Possessed No More: The True Star Returns to Claim Her Throne-Chapter 36: Twenty Million

Rocco: "...Alright, I’ll talk it over with Miss Perry tomorrow." ’What kind of mess is this?’

’As far as he could remember, he was a paparazzi. He’d been sent to work as a bodyguard, then became an extra, and now he was supposed to steal the assistant’s job too?’

’He felt that if he followed Miss Perry for long enough, he might just become a jack-of-all-trades.’

The next morning, Rocco appeared the moment Riley Perry stepped out of her room. "Miss Perry, I bought you breakfast: soy milk, crab roe buns, and fried dough sticks."

"Shane, why are you bringing me breakfast? I should be the one treating you." ’After all, I feel pretty bad about making him watch something so disgusting.’

Rocco chuckled. "Just call me Rocco. Please, no ’Shane.’ I’m not worthy."

"Um, Miss Perry, I noticed you’ve been on your own these past couple of days, without even an assistant, so I thought I could run some errands for you. If you don’t like this breakfast, I can get you something else next time."

Riley Perry took out her phone. "How much was it? I’ll transfer you the money."

Rocco quickly waved his hands. "No, no, don’t worry about it! What’s the need for such formality between us? It’s just breakfast. If you really want, you can just treat me to lunch."

Riley Perry smiled. Rocco was working as an extra on set, which meant he also ate lunch there—in fact, they ate the exact same boxed meals.

"Come on, you can eat in the car. I’ll give you a ride."

’His boss really thought highly of him. He was just a lowly paparazzi, yet the boss wanted him to be Miss Perry’s assistant. If he had just come out and said it, there’s no way Miss Perry would have agreed!’

’Luckily, Miss Perry didn’t have a car, which gave him the perfect excuse.’

Once in the car, Riley Perry asked casually, "So what happened with those two?"

’The drug’s effects lasted about two hours for both of them. She wondered if they’d woken up sleeping in each other’s arms or if they’d started a brawl.’

Rocco perked up at the mention of this. He was experienced in this line of work, and he could tell at a glance last night that both of them had been drugged. It was a forced pairing set up by Miss Perry herself; of course they were going to cause a scene after the drug wore off.

That’s why he’d had Gary Lewis keep an eye on them.

And the surveillance paid off, revealing quite the spectacle. "They started raising hell at five in the morning. We couldn’t get video, but we recorded the audio. Miles Ford accused Raymond Warren of drugging and raping him. Raymond Warren threatened to sue Miles Ford, claiming Ford broke into his room and drugged him. He also said Miles Ford couldn’t perform. An enraged and humiliated Miles Ford beat up Raymond Warren. At first, they both demanded to see the security footage, but then they quieted down, probably to protect their reputations."

"Those two will probably both call in sick today." ’One with an aching rear, the other with a battered face. Hahaha, why is this so funny?’

Riley Perry didn’t stop laughing for the entire ride. She was most comfortable when her enemies were miserable.

Having finished her breakfast on the way, Riley Perry went straight to the makeup room as soon as she arrived on set. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet.

That’s how it was for actors. If the call time was eight, showing up at eight meant you were late, because makeup and styling alone could take one or two hours.

Rocco simply stayed by her side, keeping an eye on Riley Perry’s handbag.

He even thoughtfully poured her a cup of hot water.

As expected, that Ford guy didn’t show up in the morning. Rocco stayed by Riley Perry’s side the whole time, fetching her tea and water, fanning her, and holding up a small mirror for her to touch up her makeup. He was even more attentive than Rhona had been.

’Then again, Rhona was a rich heiress. Asking a pampered young lady like her to work as an assistant was putting her in a tough spot. Rhona herself might not have minded, but it made Riley, the one being cared for, uncomfortable. That was one of the reasons Riley Perry had sent Rhona to handle the business registration paperwork for her.’

’Put everyone to their best use. An heiress like Rhona should be out there doing business for her.’

Perhaps sensing that her position was being usurped, the girl actually called at noon. Riley Perry was in the middle of lunch, and Rocco, who was guarding her belongings, immediately handed her the phone. "Ria, everything’s going smoothly on my end. My dad already gave me the pharmaceutical factory. The only thing is, applying for the patent will be slow—it’ll probably take about a month."

"But I’ve already submitted the materials. I’m planning to head back tomorrow."

The voice on the phone wasn’t loud enough for others to hear, but Rocco heard it perfectly. His heart sank. ’If Rhona comes back, will I still get to be Miss Perry’s assistant?’

A moment later, Riley said, "Don’t come back. Since the factory is yours now, I want you to go and learn how to manage it."

Rhona was shocked. "No, Ria! I want to stay with you! I can just have my dad send someone to manage the factory."

"Rhona, I can’t trust anyone else with this. You’re the only person by my side I can truly rely on. Do you understand what I mean?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

’Rhona didn’t want to understand.’ But then again, it made sense. The formula Ria had provided was too important. She had successfully lost weight herself, and she wanted all the girls in the world to have a good figure too. So, she agreed. "Okay, Ria. I’ll go to the factory then. As soon as I get things sorted out there, I’ll come right back."

Riley Perry: ’There’s no need to rush.’

When the call finally ended, Rocco breathed a sigh of relief. As Riley Perry put down her phone, she saw his expression and couldn’t help but laugh. "You seem really unhappy about the idea of Rhona coming back."

Rocco: "No, no! I wasn’t thinking that at all."

Riley Perry gave him a knowing smile but didn’t say anything else.

The Ayr Jade flickered again. ’This boy is trying to suck up to Master, isn’t he? Does he have bad intentions?’

Riley Perry found this amusing. ’He is indeed trying to get on my good side, but it’s not out of malice. It’s his job.’

Leo didn’t quite understand, but it could learn slowly.

Unfortunately, having just awakened, its spiritual consciousness was still unstable, and it quickly fell back into a deep sleep.

「In the hotel.」

Miles Ford had been smashing things for a long time. His unfortunate assistant’s ankle was cut by a shard from a broken glass.

Miles Ford didn’t offer a single word of comfort, only tossing out coldly, "Go back to your room and bandage it yourself. You’ll get double your bonus this month. And keep your mouth shut."

The assistant left meekly. No one noticed the flash of hatred in his eyes the moment he closed the door.

The assistant had barely left when Miles Ford’s phone rang. It was his agent.

"Mr. Lee."

"Miles Ford, what you did last night was filmed. The one who contacted me is the big-shot paparazzi, Justin Locke. How could you be so careless?"

Mr. Lee’s voice was ice-cold. When he first received the call from that notorious paparazzi, he hadn’t believed it. He had been with Miles Ford for eight years and never knew he had... that kind of preference. But the video was real.

Miles Ford’s fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "You have to buy that stuff. Otherwise, my life is over."

Last night’s events had utterly disgusted him. He never thought that one day he would have relations with a man—and be the one on the bottom, no less. That’s why he had beaten up Raymond Warren.

But after the fight, he had sobered up and realized he’d been targeted. So, all this time, he’d been like an old man waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now that it finally had, he felt a sense of relief.

"They’re asking for twenty million."

CRASH. Another ashtray met its end.

"Pay him! But you have to make him tell you who’s setting me up."