Reporting to her first allowed her to make the necessary arrangements, ensuring she could manage the fallout immediately if they were ever exposed to the press.
As an agent, Karla was incredibly competent. She never overly interfered in her clients' private lives, earning their deep affection and loyalty.
Oakley felt an extra layer of gratitude toward her.
Because Karla had genuinely helped him navigate the industry's treacherous waters.
It was safe to say he treated her like a second mother.
"Karla, I was at Sienna's place today, and I confessed my feelings to her."
Karla wasn't entirely surprised, even though Oakley hadn't made it glaringly obvious before.
With her sharp, eagle-eyed instincts, she had spotted the subtle signs a long time ago.
Whenever Sienna went on location to film, Oakley would casually ask a few questions about her projects and whether she'd run into any difficult colleagues.
On the surface, it looked like a senior actor looking out for his junior, but in reality, they were just two artists under the same management-hardly a traditional mentorship.
Karla had seen through this kid's true intentions ages ago.
But since he hadn't brought it up, she played along and pretended to be utterly oblivious.
When Sienna's horrific accident happened, Karla saw how remarkably composed Oakley remained and assumed he had simply given up.
Who knew that the moment Sienna returned to Cabinda, he'd be over at her place every single time he had a day off?
He was even cooking for her every few days.
His intentions were as clear as day; only Sienna herself remained blissfully
unaware.
"It's fine that you confessed, but you two absolutely cannot let any romance rumors leak right now. Your fans will definitely riot, you know that, right?"
Once Sienna recovered and the two reached the pinnacle of their careers together, a romance rumor would only make fans praise Oakley for his unwavering devotion.
The negative backlash would be significantly minimized.
"I know, Karla."
"I won't cause trouble for you during this sensitive time."
Oakley had a solid, unwavering plan for his own career, so he knew exactly what he was doing.
"As long as you know." Karla didn't say much more, trusting that both of these artists had excellent heads on their shoulders.
Even if they really did get together, she had her own ruthless methods to shut the public up.
After all, both of them had absolutely stellar reputations.
Having reported in, Oakley breathed a long sigh of relief.
You could cross anyone, but you never crossed Karla. She wasn't just a powerhouse agent; she was one of the agency's founding partners.
During the dead of winter, the night wind carried a biting, unforgiving chill.
As Claire drove back to the courtyard house, thick snowflakes began to furiously swirl through the air.
She parked in the lot outside the courtyard and shivered violently the moment she stepped out of her car.
Braving the snow and freezing wind, she hurried inside, only to find Padgett still waiting for her in the living room.
A single dim light illuminated the sprawling space. The old man was draped in a
thick blanket, an old war movie blasting on the television.
The older generation was fiercely nostalgic, no matter how many times they watched these classic dramas, they never grew tired of the explosive action.
"Second Battalion Commander, where's your heavy artillery? Bring it up here!"
Hearing the iconic line echo from the TV, Claire noticed the old man's eyes were crinkling in pure amusement.
But the heavy sound of her entering startled him fully awake.
"Claire, you're back?"
Claire glanced at the grandfather clock against the wall and frowned deeply. "Grandpa, it's already ten o'clock. Why are you still out here?"
"And the window is wide open. What if you catch a horrible cold from the draft?"
"You need to go to bed right now."
Claire fired off several sentences
one breath, leaving Padgett feeling both helpless and deeply warmed by
her care. "I was waiting for you, wasn't I?"
"You were gone for so long, I was getting incredibly worried."
His granddaughter had already crossed paths with those dangerous operatives from Sundara
He was
terrified those lunatics might kidnap her to extort her parents.