Amy had been trying to figure out Shadow's intentions after he had hung up on her on the phone. So much had happened. She and him agreed to use her body as a transaction tool, but when they did he would get so angry about it, even going as far as to throw her out of his mansion with just a shirt on. Did he think she was over estimating her body? If he had no intention of sleeping with her from the beginning, how did she even manage to land this role? If he hadn't had a fever, he wouldn't have wanted to touch her...
Right?
After all, she's the only woman in the world who could be despised after being slept with. Also, she must also be the only wife in the world to not have her husband's phone number, even after being married to him for five months. She forced her lips to curl upwards, a tense smile appearing on her lips. Alluring Times was a highly anticipated film that Shadow's company had been spending millions on. It was sure to be a successful show.
On the first day, there was a ceremony. All the famous A listers staring in the show were there, with the exception of Amy. Even a small side role in the show was an A lister. The only person they were waiting on was the second male lead. The shooting would begin on the second day, the first day was just for the opening ceremony so all the actors could get to know each other before recording. Amy had been running late and showed up right before it started. She had already done her research on all the crew members and other actors before showing up. They had all entered the industry long before her. She walked up to a few people and introduced herself. The producer of 'Alluring Times' was seated in the front row. She had gone to outstretch her arm towards him when someone beat her to it,
"Evening, Mr. Robotnik."
A women's voice, high and nasally, came from in front of her. Amy tilted her head at her, recognizing the actress to be Sally Acorn, a famous A lister. Sally was smiling from beside her as she shook Mr. Robotnik's hand. He smiled at her,
"Ms. Acorn, it's been a long time since our last film."
"I hope it'll be a pleasant working experience." Sally said as her tail swayed from side to side and she batted her lashes. After Amy introduced herself to the producer, Cream pulled Amy to the side where no one could hear.
"Amy, Sally was the original second lead for this show. After you took her spot, she was bumped down to third lead. She is someone who remembers those who got in her way. She's a wolf in sheep's clothing, especially in front of the higher ups. Please be careful." Amy nodded, and pushed that information into her brain.
Before Cream could continue, Sally was walking her way over to them. She stopped in front of the pair, smiling up at Amy, "Amy, long time no see."
Amy knew Sally quite well. She was the fastest leading actress in the industry, just below the famous Rouge the bat. Even though they all came from the same company, Amy had never really talked to Sally. Which made sense, since Sally was haughty and didn't take much interest in Amy at all.
Sally's acting skills broke through, as she greeted Amy warmly as though they were best friends who hadn't seen each other in months. Amy took Cream's information into consideration, and realized that Sally must have realized that Amy was the one who took her role. Even if Sally hated her, the squirrel would still have to act as if they had a close relationship. Well, if Sally could put on a facade, so could Amy.
"Sally, you're much prettier than the last time I saw you!" Amy threw her hands around the squirrels neck, pulling her into a hug. Sally's vein throbbed, but she smiled warmly still.
"Oh no, Amy, it is you who has blossomed! I heard you have the second female lead now, you must have some pretty great acting skills." Sally smirked inwardly, as Amy's eyes averted her gaze.
"Oh, I don't know about that. I guess you'll just have to see them during the rehearsals!"
Producer Robotnik had been watching from afar at the two. He was delighted by Amy's words. The entertainment industry had beautiful women all over the place. One usually had to pay attention to the ones who stick out. But looking at the pink hedgehog in front of him, he could see that she stood out. She was a beautiful and natural hedgehog, and she gave off a fresh and calm vibe.
More people had started to arrive, and the girls went to their table. Robotnik purposely seated himself next to Amy, pretending as if he didn't know where he was sitting. After finding their seats, Amy realized there were four empty seats in front of her. Who could they belong to? She looked around for a bit before the doors opened, and in walked three people. Rouge, the female lead, the director Knuckles, and Silver, the male lead.
Silver was the only male to become popular in the industry despite Shadow's monopoly over the company. If it hadn't been for Shadow's attempts to support him, Silver would have had no chance in gaining fame. As for Rouge, she was the female version of Shadow. She was the entertainment industry goddess and the best female lead in the country. Knuckles looked over at producer Robotnik, "Sorry we're late, there was a bit of traffic." Silver nodded, taking a seat in front of Cream, with Rouge sitting to his right. She winked at everyone staring at her. An assistant came up to producer Robotnik, asking if they were ready to eat.
"We're still waiting on one more person." Amy eyed the empty seat in front of her. Whoever it was going to be would sit across from her. Amy quietly whispered to Cream, "Who isn't here yet?" The rabbit started counting heads in forms of leads, then replied, "Second male lead."
"The first male lead is here though, why waste time waiting for the second one?" Amy whispered back. She was supposed to have a lot of scenes with this second male lead, but she wouldn't tolerate tardiness from him!
Robotnik stood up suddenly as the doors opened again. Everyone's eyes turned and were glued to the door, as Shadow walked through the entrance and towards the seating area. Amy paled while Robotnik smiled enthusiastically, "Mr. Shadow, you came! Come and sit down."
Amy closed her eyes and let her hearing senses take over, listening to the gossip around her form.
"Shadow is going to be in this production?!"
"This is big news, no wonder it was so hidden!"
"Social media is going to go crazy."
Even though he started off as an actor, Shadow was currently the CEO of the company. Everyone in the room had a contract under his company. Amy suddenly realized why the producer wanted to wait on the second male lead. As everyone stood to greet him, Amy remained seated, watching from afar. Cream stood up, pulling Amy up with her, "Pull yourself together Amy, you can do this." Amy let out a shaky breath and nodded. Shadow didn't acknowledge anyone as he made his way to his seat right in front of Amy. She sat down as did everyone else. Everyone who worked with him was used to his cold expression. The producer motioned for the waiter to start bringing around menus. As the producer was the first to receive one, he immediately slid it over to Shadow.
"Mr. Shadow, what would you like to eat?"
"Anything." Shadow replied, without taking his eyes off his phone. The producer nodded and started ordering the most expensive dishes off the menu for the hedgehog, and then motioned for everyone else to start ordering as well. Rouge opened her menu and ordered her two favorite dishes. Silver nodded and said something in agreement with her and ordered one of his own. When Amy got her menu, she ordered something small, as she didn't have a big appetite. Shadow glanced up at her from his seat.
"Ms. Rose is it?" Shadow asked, as if he didn't know her, "You should make sure you eat enough. You'll need all the energy you can get if you're going to keep up with me."
His words made everyone at the table freeze. Amy smiled outwardly, but on the inside she was cussing him out. "Mr. Shadow, I look forward to working with you. I hope you will not misunderstand, as I ate before I got here. But I'm sure I'll have no problem keeping up with this body of mine, no matter how much energy I have." She gave him another sweet smile, but only he could tell how sinister her words were.
Robotnik saw the sudden change in atmosphere and jumped suddenly, "Ah, well, how about drinks?" He turned and ordered many bottles of whiskey for the group. From then on, the two married hedgehogs were silent. Shadow only slightly nodded when someone approached to greet him, and Amy went back to conversing with Cream. Rouge saw Amy and leaned over a bit.
"You're the new second female lead. Amy right? How are you, I'm Rouge." The white bat out stretched her hand to Amy, and the two exchanged pleasantries. Silver also leaned across the table, a smirk and a wink in the pink hedgehogs direction.
"I'm Silver, but you probably already knew that. How couldn't you know this face?" Silver ran a hand through his quills, trying to impress the beautiful pink rose, and she giggled in response. A low growl from next to Silver broke the group out of their thoughts as they looked to see Shadow glaring at Silver with narrowed red eyes.
The group went back to eating as they ignored the sudden change in temperature at the table. Halfway through the evening, producer Robotnik stood up and grabbed everyone's attention, "I almost forgot, everyone here is used to working with one another. But I would like to introduce our new female lead..." He looked down at Amy and smiled,
"Why dont you introduce yourself?"
