Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Why Wait for an Unreliable Person?

"She’s coming back! Your mom is definitely coming back!"

Director Ford was even more anxious than Noelle Sutton.

Joshua Lawson was Noelle’s son, and moreover, the little prince of the Lawson family. Nothing could be allowed to happen to him.

Director Ford quickly handed the phone to Noelle. "You need to go back."

Only after Noelle promised Joshua she was coming home did he hang up.

Noelle was heartbroken.

She had finally mustered the courage to come meet Director Smith, but for some reason, Joshua had decided to throw a fit tonight, threatening to jump off a building to force her home.

She wanted to explain to Director Ford.

Director Ford patted her shoulder comfortingly. "It’s alright. Just go home for now. It’ll be okay."

Director Ford even arranged for her own driver to take Noelle.

Watching the car drive away, Director Ford sighed helplessly.

’No wonder Noelle hasn’t been able to make a comeback all these years.’

’When a woman has a child, that child truly is a constant tether.’

’It’s so much harder for a woman to achieve success in her career than it is for a man.’

Director Ford turned and walked into Myre River Pavilion.

’Noelle promised me she wouldn’t give up, no matter the setback.’

’It seems I’ll have to find a way to talk to Tristan Lawson. See if we can work something out, get their family affairs in order, and give Noelle a chance to show her talent.’

Meanwhile, Sophie Hughes received a message from Joshua Lawson.

[Sophie, it’s done. My mom is on her way back now.]

[How did you manage that?]

[I lied and told her I was going to jump off the building, so she came back.]

Sophie Hughes’s lips curled into a faint smile.

Still, she sent a reply to Joshua.

[You silly boy, you can’t use methods like that. I just thought that all mothers dote on their children, so I wanted you to ask her to come home to avoid any conflict. You absolutely can’t do this again.]

[Okay, I’ll listen to you, Sophie.]

Sophie Hughes let out a sigh of relief.

’Noelle Sutton might be talented and have Director Ford’s support, but Director Smith is a top figure in the international animation scene. He’s also extremely strict about a producer’s work ethic. Since he had an appointment with Noelle today and she couldn’t make it on time, his opinion of her is bound to plummet.’

’Maybe Tristan Lawson can even help me secure the role tonight. Then, Noelle will be out of the picture completely.’

’Who would have thought that a mute like Noelle would have so much talent in animation that even Director Smith came here just for her?’

Sophie was one of the standouts of the younger generation in the international animation world. This was a testament to her skill, something she was very proud of, and Tristan Lawson paid especially close attention to her career development.

’I absolutely cannot let Noelle steal my thunder.’

"Smith."

A waiter led Director Ford in, and she greeted Smith warmly.

She recognized Tristan Lawson and Adrian Grant. Tristan then introduced Kyle Sawyer and Hugo Sterling to Director Ford.

Tristan offered Director Ford the seat closest to Smith.

Smith glanced at the door again. Not seeing Director Ford’s student, he asked, "Wasn’t there one more person?"

Director Ford explained, "She had a sudden emergency. Her child was throwing a tantrum at home, so she had to go back."

Director Ford couldn’t very well announce in front of everyone that Joshua had threatened to jump off a building.

Smith was inevitably a little disappointed. "After waiting so long, and with an appointment set, I thought I’d finally get to meet her. I didn’t expect it to be this difficult. This is the first time I’ve met an animation producer with such a... personality."

A large part of Smith’s remarkable success in the animation industry was his rigorous work ethic.

Besides, with his fame, animation professionals who wanted to work on his films were a dime a dozen.

He had waited patiently only because he truly admired the work of Director Ford’s prized student. He never expected a situation like this. If she could abandon a meeting with him for her child this time, couldn’t she just as easily abandon her work for her child next time?

This point certainly made Smith reconsider.

Director Ford wanted to fight for Noelle and continued to explain, "Today’s circumstances were truly exceptional. After you’ve recovered from your jet lag and rested, if it’s convenient, I will personally bring her to apologize to you. She is genuinely very sincere about wanting to participate in your film."

Hearing this, Kyle Sawyer couldn’t help but sneer. "Isn’t there a perfectly good animation producer right here? Mr. Smith, why wait for one who doesn’t keep her appointments?"

Director Ford’s expression turned slightly awkward.

Sophie tugged at Kyle’s sleeve and said with a serious face, "Kyle, you don’t know anything about the animation industry. How can you just say whatever you want?"

Seeing that everyone else had arrived, Hugo Sterling signaled for the waiter to start serving the food.

Tristan Lawson had promised Sophie Hughes he would help her secure a role in Smith’s new film, so he naturally didn’t want it to go to someone else. He smiled faintly. "Kyle may not know the animation industry, but he has a point. Someone who doesn’t keep their appointments makes you question their work ethic."

Director Ford was sitting between Smith and Tristan. Seeing how they were all misunderstanding Noelle, she was just about to tell Tristan that the person she intended to bring was his wife when he spoke again. "Smith just arrived in Glenwater. Tonight is a welcome dinner for him, so let’s not discuss heavy work matters for now. Why don’t we talk about something a little lighter?"

Tristan still had to consider Smith’s feelings. He had just gotten off a plane and must be tired; it wasn’t a good time to talk business.

With that, Director Ford couldn’t press the matter further.

’This is probably for the best,’ she thought. ’Too many people, too many opinions. It’s easy for them to cloud a person’s judgment. It’s better to wait until Smith has some free time and talk to him privately.’

Noelle returned to Westhill Villa.

Joshua was in the living room, watching a cartoon.

Noelle had looked up Sophie Hughes’s work online before. The main character in this cartoon was one of Sophie’s creations.

Sophie had even done the voice for the main character. According to her online bio, she had studied voice acting in college to better portray her animated characters. By voicing her own creations, she could more fully express her understanding of them.

Joshua sighed wistfully. "I can’t believe Sophie is not only great at animation, but her voice is so versatile, too. She’s amazing. I wish my mom was as cool as her."

Joshua was completely engrossed in the cartoon and hadn’t noticed Noelle had returned.

Mrs. Miller came out of the kitchen, saw Noelle, and quickly called out, "Ma’am."

Joshua heard the voice and whipped his head around. He saw Noelle standing beside the sofa, her expression blank, and his mood instantly soured.

’Before, if she knew something was wrong with me, she would have rushed over to check me from head to toe, fussing over me, worrying about me, panicking for me.’

’I was about to jump off a building, and she comes back acting this cold!’

Joshua rolled his eyes in displeasure and said, "Mom, come watch cartoons with me."

Noelle walked over to Joshua. ’Mom still cares about me,’ Joshua thought.

’She used to watch cartoons with me after dinner.’

The sullen look on his face softened slightly.

But to his surprise, Noelle’s face was grim as she questioned him with her hands.