When Love Breaks (Josephine)

Nick's eyes flickered with something unreadable, his smile carrying a hint of amusement. "Ethan, so this is the Director Jo you were talking about? I didn't expect her to be such a pretty young lady. No wonder you were so eager to introduce her."

"I'm introducing her to you because she's a good director," Ethan responded.

"There are plenty of good directors out there. Lots of them have invited you to act in their films, but you don't even give them the time of day." Nick waved his hand. "Come on, we can talk over there."

As he walked ahead, he told Josephine apathetically, "I've read your script. It's painfully average."

Josephine hadn't even gotten a word in yet. She hadn't introduced herself or even had the chance to say hello, and she was already getting hit with such brutal criticism. For a moment, she was so stunned she didn't even know how to respond.

"Mr. Jolie, the script was written by Simon-"

"It doesn't matter who wrote it. Mediocre is mediocre." Nick cut her off before she could even finish. "A story about an old man and a young person saving each other? That's been done to death in the West. There are already multiple award- winning films on the subject. If you're trying to beat them and win an award, your chances are slimmer than winning the lottery."

Josephine frowned slightly. "I'm not trying to surpass anyone, nor am I aiming for an award. Simon based the script on the life of an elderly man he knows. He didn't borrow ideas from any films. We just want to tell this story well."

Nick waved his hand, cutting her off again. "Filming a movie and saying you don't care about awards? How pretentious."

What kind of logic was that? Of course, as a director, she'd love to win an award. But that wasn't why she made movies in the first place. She was about to speak up for herself when Nick continued, "But with me and Ethan in your film, your chances of success just shot up to 80%. I won't guarantee box office numbers, but you won't have to worry about the quality or the awards."

Josephine was renderednoveldrama

speechless. So, according to him, he and Ethan were 80% responsible for the film's success, and she, Simon, Arthur and the rest of the crew only made up 20%? Her expression turned cold.

Nick, having barely looked at her since their conversation began, failed to notice the shift in her

demeanor. "Go ahead and drafta et

contract. I'll work with you since Ethan asked. But I'll need to tweak the script. There are some parts I don't like."

After hearing that, she could no longer hold it in. "I think you might have misunderstood something, Mr. Jolie."

"Hmm?" Nick finally turned to her, arching his brow. "What do you mean?"

Her tone was firm as she explained, "I didn't come here today to sign you. I came to talk about the possibility of working together, and more importantly, to hold an audition."

Nick froze. An audition? She wanted him-Nick Jolie-to audition for a role?

"However, now that I've met you, I realize that your presence is far too refined; you don't quite match the character in our script. So, I'm afraid this role might not be right for you."

Nick's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying I can't play this role?"

"I'm not saying you can't, but it would certainly be difficult," she responded.

"Wha-" Nick's eyes widened in

disbelief. He had never met a young woman with the audacity to question his acting ability to his

face. "Do you have any idea how net

many roles I've played? The range of characters I've embodied is Wider than the number of grains of salt you've eaten in your lifetime! Have you even seen my work?

"Do you even know what acting really means? This is ridiculous. If I had known you were this shortsighted, I wouldn't have agreed to meet you in the first place!"