Chapter 746 - 742: This is Called Planning Ahead

She swallowed her words and silently accepted it all.

A moment later, a staff member knocked on the door. "Tommy, the set is ready. We can start shooting."

Tom Miller gave an OK sign and called out to Zora Warner with a smile, "Let’s go, Zora. Isn’t the script much simpler after the changes? Do a good job in a bit."

Zora Warner forced a smile.

’Do a good job?’

’What room was there to act with the few lines she had left?’

When they arrived on set, everything was ready. Tom Miller clapped his hands, walked to the center of the set with an air of authority, and announced loudly, "The director isn’t here this morning, so I’ll be shooting the early scenes. Thanks in advance for your cooperation. Let’s finish early so we can wrap up early."

It was standard practice for an assistant director to fill in. Usually, they would shoot according to the script, and as long as there were no issues when the main director reviewed the footage, it was fine.

Even if there were problems, they could just reshoot the problematic clips later, which greatly reduced the director’s workload.

"A director with as much style as Alan lets someone else take over for him?" Yuri Tucker couldn’t help but mutter under his breath.

Lily Sterling, standing nearby, pressed her lips together. She was clearly a little surprised too.

"Lily, Scene 1 is yours. Get ready."

"Scene 2, Chloe. Get the snow machine running now. Start with a long shot of the snowy sky, then slowly pan down to the schoolyard as the bell rings for the end of class."

"The extras start pouring out. Lily comes out with the crowd. Camera Two, cut to a close-up on Lily’s face. After that, follow the script. Cut Scene 1 after Lily’s last line. Everyone got that?"

Tom Miller explained the scene in detail. As expected of Director Alan’s assistant director, his professionalism was on full display. He concisely and clearly laid out every shot and step.

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Got it, Tommy."

A stagehand yelled, "Everyone, quiet on set!"

As the camera started rolling, the set instantly went into shooting mode. Everyone fell silent. The snow machine began to blow out a flurry of artificial snow, which drifted down beautifully.

Ronald watched excitedly and subconsciously pulled out his phone to record a video. But before he could even raise it, someone’s hand pushed it down.

He turned his head and saw Zora Warner shaking her head slightly at him, clearly signaling that he wasn’t allowed to film.

Ronald nodded in understanding and made an OK sign to show he got the message.

"CUT!"

As Tom Miller yelled "CUT!", he poked his head out from behind the camera and clapped. "Not bad, Lily. Let’s go again."

Because he was filling in for the main director, Tom Miller usually shot each scene two or three times. Even if he was satisfied with the first take, he would always film a couple more. This reduced the chance of errors and gave the director more options to choose from.

Lily Sterling nodded, and all the actors began to reset to their positions.

During this break, Chloe Hale noticed Zora Warner not far away. Zora was staring blankly into space, looking completely preoccupied.

Chloe Hale’s lips curled into a smirk. She draped her overcoat around her shoulders and walked over.

"Hello, beautiful."

"Miss Hale." Seeing it was Chloe Hale, Zora Warner quickly straightened up to greet her.

Chloe Hale sized up Zora’s face, which needed no makeup, a meaningful look in her eyes. "I saw our first few scenes were changed. What happened to your lines?"

Zora Warner lowered her eyes and explained truthfully, "Mr. Miller said he made some changes. Some unnecessary parts were cut, and he felt it was more appropriate for you to deliver some of the lines."

"Oh?" Chloe Hale feigned surprise and asked with mock concern, "Can you adapt to such a last-minute change?"

"I can. I’ll do my best, Miss Hale."

Chloe Hale smiled faintly. "As actors, our job is to serve the script. If the screenwriters made these changes, they must have had their professional reasons. We just need to do our part well."

"Yes, I understand. Thank you, Miss Hale."

"Well then, break a leg!"

With that, Chloe Hale turned around, her expression instantly shifting to a cold, triumphant smirk.

’Yeah, what’s the use of just being pretty?’

*

On this day, Yvonne Sterling finally arrived at her sister’s company. She had promised to come help out once Ronald left the country with Lily.

Jasmine Sterling first gave her younger sister a tour of the company, showing her all the departments.

"Our company isn’t that big. For now, our business is concentrated in two of Lorcain’s central districts. And because we’re small, the departments don’t have an overwhelming amount of work. After all, we only offer cleaning services at the moment and haven’t expanded into other areas yet."

Specialized and refined—that was what Cleanscape, and Jasmine Sterling, pursued.

Yvonne Sterling looked around. She couldn’t work in the finance department; she didn’t know how to do bookkeeping. The after-sales service department wasn’t a good fit either; she had a bit of a short temper.

The operations department was too specialized; she knew even less about that.

"Sis, your company is too professional. I’m afraid I won’t be of much help. Why don’t you just let me be a cleaner?" Yvonne Sterling couldn’t help but say.

Jasmine Sterling laughed when she heard this. "What are you talking about? You think I’d have you come to my company just to be a cleaner? Since I asked you to come, I obviously have a plan for you."

With that, she led Yvonne Sterling to Felix Tate’s office.

"Jasmine." Seeing Jasmine Sterling, Felix Tate quickly stood up to greet her. He had met Yvonne Sterling before and knew she was Jasmine’s younger sister.

"This is Manager Tate. He’s currently in charge of the company’s branch office." Jasmine Sterling introduced Felix Tate to Yvonne Sterling. "Manager Tate is my business partner. He’s been a huge help to me from the very beginning."

Hearing this, Felix Tate quickly smiled humbly. "Jasmine, don’t say that. I was unemployed at the time. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known where to even look for a job."

"You’ve met my sister before." Jasmine Sterling then said to Felix Tate, "I’d like her to stay and help me at the company, but she doesn’t have any experience. She’s a complete novice, really. Manager Tate, could I trouble you to take her under your wing?"

"Sure, no problem. Leave her to me, Jasmine." Felix Tate nodded readily.

Yvonne Sterling listened, feeling a bit confused. She blinked at her sister. "Sis, what do you want me to learn from Manager Tate?"

"Management. What else?"

"Management? M-Me? Who would I manage?" Yvonne Sterling felt an instinctual resistance. She had never been a leader in her life; the only people she "managed" were her husband and kids at home.

’How could she possibly manage other people?’

"It’s not about managing anyone." Jasmine Sterling didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She explained, "I want you to follow Manager Tate and learn how the company operates, what a manager’s daily work entails. It’s okay that you don’t know anything. You can learn slowly. If you’re a fast learner, it’ll take two or three months. If you’re slower, half a year will be enough."

"I didn’t know anything at the beginning either, and Manager Tate taught me. He’s very experienced."

"Right now, we only have two locations. I’m at the main office, and Manager Tate is in charge of the branch. I’m planning to open a third location in the second half of the year, and I want you to be the manager there. This is what you call planning ahead. I need to train you first, so just focus on learning and don’t worry about anything else."