Chapter 340
Carrol retracted his hand and stared in disbelief. He was flabbergasted!!
He hadn't expected to pay! His gaze fixed on Eileen, he was speechless!
Eileen, however, was all smiles as she continued, "About that last piece of equipment, once the parts arrive, do you need me to handle the installation? If so, including the previous repairs, that'll be a tidy sum of $100,000, which makes it $310,000 in total."
Carrol nearly jumped out of his skin, hastily replying, "No, we'll manage that ourselves!"
Eileen nodded, playing along, "Sure, you can try. But remember, these parts are delicate and need careful handling. If something goes wrong during installation, or if the wiring gets messed up, it'd be a miracle if the machine just fails to run. Worst case scenario, it could blow up mid-shot."
Carrol was speechless.
Eileen then patted Carrol on the shoulder, asking, "Are you thinking right now, 'Why doesn't she just rob me for the $310,000?""
Carrol nodded vigorously, his head bobbing like it might fall off!
Eileen sighed, "I'm running a small business here, barely making a profit. If you take this equipment to an external shop, they'd charge you no less than $500,000 for these three machines."
Carrol didn't buy it, "That's a rip-off!"
Eileen pointed to the cameraman, "Ask him. He knows his stuff. Ask if I'm lying."
Carrol immediately turned to the cameraman.
The cameraman, sheepish, admitted, "If you were to send it back to the manufacturer, it might cost that much..."
Carrol, who rarely dealt with logistics, was shocked.
Equipment maintenance was that expensive?
Eileen explained, "This isn't just any equipment; it's high precision. Most wouldn't dare touch it. Factory repairs can easily cost you 10-20% of the original price, and that's just industry standard."
"Of course, you can opt for a local repair shop, but for professional-grade film equipment, there are few who can handle it properly. Even if they fix it temporarily, there's no guarantee it won't have issues later. And if you're unlucky enough to hit a shady repair joint, they might swap out parts for cheaper ones without you knowing. It shortens the lifespan of your equipment, and you wouldn't know who to blame."
Carrol, swayed by Eileen's argument, began to doubt.
He muttered, "But $310,000 still seems too much!"
Eileen countered, "It's all relative. I've fixed it on the spot, saving you the cost and time of international shipping for repairs. Time is money, my friend. So, charging you a mere $310,000 is practically giving it away. I hope you appreciate it and make the payment quickly!"
In the end, Carrol had finance transfer the $310,000 to Eileen.
He wanted to bargain, but Eileen insisted it was already a discounted rate.
The only consolation was her warranty - free maintenance for any faults within a year!
Having paid Eileen, Carrol was in a sour mood!
At dinner, hearing Eileen was still showering, he didn't wait for her and started without her.
When Eileen emerged, she found the table cleared.
Narrowing her eyes at Carrol, she saw him casually picking his teeth, saying, "There were so many people, I didn't notice you weren't there."Content held by NôvelDrama.Org.
Eileen was at a loss for words.
Carrol coolly suggested, "There's pasta in the kitchen. Warm it up yourself."
With that, he retreated to his room.
Fuming, Eileen stormed to the kitchen and cooked herself a huge bowl of pasta.
As she ate, Paulina sat across from her, smacking her lips, "Missing one meal won't kill you. I often skip dinner to stay trim."
Eileen slammed her utensils down, "That's not the point! No matter how the world disappoints, there are some things I stand by! My principles and bottom lines are crystal clear. In a nutshell-no going hungry!!!"
Paulina stared at her speechlessly.
Eileen roared, "I can't function on an empty stomach!!!"
"Alright, alright." Paulina nodded, went to the kitchen, and brought back a sandwich, dumping it into Eileen's bowl, "All yours, happy now?" Eileen bit into the sandwich, finding it delicious despite her anger.
Paulina, loyal to the core, stayed with Eileen, helping her vent about Carrol.
Once Eileen's mood had somewhat improved, Paulina began to play her sympathy card, sharing her own woes, "Ugh, why am I no one's cup of tea, even after all this effort?"
Regretting her earlier tirade, and dreading another round of Paulina's romantic troubles, Eileen tried to deflect, "Why not focus on your career for now?"
Paulina pouted, "I want to, but today I got another message from my dad. Some holiday or another, blah blah blah. Long story short, he's hinting at marriage again."
Eileen truly sympathized with
Paulina, patting her shoulder, "How
about this-if you really can't find
anyone, consider me. I'll stand in as your dad, and I promise I won't
I
pressure you."
Paulina glared at Eileen in silence!
Eileen quickly ducked her head and resumed her pasta.
Still irate after finishing her meal, Eileen returned to her room.
So there she went again, tiptoeing to the kitchen,
her eping the cage with
the snake with a mischievous glint in her eyes she made a beeline for Carrol's room, knocking on his door with the kind of anticipation that precedes a prank well played.
The moment Carrol swung open the door, his eyes landed on the cage perched ominously on his doorstep.
A shriek that could rival any horror movie damsel tore from his lips, "Aaahhhhh!"
Eileen burst from around the corner, lifting the terrarium with a giggle, "Gotcha!"
With that, she dashed away, leaving Carrol grinding his teeth in impotent fury, bellowing after her, "Eileen Lopez!!!"
Amid the playful chaos, time flew by swiftly.
Before long, the location shoot was hitting its stride, when trouble brewed on Twitter.
Eileen hadn't checked out "Romantic Revelations" for a while. She used to follow every episode, mainly to keep up with the promos and retweeting on Twitter.
But closed sets and Paulina's
met
constant moaning about being unwanted, "Is there a kidnapper in, the house? Because I'm free to be taken had made Eileen swear off the show to avoid stirring the pot.
However, the recent episodes, though edited to hide Eileen and Egbert's family backgrounds, couldn't keep the parents' acquaintance from eagle- eyedizens.
E&E fans were over the moon! But the fans against the couple were having none of it.
Previously, the E&E fans hadn't threatened their turf, who were normally restrained, avoiding flaunting and fan wars.
But now, with the ship seemingly sailing into real couple territory, they sensed an emergency!
Almost overnight, Egbert's die-hard fans rose en masse. The latest "Romantic Revelations" barely aired when they launched a trending tirade against Eileen.
Accusations flew: shameless clout-chaser, riding Egbert's coattails to the top.
Eileen's fans wouldn't sit idly by while she was under fire.
By the time Eileen logged on, she found her fans had fought Egbert's fans to tears, even hijacking his fan forums.
As the situation spiraled, Eileen stepped in to calm her troops.
Queen Eileen, "Stop the noise, please. Let's not fight over me, okay?"
The top comment soon filled with venom from a hater who often targeted her.
"I'm sticking up for you, don't meddle! This is my turf! Who gave you the right?!"
Preferring peace, Eileen tried to soothe the atmosphere.
Queen Eileen, "Really, let's not fight. Let's just enjoy the show."
Her tweet was immediately met with a reply from one of Egbert's hardcore fans.
— "Eileen, do a good deed, leave the industry, leave Egbert's side, will you?"
Eileen narrowed her eyes.
Her inner dove of peace slowly flew away as the tiger atop the mountain was unleashed!
Eileen replied to the comment - "My smile was courtesy, don't take it for granted, lest you force my hand to fight fire with fire!"