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With that, it was easy to guess the identity of the man in front of them. It’s none other than Cassius Grimaldi – the largest shareholder of EMMA.

Before any could answer, the boy in Cassius’ arms jumped down and shouted;

“Brother Aster!” Then he ran towards Astrid, hugging the other’s waist. As he did, he almost pushed the photographer out of the way. “I miss you, Brother!”

Another wave of silence penetrated the room. Because of how the Grimaldi child acted, it could be seen that Astrid Townsend was close to the ducal family. Maybe he was even a part of the Grimaldi’s collateral line or a very distant relative that’s why he didn’t have the silver hair and sapphire eyes.

The important thing was he had a strong connection with the main line of the Grimaldi family. Now, they suddenly understood how the other got this deal. Most of the staffs breath a sigh of relief because they didn’t do anything to be outright antagonistic towards Astrid.

The same couldn’t be said for the photographer though.

He stared with wide eyes at how the young master of the Grimaldi hugged Astrid Townsend with a happy smile on his face. That expression couldn’t be faked, especially by a child like him. The other was truly happy seeing Astrid. Which only meant that the two had a pretty good relationship.

The photographer almost bit out a curse. The vice-president clearly told him that Cassius Grimaldi only had a passing interest over Astrid Townsend. That’s why it’s alright to meddle with the screen test. The vice-president assured him that Cassius Grimaldi wouldn’t do anything and the other might even forget that he actually recommended Astrid for this brand deal.

The other said that it wouldn’t be a big deal. Then, what was happening right now? Wasn’t he on the verge of being fired? No, he had to do something to salvage the situation before it truly become unsalvageable.

But before he could speak, the boy suddenly turned to him and asked innocently, “Mister, are you bullying my brother?”

Astrid, who was still surprised at the sudden appearance of the two, almost laughed when he heard that. Because he felt that Nicol was definitely doing it on purpose. This kid. Well, being a part of one of the oldest noble families in the Empire probably helped him mature early.

Nicol probably felt the tension in the air when he and Cassius entered the room. So, he jumped and run towards him, hugging him in the process to show how ‘close’ the two of them were. Then, without waiting for Astrid’s response, he turned to the photographer asked him that question. There’s no way all of that wasn’t deliberate.

Just look at how speechless the photographer was. If the other wasn’t purposely sabotaging him, he might have felt an ounce of pity. Sadly, that was not the case.

The photographer, who was now sweating buckets, was scrambling in his mind how he could salvage this situation. But the first thing he should do first was to appease this young master.

“Young master, no, no, I wasn’t bullying, Mr. Townsend. I’m just having an intense debate with his agent,” he said before turning to Astrid and showing a fawning smile. “Isn’t that right?”

Ellis almost snorted. Although she was beyond surprise by the sudden relationship between Astrid and the Grimaldis, she still hadn’t forgotten how unreasonable this guy was.

So, instead of letting Astrid answer that question, she stepped forward and said, “The recording on my Terminal seemed to say otherwise.”

The photographer paled. He didn’t even have time to respond properly because the Grimaldi boy suddenly said in an accusing tone;

“So, you’re really bullying my brother!”

Although Astrid found this situation very cute, leaving it like this might just turn it into something negative. After all, he was no longer the underdog. Now, he had the upper hand. Some of staffs here with great ‘imagination’ might spin this whole situation to him power tripping. Before that kind of bud blossom, it’s better to nip it now while it’s still early.

“It’s alright, Sister Ellis, young master. I’m sure Mr. Craig didn’t mean the things that he said. He was probably just having a bad day today,” he said, referring to the photographer. He turned to the other and smiled. “Don’t worry, Mr. Craig. I understand and don’t hold a grudge against you.”

This way, he would appear kind and generous. But at the same time, highlighting the faults of the photographer in an underhanded way that not many would really notice. So, Astrid would remain the victim and the other, the bully.

Of course, his little acting was noticed by two people – Ellis and Cassius.

The former nodded and once again admired the way her artist handled situations like this. Truly, it’s almost as if he’d been in the industry for a long time already.

The latter, on the other hand, just looked at all this with interest. When he and Nikki entered the room earlier, he immediately knew that something was wrong. And based on the conversation that followed, he had already guessed what had happened.

He should have known that something like this would occur the moment he recommended Astrid as their next brand ambassador. He thought that since he’s the one who made the recommendation, it would be followed without questions. He really should have known better.

As an adult, he should have been more responsible and made sure that those executives wouldn’t dare pull tricks like this. It’s a good thing that he went here today. If not, then it would be a total disaster.

“I’m glad you made up,” he said as he walked towards the others. “But since Mr. Craig is having a bad day, we should probably change to another photographer.” He turned to the photographer and asked with a smile, “Do you agree?”

The photographer could only nod his head.