Chapter 13 Who Is This Woman

• In an instant, the people around me regarded me with incredulity. One of them even asked in disbelief, “Is that Mr. Sutton whom you are calling?”
• However, one of the receptionists gave me the side-eye and started to pour scorn on me. “She must be deceiving us. This must be her trick of using our CEO’s name to sneak into the company. Trust me, this ain’t gonna work!”
• Meanwhile, Lucian heard everything on the other side of the phone. Telling me to hand my phone over to the receptionist, I did as told as I said to her, “Oh, your CEO is asking you to answer the phone.”
• She looked at me dubiously while bringing the phone close to her ears. Upon hearing the voice of the person speaking on the phone, her expression changed drastically as she called out, “Yes, Mr. Sutton.”
• Right after the call, there was a drastic change in her attitude. “Miss, please wait here for a while. The CEO’s secretary will come and pick you up in a moment.” With a pleasant smile plastered on her face, she gestured me to take a seat.
• “Thanks.” After I settled down, I realized the people around me were peeking at me as they must be curious about my relationship with Lucian. They smiled awkwardly upon meeting my gaze.
• It was not long before a woman in office wear came into sight. She greeted me with a polite smile. “Ms. Quinn, I am Mr. Sutton’s secretary. Please come with me.”
• I nodded slightly and walked toward her. Then, I heard her explaining, “Ms. Quinn, actually, Mr. Sutton wanted to fetch you in person, but he has his hands full. He is very sorry about that.”
• Hearing that, I was not sure whether it was a genuine remark or merely a pleasantry, but I heard the sound of people gasping. As I turned around, those standing in the reception area were all looking at me.
• A loud murmur broke out from the crowd.
• “Who is she?”
• “I’ve never seen her before. Could she be someone from any of the prominent families? Or maybe she is Mr. Sutton’s...”
• Pursing my lips, I ignored their gossips and quickly followed the secretary to the elevator at the end of the corridor.
• When I arrived, I saw that numerous departments were located on both sides of the long corridor. I halted as the familiar voices from one of the offices caught my attention.
• From the slightly ajar door, I saw Isabelle and Shannon inside the office. Sitting in front of them was the Chief Officer from the Investment Department, the man whom I had dealt with before.
• Shannon was clinging to his arm, pleading cloyingly, “Mr. Adkins, please make an exception for us. Our company can’t take up this investment project on our own, but it will be a win-win situation if we can cooperate with Toluc Finance.”
• At times, our company would face financial difficulties when taking up huge projects, so we would choose to cooperate with other finance company. Undoubtedly, being the leading company in the industry, Toluc Finance was the best choice.
• It seemed like this project was important since my boss, Isabelle, had to come and negotiate personally. Right then, I saw her flipping open the document on Mr. Adkins’s desk and said smilingly, “Mr. Adkins, please take a look at our proposal. If you are not satisfied with it, we will make amendments so long as you are willing to cooperate with our company.”
• After a while, Mr. Adkins rose to his feet, his face holding a cold expression. “I’m sorry, but I have no say in this matter. A few days ago, the board of directors decided that our company will no longer collaborate with other finance companies since we have a lot of our own projects waiting in line.”
• Unwilling to give in, Shannon continued shooting him flirtatious glances while clinging closer to him and trying to flatter him up.
• I couldn’t help feeling ashamed of her unbefitting behavior, and I guessed Isabelle, too, was shamefaced as I noticed her let out a sigh.
• “Ms. Quinn, are you not coming?” The secretary asked after noticing that I stopped midway in the corridor.
• Flashing her a smile, I replied, “Yes, I’ll come right away.” As I was about to leave, the door was suddenly flung open, and Isabelle appeared in front of me. She looked at me in surprise and greeted, “Jennifer, you’re here as well? That’s great!”
• I sighed internally and greeted her back, “Hi, Isabelle.”
• “Jennifer, I suppose you know Mr. Sutton in person? I remember him applying for a leave on your behalf.” Without any hesitation, she dragged me into the room. “This project is of utmost importance to our company. Come and help us persuade Mr. Adkins.”
• When I stepped in with Isabelle, I noticed that Shannon was furrowing her brows.
• “Mr. Adkins, nice to meet you again.” I forced a smile, holding out my hand for a handshake.
• As expected, Mr. Adkins cast a glance at me indifferently and then took a sip of his tea, making it clear that he was making little of me. To him, I was just Isabelle’s petty subordinate who was streets behind Shannon when it came to giving sweet talks.
• “Isabelle, why don’t we let Jennifer get back to her work? You can leave Mr. Adkins to me.” Shannon was pleased when she saw Mr. Adkins ignoring my presence. Leaning closer to him, she placed her hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ears, “Mike, don’t turn me down right now. Give our proposal some consideration! Why don’t I treat you to dinner tonight so that I could further explain the proposal to you. What do you think?”
• Her suggestive remarks brought a smile to Mr. Atkin’s face. He patted her hand while fixing his lecherous gaze on her cleavage that was barely veiled under her plunging collar. “Sure, Ms. Gott, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
• Isabelle shook her head disapprovingly and sighed. “Shannon, you should really learn from Jennifer and put more effort into your job instead of seeking a backdoor approach...”
• On the other hand, Mr. Atkins was displeased with Isabelle as her words could potentially ruin his plans for the night. “Ms. Sweet, I don’t find any problem with Ms. Gott inviting me for dinner. We can always bring our business negotiation to the dinner table. If you look down on our way of doing business, then I think you should leave now.”
• Right then, he caught sight of the woman standing outside the office. He made his way toward the door in large strides. “Ms. Wright, what brings you here?”
• It turned out that the woman standing outside the office was Lucian’s secretary. Although she was only a secretary, her power was comparable to that of a senior executive.
• Nonetheless, Ms. Wright ignored him as she glanced over his shoulder and flashed me a smile. “Ms. Quinn, please come with me. Mr. Sutton is waiting for you.”
• Just as Ms. Wright finished speaking, I received a phone call from Lucian. I heard him roaring through the phone, “Jennifer, what is taking you so long? Are you taking a tour of my office before sending me the document?”
• My ears buzzed at the loud volume of his voice. I immediately placate him, “I’ll be there in a minute!” With that, I hung up before he could even start yelling at me again.
• As I looked up, my eyes met Shannon’s that were full of hostility. I knew she must be unhappy with my intimate personal relationship with Lucian, but she was well aware that she couldn’t afford to offend me.
• Meanwhile, Mr. Adkins was shrewd enough to realize that I had a close relationship with Lucian. His attitude changed significantly as he asked reverently, “Ms. Quinn, do you happen to know Mr. Sutton?”
• “Sort of.” I nodded and followed suit as the secretary left the room without saying anything else.
• Wearing an ingratiating smile, he walked me out while saying, “Ms. Quinn, with regards to Ms. Sweet and Ms. Gott’s collaboration proposal, I will give serious consideration to it.”