From Divorce To Dominance

Oscar was as anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof. His face was long and teetering on the edge of tears. Ever since the show aired, his emotions had been on a rollercoaster ride. One moment, he was celebrating the episode's skyrocketing ratings, dominating the charts ahead of all the other shows. The next moment, he was hit with the news that Smooth Skin had sent a lawyer's letter. They were suing the "Sweet Love" production team and Natalic for defamation, claiming infringement of their reputation and damaging their corporate image. When Oscar received the news, he was completely stunned. Smooth Skin had signed a sponsorship agreement with t the show, and Tessa was supposed to be the endorser for the product. How did things take such a drastic turn so suddenly! He immediately tried to reach out to the representative from Smooth Skin, hoping to avoid a confrontation and settle the issue. But his calls went unanswered. To make matters worse, news of the situation was already starting to explode online. In his panic, he was reminded by Bobby to seek out Natalie, and suddenly it hit him.

While he didn't know much about Natalie, she radiated a sense of calm like she could solve any problem. Oscar showed up, full of hope, but was stopped at the door by a maid who said that Natalie was currently taking a nap. "What t do you mean it's nap time? This is urgent. Please, just go tell her-it's a big deal!" Oscar pleaded.

The maid glanced at him, calm and collected, striking a pose that was reminiscent of Natalie herself. "Ms. Xavier's sleep is a top priority," said the maid.

Oscar was momentarily speechless, but then he persisted, saying "I beg you. Please! Just pass the message along!"

Seeing his desperation, the maid couldn't help but let out a little buff. "Alright. I'll go tell her, but I'm only responsible for the message. Whether or not she decides to see you is another matter."

"Thank you!" Oscar quickly clasped his hands together in gratitude. Once the maid went inside, he realized something

oll.

off.

felt

Telt

"Wait a minute! I'm a prominent director, known in the industry, and here I am begging a little girl for a favor. What happened to my authority? Natalie clearly has a strange kind of influence!' He pondered on this just as the maid returned. Oscar rushed up, asking, "So, what did she say? Will she see me?

"She said to relax and let her take her nap. She'll deal with everything once she wakes up," said the maid.

"Waiting until she wakes up might be too late!" Oscar was pulling his hair in frustration. "News spreads like wildfire online, and-

He looked up, only to meet the maids smiling faces. They spoke in unison, "It's not a big deal, Director Pierce. Just stay calm."

Oscar couldn't help but feel that Natalie was indeed a very strange person. It looked like her maids had dealt with chaos countless times before. Even more bizarre was that he somehow felt deep down that Natalie would sort everything out perfectly. He wondered where that inexplicable trust came fromContentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

As Oscar sat down in the hallway chair to wait, he fished out his phone to check the developing situation online.

The lawyer's letter from Smooth Skin had just gone out an hour ago. Prior to that, the topic of 'Second-rate Smooth Skin" had been lingering in the top ten trending topics. The clip of Tessa sending Smooth Skin products to Natalie, only for Natalie to critique it as second- rate, had been edited and used as solid proof of the scandal.

Sep 20

The comments on Twitter were flowing like a raging river. Fans of Tessa, who had previously lost the verbal battle in the live stream, now fellemboldened to unleash their fury with the backing of Smooth Skin. Chapter

20:36 Fri,

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[Now that Smooth Skin has stepped in. I guess Natalie is hiding and too scared to say anything I

[Everyone knows what Natalie is up to. She's been flaunting her rich-girl persona, and now that Smooth Skin didn't pick her, she's gone crazy)

[Seriously? A rich girl casually throwing 3 million around doesn't need to endorse products!]

It's about time! Smooth Skin should've taken action sooner. Every single day, all we hear about is her-it's so annoying!]

[Come on! If a second-rate brand like Smooth Skin begged for Nat to endorse their products, she wouldn't even look at

them!]

[Smooth Skin? Big deal! I'll buy the whole company for Nat!]

Looks like Natalie's fans are learning from their queen. Have they lost their minds? They think they can buy Smooth Skin. but I doubt they can even afford a car.]

Oscar stared at the comments with a heavy heart. He kept glancing at his watch, relieved when 30 minutes passed, and Natalie finally woke up. He stood up quickly, eager to approach her.

"Ms. Xavier," he said, admiring her exquisite makeup, his voice softening a bit, "you mentioned before that Smooth Skin was second-rate brand, but now they're planning to sue us. The online sentiment is really turning against us. What should we do?"

Natalie raised an eyebrow, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "Are they really going to sue us?" she asked.

Oscar felt hopeless at her reaction. "How could it be fake? They've sent a cease-and-desist letter and refused to negotiate. What are we going to do?"

Natalie arched her brow, a familiar excitement flickering in her expression. The maid, understanding the cue, handed her a phone. She quickly found the cease-and-desist letter from Smooth Skin and calmly shared it while typing a message: [To Smooth Skin: I'm so scared.] Oscar's mouth twitched. The way she phrased it didn't come off as scared at all; it was a blatant provocation. Looking up at her, he saw Natalie blushing with excitement, almost as if she was looking forward to being sued.

"Ms. Xavier, Oscar said, a bit nervously, "shouldn't we do something? We can't just wait for them to sue us, right?"

"Let them sue us, Natalie said, tilting her head slightly, her radiant smile lighting up the room. "Director Pierce, if you don't have anything planned for tonight, I'm going home."

Oscar, still

still lost in thoughts of the lawsuit, looked confused. "What?" he asked.

Natalie reminded him, "Didn't we agree that I wouldn't be staying here at night?"

"That's t true, ,but t Ms. Xavier, we're being sued and you aren't even a bit anxious?" Oscar really didn't want to deal with a lawsuit. He had worked so hard to create a show that could potentially go viral; being mired in legal troubles could ruin everything. Seeing his distress, Natalie attempted to reassure him. "They should be the ones worried, Director Pierce. Nothing is going to happen to us." "Really? He still wasn't convinced.

In a different scenario, he could use his connections, but this time it was Smooth Skin, and they were being extremely tough

Natalie waved her hand as she walked outside. "Just kidding. With Smooth Skin coming after us, we're doomed. We'll get caught and thrown into prison, serving long sentences.

G

Oscar was left speechless.

He watched Natalie leave, feeling a mix of confusion and unease about whether she was being serious or just playful. Standing there in a daze, he was about to head out when Tessa walked in. 25% 25%

Oscar's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward, looking concerned. Tessa, are you okay? Don't let what happened during the live stream get to you," he said.

Tessa could sense his flattery and gave a polite smile, though inwardly she scoffed. "I'm fine now, thanks for your concern, Director Pierce."

"Great! About the lawsuit from Smooth Skin against the 'Sweet Love' production team and Natalie, you know about it, right? he asked, trying to pivot the conversation.

Tessa nodded. "Yes, the person in charge of Smooth Skin told me they could drop the case-it all depends on what you do."