I pursed my lips. “His ex-wife is Linda, and she is a single parent. He does not have a wife at all, so it was all lies. He was the one who owns the company. Hmph, I swear I’ve never seen such a corrupt person.”
As I continued to badmouth Derek, Anthony gazed at me amusedly.
Suddenly, Rachel came over and passed a document to Anthony. When she saw me sitting beside him, she furrowed her brows, displeased with my presence. She probably thought that it was inappropriate for me to observe the tendering process.
I did not take it to heart and ignored her. After he looked through the document, he looked at her and asked, “Is Motha Group a financial investment firm?”
Rachel nodded in response. “It used to be an investment company, but it has changed into a small company recently, managed by a young girl. They are not doing so well, so you don’t have to put this company into your consideration.”
“Okay. Who would be their representative today?”
Rachel was surprised that Anthony would ask more about the company. “It’s the daughter of the former chairperson, Scott Webster. Her name is Hailey Webster. She is still quite young. Rumor has it that she took over the deteriorating company not long after her father passed away. Currently, their business is just barely managing to get by.”
He frowned, seemingly deep in his thought.
Half an hour later, the event started. Rachel had always been competent at work, so it was not a surprise that she could manage the entire tendering process without Anthony’s guidance. Hence, he did not participate in the facilitation process but only observed the tendering among the members of the audience with me.
A few hours passed, and the big companies were finally done with their proposal presentations. I was about to fall asleep when a young lady with a cold, impassive face went up the stage, instantly catching my attention.
There was nothing special about her, but it was hard not to notice an adolescent who looked about seventeen years old presenting on the stage as all the other presenters were adults.
The girl was wearing a black dress, looking a little gloomy. She stood on the stage, swept a glance over the audience, and started to present her proposal calmly.
However, her proposal did not attract any attention from the audience. An expert in construction tendering would probably comment that her proposal did not have any points that stood out, so it was rather boring and general. Therefore, my attention was not on her presentation but on her face.
At first glance, this little girl looked rather low-spirited and had an air of melancholy around her, like a dead soul in a living body. I did not know why I would describe her in this way, but this was the feeling I got when I first landed my gaze on her.
Since the Motha Group was a small company, no questions were asked from the host, and she came down from the stage as soon as she ended her presentation. Nonetheless, I could not help but stare at her as she walked past me. Noticing that someone was looking at her, she glanced in my direction.
Our eyes met, and I felt inexplicably cold; there was not even a hint of warmth in this girl.
I averted my gaze and focused on Rachel, who was announcing the tender results on the stage. The Featherstone Corporation was a big company, after all. Hence, many corporations were eager to win the bid as a deal signed with the Featherstone Corporation would guarantee a huge profit to their companies.
After a detailed analysis of the tender documents submitted by the participating big companies, she decided to choose Derek’s trading company in the end. The decision was fully entrusted to her as Anthony trusted her excellent capability at work.
Therefore, he made no further comments.
When the event came to an end, Rachel and Anthony still had some discussion to make, so I wandered around the room and saw the girl in a black dress standing at the entrance. As I got closer to her, I realized that she was staring blankly at a piece of art in front of her.
I believed humans had an instinct to seek only benefits and avoid danger. Standing in front of the girl, my gut told me to stay away from her and not to get involved with her. There were so many things about her that I was familiar with but unwilling to face.
When I was about to turn and leave, she suddenly called out to me. “I thought you wanted to chat with me.”
I hesitated for a moment and turned around eventually. Looking at her dark brown eyes, I said, “Business is not suitable for you.”
Unperturbed, she nodded. “I know.”
I pursed my lips and cast my gaze on the poignant image in front of her. It seemed to be unrelated to the bidding. Perhaps it was left to be displayed here merely for aesthetic purposes.
“You seem to like the color black,” I commented. To be honest, I did not want to encounter these negative things again.
She nodded frankly in response. After observing the image for a while, she turned to me again and raised her brow. “Are you a staff of the Featherstone Corporation?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“I see.” Then, she continued, “The man who was sitting beside you just now is your husband, isn’t he? I can see that he treats you well.”
I did not deny her words and pursed my lips.
After a short pause, she lowered her head, looking pensive. “It’s good that he can heal you.”
I kept quiet for a while before saying, “You also know that business is not suitable for you. So, why don’t you do the things that you want to do? The only way to heal us is to seek for the things that make us happy.”
She merely smiled and did not reply.
Just then, Anthony finished his discussion with Rachel and walked over to us. He knitted his eyebrows in confusion when he saw that I was talking with Hailey. Seeing Anthony, she left without saying anything.
I stood there and waited for Anthony to come closer. He asked, “Someone you know?”
I shook my head in reply and changed the topic. “Are you done with your discussion?”
He nodded and asked, “There’s a celebratory banquet tonight. Do you want to go with me?”
Ever since the incidents I had with Tessa, Anthony had been insisting that I stay with him 24/7. I nodded in response and looked in the direction Hailey had left. An indescribable feeling swept through me at that moment.
When a person who had undergone rhinoplasty saw a retracted columella scar on the other person’s nose, he would know that the other person also had a rhinoplasty like himself. The same principle applied to Hailey and me as well. The moment we first met each other, we instinctively knew that both of us were depressed.
Depression could never be cured; the symptoms could only be alleviated or suppressed as time went by. What we could do was to search for the light at the end of the tunnel and fill the emptiness in our hearts with warmth and happiness. Hailey was right; I was lucky to have Anthony in my life. He was the one who healed me and brought me warmth.
However, this did not mean it applied to everyone else. I had no idea what she had gone through in her life, but the emptiness in her eyes told me that she was still struggling in the dark.
At night, we went to the dinner as planned.
I often attended banquets similar to this, so I was quite familiar with the process. Normally, the people involved from the two companies would gather for a dinner together, exchange pleasantries, and get acquainted with each other.
I was rather reluctant to join this banquet as it was hosted by Derek. However, what surprised me was that Dante and Danny were at the banquet as well.
It had been a while since I last saw them. Dante did not change much, except that his skin had turned fairer, probably because the UV rays were weaker in our country.
He was dressed formally with black-framed glasses, and currently, he was raising a toast to Derek obsequiously. On the other hand, Danny was still the same. He was now standing in the corner, enjoying the food on his plate heartily. I guess he is still a foodie.
Seeing that I was observing them, Anthony asked curiously, “You know them?”
I nodded in response. When I was about to go to Danny, Derek came over to curry favor with Anthony. Hence, Dante, who was tagging along with Derek, saw me as well.
He squinted slightly and raised his glass towards me with a smile. “Ms. Stanhope, long time no see. I didn’t expect to see you here. Fate has kindly brought us together again.”
Derek was going to toast Anthony, but when he heard Dante’s words, he smiled and asked, “Both of you know each other?”
“Of course. We are good friends indeed. I initially thought that we would never meet again, but look at us now! It must be fate!” He sounded so sarcastic when he said that we were “good friends.”
I pursed my lips and shifted a bit towards Anthony. I really can’t bring myself to smile at a devil.
Just then, Anthony caught my movement and looked at Dante. “May I know who you are?”
Dante was indifferent to my attitude. “You must be Mr. Featherstone. My name is Dante. Ms. Stanhope and I met each other when we were in Venria, but now she seems to have forgotten about me. My heart is broken.”
At that, Anthony furrowed his brows slightly and exchanged a few more words with them before sending them away. Then, he turned to me and asked quizzically, “He said both of you met in Venria. Is that true?”
I nodded. “He is Abe’s subordinate.” As I replied to Anthony, I looked over to Danny, but he was gone. I glanced around, looking for him, but to no avail.
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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