My Actor Husband's True Face

Chapter 20

The assistant’s report made the atmosphere turn slightly stagnant. Shannon shut her mouth and sat up straight, tidying her things while sneaking glances to the side every now and then. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t curious, after all, Katie was one of the people she didn’t like.

Flynn’s expression didn’t change much upon hearing the report, but the crease between his brows said it all.

“Why is she in my office? I didn’t ask anyone to bring her there.”

The assistant looked both guilty and helpless. He lowered his head and explained, “Mr. Flynn, Miss Katie came with Mr. Max. I couldn’t stop them.”

At that, it wasn’t just Flynn whose expression shifted, Shannon’s did too. Only, she hid it well enough that no one noticed.

She hadn’t expected that after more than two hours, Katie would show up with Maxime. Whether it was to find a backdoor in or… to provoke her, Shannon didn’t care.

Flynn rubbed his forehead and replied to his assistant, “Tell them to come here.”

The assistant nodded at his boss’s words, then quickly left.

Shannon finished packing her things and said, “You must be busy. Since we’re done here, I’ll head out first.”

Flynn wanted to stop her from leaving so soon, there were still things they needed to discuss, but considering who was coming, he could only nod in agreement.

Before they parted, Flynn said, “You’re still getting used to all this. For now, Yolla will assist you, she knows a lot about film production and so on.”

Shannon was about to refuse, not wanting to trouble anyone, but Flynn cut her off.

“Yolla is my substitute for this project, so she’ll be observing the situation as well and reporting back to me. Don’t say no.”

With that in mind, Shannon no longer had any objections. She agreed with Flynn. After all, having someone she was at least somewhat familiar with did make her feel a bit more comfortable.

They didn’t speak any further, and Shannon left with Yolla trailing behind. The two women exchanged numbers as they walked toward the elevator.

And just as she’d expected, she ran into the last two people she wanted to see.

Maxime and Katie walked from the opposite direction, their steps in sync despite the absence of any overt affection. They looked like two beautiful people from the same world, an aesthetically pleasing sight, almost like a scene out of a high-budget film.

Shannon wasn’t the only one who noticed their presence. The same went the other way around.

Katie even deliberately moved a little closer to Maxime, her body nearly brushing against his arm. Maxime, on the other hand, seemed slightly surprised to see Shannon, but that split-second reaction was quickly masked by his well-trained cold expression.

Shannon pretended not to know them, no nervous glances, no awkward smile. Just a fleeting look, then she kept walking as if the two of them were complete strangers. Her seemingly indifferent attitude was exactly what Maxime had expected… yet it also infuriated him.

Because even if their relationship had been kept secret, that didn’t mean Shannon had to act like they’d never known each other. At the very least, he wanted a glance. A flicker of admiration from a loyal fan. That’s right, Shannon had been his fan, after all.

Maxime almost reached out, nearly stopping Shannon from walking away like that. But Katie, who stood beside him and picked up on the subtle shift in his posture, reacted quickly.

With a graceful motion, she clasped Maxime’s hand, looked up at him, and blinked slowly, sending a silent signal that pulled him back into control. Maxime inhaled deeply, adjusted the collar of his jacket, and resumed walking beside Katie.

Meanwhile, Shannon, who appeared to not care at all, was actually slightly irritated. The thought of Maxime so willingly helping Katie with her business annoyed her.

Just a few days ago, he had insisted he didn’t want a divorce, and now here he was, stepping out to assist the very woman who was the reason for that divorce in the first place. No, she wasn’t jealous. Just… annoyed.

“Miss Shannon? Miss Shannon, is everything alright?”

Yolla’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned to the side, meeting the woman’s puzzled expression.

“Y-yeah? What is it?” There was an awkward smile on her lips.

“It’s nothing. I called your name a few times just now, but you didn’t respond.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was just… thinking about what I need to do next.”

Yolla didn’t seem suspicious, she simply nodded slowly. “It’s alright. Mr. Flynn actually assigned me to be your assistant a few days ago, so I’ve already put together a list of what needs to be done first. Of course, we’ll need to wait for Mr. Frederick.”

“In that case, I’ll go meet Mr. Frederick and ask him directly.”

“Alright. I’ll walk you to his office.”

The two of them headed to Frederick’s office. Just as they arrived in front of the door, they crossed paths with a woman who had just come out. Her red, tearful eyes and wounded expression made her look pitiful. She lowered her head and barely acknowledged them with a polite nod.

Seeing this, Shannon glanced at Yolla, as if silently asking for an explanation. And Yolla didn’t disappoint, she whispered quietly,

“Mr. Frederick has a nasty temper. He doesn’t like women, so he tends to scold them more harshly than he does men.”

Shannon didn’t fully believe Yolla’s words, but she couldn’t help but wonder about the reason. It sounded ridiculous, until Yolla added something else.

“He was almost framed by a woman once... you know, that kind of setup. The kind that ends up with tangled sheets and... um, you get the idea.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Shannon replied, barely holding back a laugh at Yolla’s awkward explanation.

“That’s why Mr. Frederick isn’t exactly friendly toward women. So you need to be careful around him or you might get yelled at for no reason.”

Shannon nodded, thinking that even without Yolla’s warning, after what had already happened, she’d make every effort to stay far away from Frederick, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door, it swung open from the inside, revealing Frederick’s grim face.

Seeing who stood outside, Frederick gave a thin, almost mocking smile, ugly and unpleasant. His tone was just as unfriendly when he said, “Well, look who’s here.”

Shannon ignored the jab. She returned a calm, professional smile and greeted the man politely.