Everyone was against that idea now.

Francis immediately faked a cough and said, “No, I... I'm still coughing. I'm afraid I won't get better anytime soon. Why don't you rest for a while and continue later on?"

Maria sighed and pursed her lips.

“Okay then. I'll rest first," Maria said and went back to her seat. She covered her legs with a blanket, and closed her eyes.

A few minutes Later, she seemed to be deep in sleep.

As soon as Francis was certain she was sleeping, his face changed back to the usual cold and harsh one they all knew.

“Please, follow me outside, all of you."

Of course, Maria wasn't included.

The actors all stood up and followed Francis into another room without asking any questions.

Claire, who was the last to leave the room, closed the door gently so as not to wake Maria up.

As soon as everyone was in the next room, Francis glared at the lot of them with a displeased Look on his face.

He took out his phone and searched for the tweet with the picture accusing of Maria attending the meeting without a script in her hand. He turned the screen of his phone for them to see and said, “Whoever posted it, I will let you go this time. But this should not happen again. Otherwise, I'll find the culprit and make sure the whole industry bans you for good."

Francis sounded so cold and serious that it scared some of the young actors.

No matter how popular they currently were, they would never dare to offend famous directors like Francis.

However, some senior actors who thought that their influence and background in the entertainment circle were enough to cover for them, spoke up.

“Don't get angry, Mr. Jackson. It's true that taking this picture in secret and posting it online was wrong, but whoever did it probably did it for the crew. We can't forget that Maria has no acting experience. Many actors and actresses, myself included, are worried that she won't be able to do this. She might even spoil this good play."

That was Jessie Tucker. And she played the role of Jay's wife in the movie.

On any other day, Jessie's comments would have been fair, as most other actors were Likely to share the same opinion.

As it was, Francis's warning was aimed at the culprit's ulterior motive. They had secretly taken pictures without anyone's knowledge, and deliberately stirred up trouble among the crew.

It went without saying that no one wanted to have that kind of person in their workplace.

And so, although there wasn't anything particularly wrong with Jessie's words, she had unfortunately chosen the wrong time to voice them out. It was only a matter of course that her motive was questioned.

Jessie looked around her. When she saw that no one seemed inclined to speak up for Maria, her lips curled into a smile.

Just as she had expected, a newcomer without any connections in the industry wouldn't make it very far.

“Mr. Jackson," Jessie piped up. "It sounds like your throat has gotten better. Please do us the honor of reading the script."