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Calista spoke to Nakamura without knowing who he was, but this was to be expected, considering he was a man who worked from the shadows.

But the questions he asked her seemed a little too direct; he knew things he shouldn’t about the movie.

But the conversation was short-lived to her relief, and her eyes immediately scanned around the room to find Jensen, but to no avail.

She kissed her teeth in irritation, but it was out of control as Lorenzo rejoined her.

“Was that Jensen?” Lorenzo asked, to which Calista nodded. She suddenly wasn’t interested in the others around her because she knew this man didn’t have movies he was well known for, but the few series he did take his popularity through the roof.

“I lost him…” Calista admitted defeat, but she wasn’t given time to mourn because someone joined her right away.

He might not be A-list, but the attention he commanded wasn’t something to be overlooked.

“Calista, is it?” The voice, a soft, feminine voice, called out, prompting Calista to arch her head in that direction.

It was Ashley Greene; she wasn’t well known per se, but her face was one people might have seen on the screen more times than once.

Calista, of course, knew her because she had done her research on the potential guests.

Especially celebrities in the C/D category, but this woman was a lot classier than she would have thought.

Calista might have the face, but she came nowhere near these people when it came to having a presence.

“You are Ashley!” Calista called out right away, and she could tell Ashley was flattered that she knew her by name and not her role in the famous movie, Twilight.

“Oh!” Ashley said before the pair burst out laughing. Ashey wore a simple white blouse coupled with high-waist black trousers and a pair of Mary Jane shoes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be such a fan girl,” Calista was quick to apologise.

The way she acted, anyone would think she was a humble and respectable woman, but this was far from her reality.

However, she knew the importance of first impressions and right now, she had to perform a lifetime because there was no doubt she was one of the people who had the spotlight today.

Ashley looked at Lorenzo and smiled at him, acknowledging his presence as well.

“It is fine… It is good seeing both of you, Calista and Lorenzo,” Ashley said.

Lorenzo smiled back and nodded. Ashley was about to leave, but Calista knew she had to start networking.

But she also had to be mindful of how she carried herself because she had to act like she had been here before.

“Ah, if it isn’t my two superstars!” Rossini exclaimed, he was like a different person but Calista could see through his bullshit because she knew what kind of man he was.

This must be for his public image; Lorenzo looked equally uncomfortable, but they both put on their acting faces, as they were certain Rossini felt the same way.

“The credit goes to you. I didn’t even know such a simple movie could look so amazing!” Lorenzo spoke, and Rossini chuckled at this response.

They noticed people were around as well as cameras, so they had to make it look good.

“C’mon! It was only possible because of both of you!” Rossini tried his best to be humble, but the truth was, Lorenzo was right.

Rossini might be a piece of shit but there was no doubt he was good at what he did.

This skill allowed him to become as arrogant as he did, but Kyle was quick to remind him that even as great as he was, there was someone he worked for.

“Follow me, my stars shouldn’t be here,” Rossini instructed both of them.

Calista remained quiet and didn’t say a word, but had a smile on her face all through.

They left the main area, away from the cameras and other guests.

There was a backroom for them, and Rossini knew this had to be perfect because his reputation was at stake.

“You two, what are you doing?” Rossini’s tone changed right away.

“What do you mean? We were mingling with the guests,” Lorenzo responded.

“You aren’t supposed to do that! The guests came here to see you, and you cannot make that access so easy!” Rossini barked, but this was a strange view of things, considering the people here had a more established career than they did.

Calista didn’t say a word and just watched the men go back and forth, but she never noticed Lorenzo had someone this vocal.

Then again, what did she know about him outside of what he had told her?

She wasn’t interested enough to get to know him.

Rossini might be a man she despised, but he was right; most of the people came here to see how they could be used.

Everything was strategic in this business, and who wouldn’t want to befriend relatively unknown gems at a chance of giving their careers a chance?

Of course, this didn’t hold for everyone, as some guests were personally invited.

This wasn’t the norm, but Rossini’s approach was an interesting way to maximise it all.

“He is right, Lorenzo,” Calista said, and the room fell silent.

Rossini had the experience, and all they needed to do was follow his lead.

“At least one of you gets it,” Rossini said.

“When do you want us to join the guests?” Calista questioned, getting straight to the point.

Not beating around the bush, Rossini quickly checked his watch to see the time.

“When the trailer comes on. At the end of it, you both will come out,” Rossini said, but before the conversation could go any further, the door opened.

It was Isabella; the heels she wore made her look like a colossal titan. She was taller than everyone in that room except for Lorenzo.

The way she dressed, one would think she was a celebrity herself because she gave off the same energy as Hannah Waddingham in her role in Ted Lasso.

Rossini couldn’t help but admire her beauty because this was the first time he had seen her.

Isabella looked confused as to why they weren’t out there.

“Rossini, good to see you here,” Isabella was quick to show her respect to the talented director before turning her attention to Calista, who looked relieved to see her.

“What is going on here?” Isabella questioned, and Calista instantly explained the situation to her.

But Isabella retained the same look of confusion because this sounded like Rossini didn’t want the spotlight to deviate from him.

Isabella didn’t know what else to do because, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that big a deal, but there was no doubt this was set up to feed his ego; otherwise, Rossini would have stayed out of sight as well.

She looked at Calista and could tell she had no problems with this, so there was not much she could do as Calista was an adult herself.

“Rossini, can I have a word with you?” Isabella requested, but this was an audience Rossini granted right away as both left the room.

“What is the meaning of this?” Isabella asked right away because he was overstepping.

“I asked for full creative control,” Rossini insisted, as this was part of his condition.

“That pertains to the movie! Not outside of it, you have no right to dictate how this presentation goes,” Isabella was firm with him.

Rossini kept quiet for a minute because he knew who she worked for; it had to be for Kyle, and Kyle was the last person he wanted trouble with.

“This presentation is for the sake of the movie, not to boost your ego. The people here came here to see the presentation, not you,” Isabella reminded him.

They could admire his work, but at the end of the day, it is the people on screen that brought that to life, whether he liked it or not.

Rossini didn’t say a word and kept quiet, thinking long and hard about his response.

“Miss Isabella, I would advise you to think about the next word that comes out of your mouth carefully…” Rossini warned, and Isabella took a deep breath.

She knew what she said was right, but she shouldn’t be losing her cool like this; this only showed how stressful the situation was.

All it took for this movie to tank was a botched presentation; it had to be perfect, and this man was somehow making it about him.

“I apologise, Rossini, but this is a big day,” Isabella said.

“… I know and I know how the minds of these people work. They are here to snatch up the talents or tempt them with projects of their own,” Rossini pointed out, but Isabella was trying to figure out how this was a bad thing.

“… And what makes someone want something even more?” Rossini asked, but his eyes lingered on Isabella’s chest for just a second.

“You deprive them of it for a short time to intensify their interest,” Rossini added.

This made sense on paper, but this was only the pro; not everyone functioned the same.

This logic didn’t apply to everyone, and if they were to make contact with someone who wanted to work with them.

They would have to go through the Agency, and this would only serve as positive PR.

Rossini’s choices weren’t in favour of the Agency or long-term goals.

It was only for this presentation, which was short-sighted, but Isabella already knew this man didn’t care about the Agency.

It wasn’t like he was a retainer to say the least, but Isabella knew there was nothing she could do at this moment but to let him have his way.