Forbidden Passion

Today, before Ruby went out, she told Phoebe that she had found a part-time job. She planned to work part-time while studying for her Teaching License and would start applying for jobs next year.

Phoebe initially disapproved, but Ruby insisted on going.

Ruby said she didn't want to be supported by Phoebe, as it would make her feel like a loser, and Ethan wouldn't be proud of her either.

Phoebe didn't say much more and agreed to let Ruby go to work.

"I worked late today, but I'll be back earlier tomorrow," Ruby said, lowering her head guiltily. She felt remorseful for not telling Phoebe and Evelyn that Donovan was still alive.

They treated her like family, yet she was hiding things from them, which made her feel unworthy of their trust.

"Have you eaten?" Phoebe got up, folded the thin blanket, and placed it on the armrest, then turned to look at her. "My mom saved some food for you."

"I've already eaten. I'll have it for breakfast tomorrow," Ruby quickly said.

"Alright then." Phoebe nodded and walked upstairs with her. "What kind of part-time job did you find? Will you often have to work late?"

Ruby bit her lip. She didn't want to lie to Phoebe because one lie would lead to another, but she also couldn't tell her that Donovan was still alive.

"It's fine. Today was just an unexpected situation. It won't be this late in the future," Ruby said.

Phoebe tilted her head and looked at her. "If it gets too tough, you can come to work part-time at my company. You used to do some work at Queen Entertainment."

"No need. I think this job is pretty good." 'Except for the lack of salary,' Ruby thought to herself, feeling a bit worried. She had said she wanted to be independent, but if she couldn't even get paid after a month, her lie would fall apart.

The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.

Seeing that Ruby seemed to really like the job, Phoebe didn't push her further. "Alright, I respect your choice. Get some rest."

"Good night!"

The two parted ways at the door and went to their respective bedrooms.

The next day, Phoebe went to work. As she passed through the open office area, she ensed something was off. When she got back her office, Lori walked in.

"Ms. Ziegler, you're finally here. Miss Reynolds has come looking for you several times, and you weren't here. She seemed pretty anxious."

Phoebe reached out to take the file from Lori's hand, opening it as she asked, "What did she want?"

"Queen Entertainment is done for," Lori said excitedly. Ever since the company staff learned about Phoebe and Vanessa's rivalry, they had been discussing it non-stop.

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"The day before yesterday, Queen Entertainment was moving offices and got caught in a sandstorm. A box of compromising photos they had bought from reporters over the past two years got blown away. You can imagine how strong the sandstorm was. Many people tried to retrieve the photos, but most were lost to the storm. Apparently, a lot of people ended up with them."

Phoebe hadn't been on Facebook for the past couple of days and had no idea such a big event had occurred. No wonder everyone was acting so strangely when she walked in.

"Why didn't they destroy those photos?" Phoebe asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. Usually, entertainment companies would destroy compromising photos immediately to avoid future trouble. Queen Entertainment seemed to have done the opposite.

"If they destroyed them, they wouldn't have any leverage to force suddenly popular artists to renew their contracts," Lori explained.

"Is that even a thing?" Phoebe asked, eyes wide with surprise.

Lori shook her head in exasperation. "Ms. Ziegler, you can't be this naive. You'd end up

helping the person who took advantage of you."

"You've got the nerve to joke with me now," Phoebe said, picking up the file and pretending to hit her.

Lori dodged with a grin. "Ms. Ziegler, I love your innocence. Look how harmonious our company is."

Phoebe tossed the file back on the desk and pointed at her. "Don't trust any capitalist to be innocent. I might already be thinking about how to make you a permanent slave."

"It would be my honor," Lori replied.

Phoebe didn't bother arguing with Lori anymore. Lori had become increasingly fearless around her. When Lori first returned to the country, she was always cautious when speaking to Phoebe.

When did she become so bold?

"What happened next?" Phoebe asked.

"People posted the compromising photos online. Many of Queen Entertainment's artists got caught up in it, and even a few politicians were implicated. The government stepped in to clean things up, and Vanessa was taken in for questioning. This won't end well for them. Queen Entertainment might even go bankrupt," Lori replied. "Serves them right," Phoebe said, pursing her lips.

"Exactly," Lori said smugly. "With the government involved, even if Queen Entertainment doesn't go bankrupt, they'll have to make major changes. No artist in their right mind would sign with them after this."

"What about Grace?" Phoebe asked.

Grace was also an artist with Queen Entertainment and had just started to gain some recognition in the past six months. If she got caught up in this, it would be really unfortunate.

"Grace didn't have any compromising photos leaked. She seems to be a rare clean slate at Queen Entertainment. While others are desperate to get famous, she's been very protective of herself."

"Why do you say that?"

Lori used to work in the entertainment industry and knew the ins and outs of major entertainment companies.

She was in several fan groups, gathering gossip and information that others might not know, including about Grace.

"She had several opportunities to become really famous, but every time, she either got sick or disappeared. As soon as another actor took her place, she'd miraculously recover and start working again. At first, I thought the higher-ups at Queen Entertainment were suppressing her, but after joining her fan groups, I realized she was doing it on purpose."

Phoebe recalled the last time she saw Grace. She didn't seem like someone without ambition. Why would she give up such golden opportunities?

"She doesn't want to be famous?" Phoebe guessed.

Lori shook her head. "I don't know. She joined a reality show six months ago as a temporary special guest. While everyone else was actively participating, she just lounged on the sofa and ended up going viral. For a long time, a photo of her lounging on the sofa was used as a meme."

"A meme?" Phoebe asked in surprise. She had been abroad for the past two years and hadn't kept up with the entertainment scene back home.

"Yeah, I'll send it to you later. It's really funny," Lori said.noveldrama

"Thanks," Phoebe nodded. Just then, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID; it was Edward.

She answered the call and gestured to Lori, who understood and picked up the cup on the desk to go get Phoebe some coffee.