The room started filling up. Five minutes before the auction began, the room was already completely full, and everyone settled into silence as they waited for the announcer to show up.
I looked around but failed to see Linda. Curiously, I approached Armond and asked quietly, “Are you really planning on using my proposal?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Can’t I?”
I nodded and kept quiet.
Five minutes later, Joseph got on stage and started briefly explaining the Featherstone Corporation’s public tender. After going through their goals and the general plan, he started calling each bidder up to present their proposals.
There were nineteen companies in total. There were even some companies that had gotten eliminated near the beginning. All the remaining companies were quite prevalent in A City.
Upon closer inspection, I realized that most of the proposals were rather similar to one another.
I was nodding off when Armond suddenly said, “Take a look at this. When you go on later, do what you usually do.”
I looked down to see another proposal in my hands. Taken aback, I noticed that it was a bidding document. I glanced sideways at Armond and asked in surprise, “Did you do this beforehand?”
He nodded. “Take a closer look. Don’t embarrass me.”
I felt a little lost for words. “That was dangerous, Mr. Murphy. If you already had a proposal ready, then why did you ask me to make my own? I’m about to go on stage, but now I have to memorize a different proposal. You must have more confidence in my skills than I do because I don’t think I can memorize everything in just a few minutes.”
“If you never try, you’ll never know,” he said lightly.
What the hell?
I glared at him and decided that I didn’t want to speak to him anymore. After that, I continued reading the proposal and was rather surprised.
Looking at him in shock, I asked, “Did you make this, or did Linda write it?”
He glanced at me and evaded my question. “You’re next.”
I pressed my lips together in a tight line before continuing to read the proposal closely. Ultimately, I had to grab the chance to memorize as much as I could.
“Next, we have the Murphy Corporation. Please get ready,” the announcer called out.
I started to panic. Despite the shiny new proposal, I was still nervous since I was preparing everything so last-minute.
Cold sweat started running down my back, and my hands started to shake.
Suddenly, a large hand wrapped around my own, and I looked up only to see Armond’s dark gaze staring at me.
His brow was relaxed, and his tone was light and breezy as he assured me, “Don’t worry. Even if this bidding doesn’t work out, you can still stay in Murphy Corporation.”
I glared at him and removed my hand from his. “Don’t act all kind and smiley with me. Next time, can you please at least let me know in advance?”
“Of course I will.” His smile became more of a slight smirk.
If it wasn’t for our situation, I would have loved to punch that smug look off his face.
All of a sudden, I felt a cold gaze on me, so I turned my head in that direction.
A man dressed in all black, who I had failed to notice, was standing not too far away. His cold gaze was practically piercing through Armond and me.
He had clearly mistaken Armond’s previous action as a sign of our flirting.
“Looks like he’s seen everything,” Armond said in a particularly smug voice. “Do you think he would kick the Murphy Corporation out just for that?”
I sighed and tried to control my anger. “Don’t worry. Anthony isn’t as petty as you.”
It seemed like Armond had purposely held my hand just now so that Anthony would see us.
After the person onstage finished presenting, a round of applause sounded up as usual.
It’s my turn now.
I got up and walked onstage. Meanwhile, Anthony was standing right next to the table set up beside the stage, staring at me with his coal-black eyes.
He must be incredibly furious right now. I sighed and passed the presentation that Armond made to the workers.
Next, I started presenting. “Greetings. I’m the project manager for Murphy Corporation, Sienna Stanhope. I would like to thank Mr. Featherstone for giving us this opportunity to present the Murphy Corporation’s ideals as well as our proposal.”
I didn’t want to drag on my introduction for too long. After a brief introduction, I went through the proposal that Armond had given me. Thankfully, I managed to remember most of it.
After the proposal, I let out a sigh of relief. I was prepared to end it when Anthony suddenly cut me off. “Ms. Stanhope, was it? That was quite the interesting proposal you just presented. It’s quite unique, so I would like to ask you about some details if that’s alright.”
Just looking at his handsome face wasn’t enough for me to guess what he was about to say next. I just nodded and smiled lightly. “Please, be my guest.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, “As everyone knows, the Murphy Corporation has been leading in the petrol and jade business. This public tender is based on AI technology. Your proposal is very well-planned, but that doesn’t mean it’s useable. Do you think we could work together well despite your company’s lack of experience in the AI field?”
Thankfully, I had already thought about that question beforehand. After a pause, I answered, “We’ve already thought about that question just like you have, Mr. Featherstone. We already have a proposal ready to answer that question. Please take a look.”
He didn’t reach out to take it. Instead, he glanced at Joseph, who reached out for it instead. After that, he looked at me as if he wanted to say something.
I thought he would have been done after that question, but he piped up again soon after. “Ms. Stanhope, if I remember correctly, you used to be the project director for the Featherstone Corporation. Do you remember why you left?”
I was surprised as I hadn’t guessed that he would suddenly ask about that. Without waiting for my answer, he looked at Armond and smiled. “Mr. Murphy, do you know about Ms. Stanhope’s past?”
How could he?
Back then, I left Featherstone Corporation because I had gotten framed. Despite that, Anthony had destroyed all the evidence and did not let even the slightest bit of news get leaked about it. There were barely any people who actually knew about the incident.
He was clearly asking Armond so he could use this chance to humiliate me.
Armond looked and me and said calmly, “Everyone has their own past. I don’t know what she used to be like, but now I know that she’s a very talented person. After all, don’t you have your own history too, Mr. Featherstone?”
Armond was clearly avoiding the question.
Anthony smiled. “How open-minded of you, Mr. Murphy. Still, we can’t deny the fact that someone’s past will certainly affect their future. While the Featherstone Corporation does in fact consider our partner’s capabilities, we also take into account their values.”
His words clearly had a double meaning to them. The audience had probably already started doubting the reason behind Featherstone Corporation’s decision to fire me all those years ago.
I heard some members of the audience start to mumble amongst themselves. Some of them had even started whispering about Anthony’s attitude. I could hear them speculating that Anthony, Armond, and I had a relationship beyond just former and current colleagues.
No one enjoyed the feeling of being gossiped about by their audience, much less in a situation like this.
I glanced at Anthony and said, “If you so heavily doubt my loyalty and values, then I’m more than happy to pass on my role as director to another staff member from the Murphy Corporation for this project.”
He frowned, clearly ruffled. His cold gaze landed on me once again. “That’s alright. I think you’d be a good fit for this project after all.”
After that, he simply glanced at Joseph before leaving.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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