CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: THEY’RE TRYING TO PUT US IN OUR PLACE

Just as Anna Thornton was surrounded by reporters, another nanny car suddenly stopped at the entrance of Dynasty Entertainment.

"Marilyn Ford!"

"Marilyn Ford’s car!"

No one knew who recognized it first, but after someone shouted, reporters swarmed in that direction.

However, Marilyn Ford wasn’t as easy to interview as Anna Thornton. The door of her high-end nanny car didn’t open immediately; instead, a team of well-trained bodyguards emerged from the company to receive her.

The bodyguards formed a human wall in two rows, leaving a one to two-meter distance in between, blocking the reporters with their cameras and microphones outside.

At this moment, the car door finally opened.

Marilyn Ford’s manager, Sharon Langley, first got out from the passenger seat, walked around the front of the car to the back seat, and officially helped Actress Ford out of the car.

"Miss Ford, were you aware in advance of Dynasty Entertainment signing a new actress?"

"Dynasty has always had only you as the female artist. Now there’s another one. What are your thoughts on this?"

"Are you worried it might threaten your status?"

"There are claims that your relationship with President Sterling has been strained lately. Is the action of signing a newcomer related to this?"

"Miss Ford, please respond, Miss Ford!"

"Just one word would do!"

Regardless of how tricky the reporters’ questions were, Marilyn Ford remained silent.

That woman wore sunglasses covering most of her facial expressions, dressed in Chanel’s limited edition new release that’s not even available for purchase this season, stepping in custom six-centimeter diamond-studded heels—everything about her from head to toe was meticulously crafted today.

This aura maintaining her demeanor as an actress and Ford Family’s heiress seemed intentionally displayed for someone to see.

"Anna, don’t you think she’s trying to make a statement? Why is it that when you were surrounded by reporters, no one came to help, but as soon as she arrived, there was such a big entourage? We were totally outshone."

"Don’t worry about it for now."

Anna took the opportunity while the reporters’ attention was diverted to pull Mary inside the company.

If Marilyn wants to show her dominance, so be it. After all, they will both be Dynasty’s artists in the future, inevitably encountering each other from time to time.

Anna Thornton’s return to the country clearly aimed to compete for the same man and, subsequently, for resources within the same company. It would have been strange if Marilyn showed no reaction after receiving the news.

However, what slightly surprised Anna was that Marilyn pretended not to see her just now. Skipping even a courtesy greeting and directly black-faced—she must be genuinely angry.

The reason for Marilyn’s anger could largely be because Conrad Sterling agreed to sign Anna Thornton.

That man had previously promised her that she would be the only female artist at Dynasty from now to the future.

And now, in just a few days of cold war, Anna Thornton brazenly entered the company.

Marilyn is not worried about her status. In her eyes, Anna Thornton isn’t that much of a threat yet.

She just doesn’t understand... what exactly is Conrad thinking?

...

Conrad Sterling had told Anna Thornton to go directly to Jane Jennings after entering the company.

Jane Jennings is the general manager over at the entertainment company. All artist arrangements have to go through her.

But after Anna Thornton and Mary went in, no one came to guide them.

The two of them wandered around for quite a while and finally found the general manager’s office, only to be told that she had left suddenly for some reason, and they needed to wait.

This wait lasted more than an hour.

"Anna, you’re someone personally signed by President Sterling, how come not a single person in this company doesn’t dare to make things difficult for us?" Mary was getting impatient.

Anna Thornton was a bit more patient, also anticipating encountering such circumstances.

She had already taken the time to remove her makeup, wash her face, and start her skincare regime by applying a mask during the idle time.

After all, from the moment they entered the company through the main gate, many people had already looked at them with curiosity, the whole stretch everyone regarded her and Mary as a novelty to be observed. Outwardly curious, yet secretly disdainful. It seemed like there would be no interpersonal networking today.

"Before coming here, I checked the internal situation of this Dynasty Entertainment. Conrad doesn’t manage the stuff on the entertainment company side; it’s all handled by that woman named Jane Jennings. I heard that her work capability is quite good. Conrad appointed her specifically to promote Marilyn Ford, which she accomplished in three years. It’s neither short nor long, but she moved steadily at every step, setting the stage for Marilyn Ford’s current status as the nation’s goddess, including every movie and event Marilyn took on. This year, among many nominations for best actress, Marilyn won the major award with the least seniority, yet barely any doubts were raised. These were the result of well-executed maneuvers."

Hearing Anna Thornton’s explanation, Mary couldn’t help but ask, "Really? So with her ability, promoting you should be simple too, right?"

"Since she is avoiding us, it indicates she has already made the choice not to promote me. Actually, it’s a smart choice. Conrad doesn’t intervene in the entertainment company; here, the biggest shot is Marilyn Ford. And I, in others’ eyes, am probably just an upstart trying to maneuver my way to the top." Anna shrugged.

"Don’t say that about yourself—you’re a peacock!" Mary corrected her.

"Alright, well, they don’t fancy this superficially beautiful peacock of mine, so they opted for the phoenix born from a noble origin. Even if Marilyn and Conrad don’t end up together in the future, she’s still the heiress of the Ford Family. With the Ford backing her, naturally, sensible people will stand by her side."

"So, you’re saying that Jane Jennings will be our enemy in the future?" Mary’s expression turned a bit serious.

"Not just her, it’s likely this entire company will be our enemies."

Just by Anna Thornton’s description, Mary’s palms began to sweat a little: "Great aunt, we’re stepping into a den of tigers and dragons, aren’t we."

"Indeed, are you scared?" Anna Thornton, at this time, still felt like teasing her.

"If I were afraid, I wouldn’t have signed you initially. Back when you were washing dishes in that restaurant without even knowing the language, who would have thought that over two years later, you’d be honed into someone fluent in four languages, with certifications from three European and American film awards, and the most promising rising star," Though Mary always appeared a bit timid around Anna Thornton, she was actually working at the largest and most famous star-making studio abroad two years ago, collaborating with many renowned artists from Europe and America.

Mary was ambitious when she signed Anna Thornton, dreaming of creating an Asian idol that could rival European and American stars. But it ended up with them jointly sitting on the cold bench for quite a long time.

Anna Thornton is very beautiful and hardworking, but dealing with the general struggles of Asians in the international film industry wore Mary out and she couldn’t stand the company’s unfair class system, eventually resigning to solely focus on Anna Thornton.

Thinking back now, Mary doesn’t know where her courage came from, to stake her entire career on this mysterious, impoverished-looking Asian girl.

Perhaps it was Anna Thornton’s tenacious spirit that moved her, or maybe it was the connection between two girls struggling in a foreign land.

In any case, Mary never regretted her decision until now.

"Didn’t we agree before? I’m determined to make you a big star and stand by your side to the pinnacle of your career. We’ve already worked our way through the melting pot of black and white; what haven’t we seen?"

Over the years fighting side by side, Mary and Anna Thornton’s relationship had evolved into one of camaraderie.

To be honest, who wouldn’t like an artist like Anna Thornton?

She had confident skills, as an artist, she could even provide a sense of security to her manager.

Even though sometimes she made decisions without notifying in advance, Anna Thornton managed to enter Dynasty Entertainment and move into Conrad Sterling’s home within a week, as she said she would.

Now, even if she said she wanted to become Mrs. Sterling, Mary would believe her wholeheartedly.

If she could conquer the Sterling Group’s CEO, let alone an agency under it.