The Unwilling CEO's Love Game novel Chapter 50

Out of courtesy, Jocelyn gave Melvin a ring half an hour after the whole hot search circus blew up.

He actually picked up, surprisingly.

"Hey, what's up with Willow?" she asked, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "Saw it on Twitter."

Melvin's voice was flat, "Nothing serious, just a little on-set mishap."

Jocelyn was skeptical, but she wasn't about to dig for the dirt without good reason or interest.

"Alright, take good care of her then."

"She's got assistants," he said, meaning he wasn't planning on playing nursemaid.

Chomping on her skewer, Jocelyn went on, "Yeah, she's got assistants and an agent, but that doesn't mean you can't look after her too."

"Are you throwing shade?"

"Not at all." Jocelyn put the phone on speaker, grabbed a skewer with her left hand, a drink with her right, and took a sip. "Isn't it just stating the obvious? Otherwise, why would you dash over to see her in such a hurry?"

When there was no response, she thought he'd hung up. Glancing at the phone screen, the call was still on.

"She's the face of our jewelry line, and with new products launching next quarter; it'd be a big loss for the company if something happened to her," Melvin actually bothered to explain.

Jocelyn wondered why Melvin was so strange today.

"Oh," she said, sounding totally nonchalant.

"Where are you?"

"At my home, duh."

"You went back?"

"What else?" Jocelyn said. "Who knew if you were coming home tonight? Better to crash at my own place."

Suddenly, Melvin hung up.

Staring at her phone, Jocelyn was like, "Okay, that was random."

Before hitting the sack, Jocelyn scrolled through Twitter again – loads about Willow.

One marketing account claimed Willow was about to join the cast and was rehearsing with another actor at the director's, who got too into it and clocked her with an ashtray for real.

Another story claimed Willow wasn't rehearsing at all, but was caught in a late-night rendezvous with a director by his wife, leading to a catfight that left her injured.

Jocelyn was stunned by this. With a backer like Melvin, why would Willow even do such a thing?

After all, she was dying to be Melvin's girl.

With all the drama now, if it was the former, no big deal, but if it was the latter, how could she face Melvin?

Jocelyn still thought showbiz was a mess, where the truth was elusive, and people just swallowed whatever was served. Good news might not spread well, but bad news definitely got worse as it went.

But Melvin said Willow was their brand ambassador. If bad press came out, the company, out of old loyalty, would surely clear her name. So, nothing worth gawking at, really.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before a bunch of accounts started spinning the narrative that Willow was overly dedicated, insisting on a realistic performance to convey true emotion, hence the injury.

The comments section was filled with praise for the newbie's dedication. "If she doesn't make it big, it's an injustice!"

Jocelyn read through the uniform comments, totally unfazed.

Whatever the real deal was, the online consensus was now singing Willow's praises.

This incident was cementing her image as an inspiring goddess.