Chapter 13
“Mind if I ask why?” Cecilia hadn’t expected this to be Simon’s idea of payment.
Simon took a slow breath, his eyes serious. “I like the vitality in your piece. And with time, that second piece will only be worth more. I know what I’m doing.” He held Cecilia’s eyes. “Are you going to turn me down, Ms. Jordan?”
Cecilia thought for a moment, then shook her head with a smile. “Mr. Hall, I can’t really say no to your offer. Thing is, I’m the one asking you a favor here, but somehow your idea puts me in charge.
“There are tons of famous designers in Kingsford. I’m still nobody. Even if I make a second piece, who’s to say it’ll be worth anything? Honestly, getting to design something for the Hall Family? That would be lucky for me.”
Simon wasn’t surprised by how sharp Cecilia was. “Ms. Jordan, I genuinely like your work. This is a win–win.”
“Alright then.” Cecilia agreed. “We’ll work out the details for my second piece later, Mr. Hall.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Simon’s secretary came in, holding a tray with coffee and pastries. “Mr. Hall,” she
said, “Dr. Finch is here.”
Cecilia sat on the sofa as the doctor, Mark Finch, checked her arm.
“The bruising is from a soft tissue injury. No bones are broken.” Mark explained, his manner serious and careful, “Remember to use the spray every day. No heavy lifting for a few days. If it’s not better in a week, go to the hospital.”
Mark knew Simon was worried about Cecilia and took extra care.
“Okay, thanks, Dr. Finch.” Cecilia felt relieved too. She turned to Simon and shook his hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Hall.”
“The pleasure’s mine.” Simon’s smile was warm, reaching all the way to his eyes,
*****
Jewelry Exhibition was heading into the final stretch of its promotion push.
Cecilia and her team tackled every single detail with real care. She double–checked everything herself, making sure nothing slipped through the cracks.
Even though the planning for this exhibition had the craziest tight schedule, it was now running smoother than any other project.
David had been taking it all in. Cecilia’s work was that impressive, and he truly hated the thought of losing her.
He couldn’t help himself and tried again to keep her, “Cecilia, are you sure about leaving Project Division? We can talk about what you need. Anything.”
“No.” Cecilia’s voice was firm. “I’ve made up my mind about leaving. This is my last job here.” She glanced at her phone. A reminder stared back–just seven days left.
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Chapter 13
Gavin hadn’t seen Cecilia since the elevator accident.
These past couple of days, he’d been buried in work, getting the proposal ready for the Hall Family deal.
The workload was crazy. He couldn’t shake this feeling–like that heavy, sticky heat before a storm. It left him restless and out of sorts. Everything bothered him.
Stella was back from the hospital. Her leg injury wasn’t serious at all, and she couldn’t keep faking it.
“Mr. Foster,” Stella said, putting on her best concerned and supportive act, “I know I’m not the strongest yet, but I’m working hard. I really want to help take some of the load off your shoulders.”
Gavin looked at Stella. For a split second, his mind flashed back to images of Cecilia always at his side whenever a new project kicked off.
But he quickly shook his head to clear it. “Alright, Stella. You can give me a hand then.”
Gavin was fighting hard against the unfamiliar feeling inside, determined to prove he didn’t need Cecilia. He wasn’t about to come out on the losing end in this cold war.
“Mr. Foster, I won’t let you down.” Stella was full of confidence.
But in less than two days, she was completely defeated by the mountain of files and documents piled high on her desk. In the end, Frank was the one who had to do all the work.
By now, even Gavin had to admit that Stella wasn’t going to be much help.
Just then, David came in with some documents. “Mr. Foster,” he said, “Jewelry Exhibition is confirmed to open this Friday at
10 am.”
Gavin paused what he was doing.
He didn’t know why it suddenly made him feel off balance to see everything running so smoothly with the exhibition.
Gavin thought, ‘Cecilia should be here right now, handling things like she always did. Why would she selfishly run off to manage some project she thinks is more important instead?‘
Gavin stared down at the documents, his anger rising in his eyes.
Standing there, David felt torn inside. ‘Does Mr. Foster even know that after the exhibition, Cecilia won’t be with the company anymore?‘ he wondered, ‘If Mr. Foster personally asked her to stay, he’d definitely be able to keep her.
Seizing his last chance, David blurted out, “Mr. Foster, after the exhibition, Ms. Jordan is going to-
“I don’t want to hear anything about her.” Gavin snapped, cutting him off sharply. “Job’s done? Fine. Don’t come running to me bragging about it. I don’t have time for this.”
He finished signing the documents and tossed them back across the desk. “What she’s up to doesn’t matter to me.”
“Yes, Mr. Foster.” David took back whatever else he was going to say. ‘I overstepped! he thought, ‘Mr. Foster clearly doesn’t care that Cecilia is leaving.
*****
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Chapter 13
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It was the last night before the exhibition. Up on the 17th floor, Project Division was holding the final meeting.
“You’ve all worked incredibly hard these past weeks. Get some proper rest tonight.” Cecilia said, “After the exhibition finish successfully tomorrow, I won’t be coming back to the company. It’s truly been a pleasure working with you all.”
After the meeting ended, Cecilia let her team head out first.
Cecilia also had an exhibition invitation. It was addressed to herself–not “Cecilia Jordan from Project Division,” but “Cecilia Jordan, Designer.”
At ten o’clock that night, Cecilia wrapped up her final handover and packed up her things. She headed downstairs.
At that exact moment, Gavin was pulling out of the garage in his car. He just happened to catch sight of Cecilia–standing alone at the entrance, her back to him.
He stopped dead. Sitting there in his car, he watched her from a distance, without a word.
‘Working this late?’ he thought, lighting a cigarette, ‘Is the show really that important to her? Did it matter more than I did?‘ Gavin didn’t know why, but watching Cecilia stand there, an unsettling feeling started bugging him.
A jolt shot through Gavin. He got out of the car immediately. But after just two steps, he stopped. A bitter laugh escaped
him.
‘What am I panicking about?‘ Gavin asked himself, ‘Cecilia isn’t going anywhere. She’s always been right where I can see her. Always has been. Always will be. She’s heading home tonight, and she’ll be back tomorrow. I can see her whenever I want.
His conviction was rock solid. Cecilia had never once faltered–not in the past, and certainly not in the future.
The next second, he ditched the cigarette, climbed back into his car, and drove straight off.
As the ride–hail car pulled up, Cecilia stood at the gate, looking back one last time.
She’d given three years of her life to this place. Now, both her career and her heart were closing the chapter here. A new life was waiting now.
The next day was opening day of Jewelry Exhibition. Gavin didn’t show up. Instead, he took Stella with him to Hall Group.
The Hall Family was the real top dog in Kingsford’s industry scene. Even though Simon Hall was back in the country, he was swamped. A lot of stuff at the company fell to the vice–president, Leo Hudson.
In the conference room, Gavin was about to present the resort project proposal to the Hall Family.
The most important documents for today were the ones Stella had put together, but she hadn’t finished preparing them the night before and couldn’t find the key information.
Right in front of everyone, she panicked and knocked the files over, sending papers flying all over the floor.
The conference room went dead silent. Gavin had never felt so humiliated.
“Mr. Foster, since your secretary wasn’t ready with the materials, let’s call it a day for now.” Leo said, his patience clearly
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running thin as he rose to his feet.
“My apologies.” Gavin said, a deep sense of defeat washing over him. It felt like all that effort had just gone down the drain.
As he was leaving, Leo turned to say, “We’ve worked with you before, Mr. Foster. You never slipped up like this in the past. I see now… since there’s a new secretary around.”
Hearing that, it suddenly clicked for Gavin. He remembered back when Cecilia was by his side.
Not only did Cecilia handle Gavin’s personal life smoothly, but at the company, she was an even sharper helper than Frank, always having Gavin’s back and tackling any problem that came his way.
But now because Cecilia was gone, everything had gone off the rails for Gavin. He’d been a mess himself, all over the place.
Gavin strode out of the room.
“Mr. Foster, wait for me!” Stella called out urgently, still scrambling to gather the scattered documents.
But Gavin didn’t even break stride. Right then and there, he called Frank. “Transfer Cecilia back to Secretary Division.” he ordered, “I need her back.”
On the other end of the line, Frank informed Gavin respectfully, “Mr. Foster, Ms. Jordan has already left the company. Yesterday was her last day.”
Gavin was stunned. His
eyes
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widened in shock, and he froze right there on the spot.
