Joshua Harris was no fool. He caught the underlying meaning in Liam Williams' words immediately and quickly assured him that he would take good care of Emma Johnson and wouldn't let her overwork herself.
Finally satisfied, Liam took his leave.
Once Liam was gone, Joshua asked Emma a few brief questions about her well-being. After she returned to her office, Ava Brown, her chief assistant, approached her with undisguised envy in her eyes.
"Editor-in-Chief, you're so lucky. You married the most powerful and prestigious man in the city. You're my ultimate goal now."
"As long as you have the skills, you can sit in this chair too. I believe in you."
Emma patted Ava on the shoulder, offering encouragement.
"I'm not saying I want to be editor-in-chief, even though I have the same ambition. But a woman, no matter how brilliant her career is, it's never as good as marrying well. Especially someone like you, who has both—you're the best of both worlds. So if I could only choose one, I'd rather make sure I married well."
Emma felt a wave of speechlessness wash over her at Ava's words. She had worked tirelessly to get into a top university, slaved away for years, and finally climbed her way to the position of editor-in-chief. And now, the thing she was envied for was her marriage. It completely overturned everything she had believed in, dismissing all the effort she had put in since she was seven years old, sacrificing her childhood fun.
Well, the world was always unfair. People only wanted to see the bright side. They had no idea that since marrying Liam, she had experienced things she had never encountered in her twenty-seven years of life, all in such a short time. She had even been in danger several times and nearly died.
If Ava knew that, she wondered if she would still be envious.
"By the way, how were the magazine sales while I was away?"
Emma quickly steered the conversation away from personal matters and back to work.
"Ever since the sponsorship from Pinnacle Corporation, our sales have increased significantly. A few days ago, the hottest model from Pinnacle, your cousin Isabella Miller, came to shoot a cover for us. It was a huge hit."
Ava spoke cautiously, watching Emma's expression closely. She was well aware of the tension between Isabella and Emma. After all, things had gotten quite messy back then. But seeing the calm look on her editor-in-chief's face, she seemed unfazed, so Ava relaxed.
It seemed that matter was finally in the past.
"By the way, we need to start planning the theme for our new issue. Notify everyone to meet in the conference room. We'll discuss what to do for this issue's theme."
Ava went to inform the team, and soon they were all gathered in the conference room. After nearly two hours of discussion, they decided on the theme: "Warm Autumn." As for who to invite as the cover model, one of the editors, Madelyn Taylor, stood up and proposed her candidate.
"Editor-in-Chief, there's a TV drama called Autumn Rain that's incredibly popular right now. The lead actress is Scarlett Martinez, who won the Best Actress award last year. This pure love drama is her return to television after three years. I think inviting her to be our cover model for this issue would not only boost our sales but also enhance our reputation."
"But Scarlett Martinez isn't just any actress. She's extremely famous. Whether we can even get her is still uncertain," Ava countered, raising an objection.
"That was in the past. Now that we have Pinnacle Corporation's backing, as long as we mention our sponsor to her, I'm sure she'll agree to be our cover model."
Madelyn had a point. Pinnacle's Milan Fashion House clothing brand was world-renowned. If Scarlett came to shoot for the magazine, she could wear clothes designed by Milan Fashion House, which would greatly elevate her status in the fashion industry.
These days, artists were diversifying their careers. Judging from Scarlett's reports—she had released two albums and actively participated in international fashion weeks—it was clear she had ambitions to break into the fashion world.
Besides, now that Emma was Liam's wife, she could get the latest designs from Milan Fashion House's autumn collection. So, if they invited Scarlett and let her wear those designs, the reputation of New York Fashion Magazine would skyrocket.
Madelyn gave a detailed analysis, and everyone was eager to try. Some even suggested inviting the male lead from Autumn Rain to shoot together, to attract more female readers.
Emma felt the proposal was worth considering, so she approved it. Although there were still uncertainties, they had to fight for it. This time, she planned to invite Scarlett Martinez in person.
But she was still thinking about how to approach her. If the invitation seemed insincere, it would be a problem. And if she went in person but couldn't meet Scarlett, it would be a waste of time and manpower.
Emma mulled it over all day, and she was somewhat distracted during dinner. When she finally came back to her senses, she realized that Liam had piled so much food into her bowl that it looked like a small mountain.
"Why did you give me so much? I can't finish it all."
"If you keep staring into space like that, you won't eat enough. Tell me what's bothering you. Do you need my advice?"
Liam asked as he grilled shrimp for her.
"It's nothing major. I just want to invite Scarlett Martinez to be the cover model for our new issue. But she's incredibly popular right now, so she must be very busy. I'm worried about how to get her to agree."
Emma ate the shrimp Liam handed her, speaking with her mouth full.
"Scarlett Martinez?"
"Yeah, but she's not an artist at your company. Otherwise, you could just say the word, and she'd shoot our cover."
Emma poked at the food in her bowl with her chopsticks, looking dejected.
"Actually, it shouldn't be that difficult."
"What do you mean?"
"The popular drama she's in right now is also sponsored by my company. Recently, Crimson Media, a subsidiary of ours, is planning to host the tenth annual Fashion Charity Gala. This gala always invites the most talked-about and hottest stars of the year. I remember Christopher mentioning that they were planning to invite Scarlett Martinez."
"Really? As long as you take me to the gala, I can meet her."
Emma's eyes lit up as she looked at Liam. He was so amused by her expression that he couldn't help reaching out and gently tapping the tip of her nose.