub building was oval-shaped. As soon as you stepped in, you could see a dance floor filled with colorful lights.

Directly ahead was a stage, usually occupied by a live band, and in the center of the dance floor, there were often impressive performances by pole dancers.

What made the nightclub unique were its private rooms, which encircled the first-floor hall. All the rooms had transparent glass walls, allowing guests to watch the performances from their windows.

If they preferred not to watch, they could simply pull down the blackout curtains to shut out the outside world.

Royce Butler and Lionel Gonzalez were at the bar in the first-floor hall. Lionel whistled at the pole dancer in the dance floor.

A waiter walked by, and Lionel snapped his fingers. "Send her a bouquet of flowers."

Royce leaned on the bar, pulling out his phone. The screen displayed a social media post from Julia Avery.

There were only four photos, but he had looked at them several times.

"Can't she just post a selfie?" Royce muttered. Just as he was lost in thought, a hand suddenly snatched his phone away.

"What are you looking at that's got you so hooked? You're not even watching the beauties!" Lionel glanced at him and then at the phone.

It was just a few pictures of a room. Lionel draped an arm over Royce's shoulder. "I say, buddy, what's so special about this room?"

Lionel tapped back to the original post and realized it was from Julia Avery.

"Give it back!" Royce snatched his phone back.

Lionel Gonzalez licked his lips with a mischievous grin. "Missing the ladies, huh?"

"Shut up!" Royce Butler retorted, taking a swig of his drink.

"Didn't you say your girl was just a supporting actress? And you invested three million to get her that role."

"I didn't help her get the role. I was just late, and the director gave her a chance," Royce quickly defended himself.

Lionel raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "But isn't her accommodation a bit too shabby? A double room? Looks like she's being bullied."

Royce immediately pulled out his phone and reopened the photo. To his surprise, there were indeed two beds in the room, something he hadn't noticed before.

Lionel slung an arm around Royce's shoulder. "Bro, let me tell you, hotel arrangements in a film crew are quite telling.

They look at screen time, fame, and backing. With her role, she should at least have a single room."

As they were talking, a few arrogant voices suddenly came from behind them.

"Hey, girl, come have a drink with us! Hahaha—" The arrogance in their tone was unmatched in Zenith City.

Leading the group was a man in a white shirt, with several buttons undone, revealing his enticing skin.

His face was fair and clean, with bright, captivating eyes that shone like stars. There was an indescribable aura about him, and when he squinted, it sent chills down one's spine.

This was Harry Edwards, known as the number one young master of Zenith City. He was a regular here, often bringing along the sons of wealthy families. Almost everyone in the place recognized him.

Royce frowned and turned his head slightly. "Let's head back to our private room."

Lionel Gonzalez didn't say anything as they both headed upstairs to their private room.

Lionel nudged Royce Butler with his elbow. "Why do you keep avoiding him?"

"Annoying," Royce muttered, spitting out the word.

"He's asked me several times to introduce you two, and I've always turned him down for you. How are you going to thank me?"

Royce shot Lionel a glance that seemed to say, "Isn't that what friends are supposed to do?"

"Hey! You little punk!" Lionel and Royce had been friends for nearly ten years and knew each other's temperaments inside out.

After drinking for a while, Lionel started to feel bored.

"Seriously, you drag me out here and don't let me find some girls to hang out with? Are you trying to bore me to death?"

Lionel slammed the bottle onto the table. "No way, I need to find some girls!" Royce ignored him.

Lionel immediately scooted closer and patted the back of Royce's head. "The reason you're in a bad mood is because you need a woman. I'll find you a stunning one to cheer you up!"

With that, Lionel left the room. As soon as he entered the main hall, Lionel started chatting up some girls.

Julia Avery had a late shift today and had to take a cab, which took over an hour. By the time she arrived at the July Blossom Nightclub, it was already past ten, and she got a good scolding from the manager.

She quickly changed into her work clothes.

July Blossom Nightclub was a unique place, with many special features, one of which was its staff.

The waitstaff here all wore cartoonish maid outfits, each with a unique mask that covered only the upper half of their faces.

Despite the uniform theme, the maid outfits varied in style. As Julia Avery donned her black-and-white maid outfit and began her shift with a tray of drinks, she noticed some maids wore red and black combinations, while others sported black and blue.

Last night, Linda had briefed her on some important rules and regulations of the place. The red and black maid outfits were more revealing and indicated that those maids could be taken out for the night.

The black and blue outfits, though also revealing, were less so and meant the maids could enter private rooms but not leave with clients. Julia's black-and-white outfit signified that she was simply there to serve drinks and provide basic service.

The guests knew that those in black-and-white were just regular waitstaff.

With these rules in place, Julia felt a sense of relief. Tonight was particularly busy, and her drink tray had been emptied several times already. Thinking about the substantial tips she could earn tonight, Julia felt even more motivated.

In one of the private rooms, Harry Edwards and his group of friends lounged around. One of them, named Shawn, rushed back excitedly. "Harry! Guess who I just saw!"

Harry Edwards, with his legs crossed and leaning back on the red leather sofa, took a sip of his drink. "Who?"

"Lionel Gonzalez! Mr. Lionel!"

Harry's eyes narrowed slightly. "Mr. Lionel?

So, President Butler must be here too?"

"I didn't see him. Even if I did, I wouldn't recognize him. Royce Butler is so mysterious.

He's incredibly wealthy but never appears in newspapers or on TV. Probably only Lionel Gonzalez knows what he looks like."

Shawn leaned closer to Harry. "Harry, I heard Lionel Gonzalez is hitting on women, saying it's for a friend. Should we take advantage of this opportunity...?"

Shawn's face broke into a sly grin as he spoke.

Harry Edwards gave a devilish smile. "What are you waiting for? Go for it!"