Alicia became even more enraged. She pointed to the cab and said, “We stopped this cab first! Do you have to do this?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you stop the car,” Dominic said as he froze.
“What? You want me to provide evidence, don’t you? You just stole our contract, and now you’re stealing our taxi! Did you do it on purpose?” Alicia shouted.
“Your contract? Who are you?” Dominic turned to face Alicia, then to Tammy behind her.
“Sorry. My friend is having a bad day today. You can leave now,” Tammy said.
Hearing that, Alicia froze and even thought she had heard it wrong. In her mind, Tammy had always been the most indignant one whenever this situation happened. But she was acting strangely today.
“Are you all right?” Alicia asked, her gaze fixed on Tammy.
“We can take another car,” Tammy said calmly. She then took a step back as if attempting to avoid Dominic.
“Wait! It’s rush hour, so it’s hard to get a cab. We can take this car together, if you don’t mind?” Dominic asked.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Alicia asked.
“No, but I can give you a ride. “
Alicia wanted to say something else, but Tammy was ready to get in the car.
“Tammy!” Alicia shouted and thought to herself as she watched Tammy get into the back seat, What on earth is going on here? Why are you behaving so strangely today, Tammy?
“We’re going to the Central Avenue,” Tammy said to the driver after entering the cab.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Dominic looked at Tammy in the rearview mirror after hearing that. He assumed that Tammy was under the age of 18. At that time, she was dressed in a white down jacket with headphones around her neck. She was staring at her phone and didn’t seem to want to talk to anyone.
Then Dominic asked, “What did you mean when you said I stole your contract just now? Were they originally planning to sign with you?”
Alicia gave him a stern look and said, “Didn’t you just notice us? We came here today just to sign that damn contract.”
“Are you Amber?”
Hearing Dominique’s question, Tammy finally stopped staring at her phone and raised her head. Just when she was about to answer the question, Alicia asked warily before her, “Huh? How do you know that?”
“Louise just told me,” Dominic explained.
Tammy put her phone down and asked seriously, “Do you know me?”
“I’ve seen your commentary live. I thought you did a good job.”
“Thanks.”
“Of course! No one is better than Amber!” Alicia said.
After they arrived at their destination, Alicia asked before leaving the car, “How much is it?”
“I’ll pay for it,” Dominic said without hesitation.
Alicia had just been expecting him to say that. “Thank you!” she shouted. To her surprise, Tammy said, “No, let me pay for it.”
Dominic froze for a moment, and nodded when he realized Tammy was serious. He said, “Okay, fine.”
Tammy handed the driver a bill before asking Dominic, “Can I have your cell phone number?”
“Sure.” Dominic dialed his cell phone number into Tammy’s phone. And he smiled as he watched the two girls walk together toward the building. He thought, That’s interesting. I must say that knowing you two is much more interesting than signing the contract. I’m looking forward to seeing you again, Amber.
After getting back into the cab, Dominic made a phone call. “You’ll get your money tomorrow,” he said.
“Really? Wow! Thanks! I promise I’ll pay you back the money with interest by the end of the year.”
“You haven’t paid me back what you owed me last year,” Frowning, Dominic said in dissatisfaction.
“I’m so sorry. I’ve recently been losing money in my racing business.”
“Are you sure you will not lose money next year?”
“Yeah! One of our team’s competitors has qualified for this race! I’ll be rich as soon as he wins first place in this competition.”
Then Dominic calmly looked out the window and said, “I like your optimistic attitude.”
***
Later, Tammy and Alicia returned to the office together. And Alicia said to Tammy anxiously, “We really don’t have much to lose, do we? Dominic is the most well-known player here! You’re honored to be able to compete with him. Right, Tammy?”
Noticing that Tammy remained silent, Alicia turned around. And then, she saw Tammy daydreaming. Raising one of her brows, Alicia snapped her fingers in front of Tammy’s eyes, asking loudly, “What are you doing? You’ve been preoccupied all day. What’s the problem?”
After returning to her senses, Tammy said, “I heard Dominic isn’t going to be in the pro league next year.”
“What? Why?”
“He’s retiring.”
“No way!” Alicia said, pulling out a chair and sitting in it, “He’s so young! Why would he want to retire at such a young age?”
Instead of answering Alicia’s questions, Tammy shook her head. She had no idea what was going on as well.
Alicia noticed that Tammy was behaving strangely. Surprised, she asked, “Are you worried about him? Tammy, you’re not his fan, are you?”
“Do you think that’s possible?” Tammy asked, rolling her eyes.
“I’m only kidding,” Alicia replied. Then she said to herself, I know your only idol is Scott, Tammy. And there is no way that you’re Dominic’s fan! Well, he has a lot of fans, though.
Having collected her thoughts, Alicia sighed and explained, “Forget about it. I should think about what I’m going to say to Nelly about this.” Then she was lost in thought, Since losing the last contract, I’ve been anxious every day. And I begged Nelly of the company’s business department for a contract every day after that. Unfortunately, many celebrities in the entertainment industry are scrambling at the time for advertising contracts. As a result, at the end of the year, few companies are willing to sign contracts with eSports players. Gosh… What should I do now? Why hasn’t anyone told me before that this job would be so difficult?
***
Since she arrived at work in the morning, Alicia had been sitting in Nelly’s office. And she asked Nelly in a pleading tone, “Can you help me think of another way? Does anyone have extra advertising contracts right now? Amber has never taken an advertising contract before, and I’m worried for her as her assistant.”
“Alicia, I want to help you, too,” Nelly sighed, “But you see, the whole industry is in a slump right now, as it is this time of year. Maybe it will be better after next year’s tournament.”
“But didn’t Pearl just see a toothpaste commercial? Her teeth aren’t even white!”
“Shh! Keep your voice down. The toothpaste companies love Pearl now. She’s probably going to be in every toothpaste commercial in the future,” Nelly whispered.
“What were they thinking? She’s just a mediocre live streamer!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.