The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1424

Adela set aside her work, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “Why is Dad suddenly at Apex Mediaworks?”

“No idea.” Her agent held up the hem of Adela’s dress and hustled her out. “Company didn’t say much, just that Kemp is meeting with J.” The agent’s tone said enough. Something serious was up.

“Dad came to see J at Apex?” Adela slid into the car, still wearing her stage outfit. She frowned, thinking out loud. “Is Dad here to stand up for me?” After all, everyone knew the Storm script was going to blow up. It had to be that J wouldn’t budge, so her father had stepped in for her. “Let’s see if J’s connections can really outmatch my dad,” Adela said, twirling a perfectly polished nail and giving a confident little smile.

Fifteen minutes later they pulled up to Apex Mediaworks. Adela didn’t wait, heading straight upstairs.

“Adela, Mr. Kemp is waiting.” A staff member was at the door, ready to quietly warn her not to mess with J again, but before he could get a word out, Adela brushed past, already annoyed by his hovering. She pushed open the conference room doors without a second thought.

“Dad!” she called.

Every head in the room turned at once. The mood was unexpectedly tense.

Adela stepped in and took it all in. Company higher-ups filled the room. Her father, looking sharp but furious, stood near the sofa. J sat there, legs crossed and looking completely at ease. There was an unmistakable chill in the air around her.

“J, Adela’s here,” Kemp said, relief flickering on his face. He motioned her over. “You need to—”

But before he could finish, Adela cut him off, her voice ringing with indignation. “My dad’s standing here. Who said you could stay seated?”

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

J. She had heard of her even before she started out in the industry herself. There was no way she’d imagined that the comic creator, J, was also this J—the one in charge of the film foundation.

Had she really just gone and ruined everything?

“Apologize,” Kemp said again, forcing his voice low so it wouldn’t shake. “Head office told us to get J back here. If she leaves unhappy, I’m done.”

All at once, Adela’s bravado vanished. She stood up straight, still trembling a little. “J, I… I’m sorry. Please, don’t hold my earlier behavior against me.”

“Let it go?” Charlotte’s expression didn’t change. Her eyes barely flicked up as she spoke, her voice cool and almost bored. “This one—I think I will remember.”