The two headed inside as they spoke.It was office hour and the lobby in Baxter Group was packed with people. When Everly went in and stepped into the lobby, everyone went quiet.They pretended like they had not seen her, but Everly knew that all eyes were on her."It's fine, it doesn't matter anyways…" she thought.Once the two went into the elevator, the silence was instantly replaced by deafening sounds when the crowd erupted into a discussion.With what happened in the president's office before being streamed on the live feed, this was the first time Violet appeared before everyone in the past week. On top of that, not only was she not alone or with her assistant, she came with Austin. This was incredibly shocking news.Amongst those people, one person snuck to the side to take out his phone before dialing a number and said, "Yes, that's it. Violet is here, and she's here with Austin Samberg… Yes, I know… Don't worry…"…Everly and Austin took the elevator and reached the f
Everly stroked Oliver's photo gently and placed it into the box they had prepared on the side. Annie came in time and was about to approach Everly to help when Austin stopped her with his hand placed firmly on her shoulder.Annie did not know what he meant, but immediately noticed Austin shaking his head.She turned back around to look at Everly, who had gone to take down the drawing she drew with Oliver from the wall. Annie sighed with resignation in her mind at the sight."Everly, I'll go organize the other documents. That way, we should be able to pack everything by noon and head to our new working site," said Annie.Everly's hands froze for a moment, before she nodded and said, "Sure."Annie and Austin gave each other a look, before leaping into action.Just as Annie had predicted, they had gathered and packed everything before noon. The porters went back and forth. With Violet before the center of attention for such a long time in the office, everyone was absorbed in a heate
Robbie felt even more depressed when he saw the state Carson was in. He knew how much Carson cared for Everly and suggested, "Baxter Group and Violet's Studio are still business partners at the moment. Our work on The Angel is still incomplete, and we have every right to ask them about moving away without getting our consent."Carson simply stared at the documents before him with his head bowed. His hair was neatly combed back, leaving his long lashes to conceal the looks of his eyes from anyone who tried to read him."Mister Baxter." Robbie was not sure as to what Carson was thinking but continued regardless, "We can act accordingly in regards to the terms and conditions on the contract. At the very least, we can get Miss Pettis to stay here in Baxter Group."In that case, Carson would be able to see her every day.Carson heard every single word Robbie said as he studied the documents before him. In the end, he placed his signature on the paper without lifting his head and said, "
"It's not about that. I have something personal to talk about with Violet," Robbie immediately said in order to avoid direct conflict with Annie."What sort of personal thing?" Annie glared at Robbie warily. After all, Robbie worked for Carson and represented Carson, so there was no difference between Robbie talking to Everly and Carson talking to Everly himself."Annie, Mister Baxter didn't ask me to come over and stop you. I'm really here on my own will," Robbie explained with resignation."You…" Annie was about to say something when Everly tapped her on the shoulder. She looked at Everly and said, "Violet?""It's fine. Head down first. I'll be there in a minute." Everly stepped toward Robbie and said, "Let's find somewhere quiet to talk. I happen to have something to talk to you about as well."Annie wanted to stop them. She remembered all the words Robbie said to her in the hope of getting her help in matchmaking Carson and Everly. What if…Everly called out her name when she
Noticing Everly's expression, Robbie smiled and said, "I'm truly here for a personal reason. I didn't just say that to get Annie and the others out of the way."Everly studied Robbie thoughtfully and nodded with her hands on her purse. "I'm recovering just fine."What about him?She came close to blurting out the question.As though he heard the voice inside Everly's head, Robbie said, "Mister Baxter is recovering as well. Physically, that is."Everly understood what Robbie meant but did not continue the topic because she knew exactly what Robbie would say if they carried on.After three seconds of silence, Robbie continued, "Mister Baxter already knows about you leaving. I did ask if he wants to stop you, and he said he won't. I can tell that he is devastated, Miss Pettis. Mister Baxter has done so much for you, Miss Pettis. Why are you turning a blind eye to it?" Robbie finally asked the question that he had been struggling with the entire time."I don't understand. Anyone wou
"Nothing." Alice let go of her wrist and glanced in the direction of Violet's studio with an odd look before saying, "I didn't know you came here to move today."Everly lifted an eyebrow. Alice was behaving oddly in an extremely different manner in comparison to how she usually acted, to the point that Everly felt baffled by it.Tracey immediately approached with a smile and explained, "Violet, Miss Davidson got a call and is here to settle some important matter concerning the project.""Okay." Everly nodded and glanced at Alice again, only to find her staring at her with mixed emotions in her eyes.Everly thought back to Alice's behavior in the past, and what happened between them, she seemed to sense that something had changed inside Alice.Everly's phone started vibrating, and she took out her phone to find that it was Annie calling."I'm going to get going now if there's nothing else." Without a second thought, she picked up the call."Alright." Alice nodded and did not atte
At that very moment that Everly closed her eyes, she missed the sight of Austin, who sat in the passenger's seat, looking up and glancing at her through the rear-view mirror.He pursed his lips with his eyes filled with discontentment. However, he simply gave her a quick glance before looking away to focus back on the content on his tablet so that no one would notice how he felt.…On the other end, Robbie had returned to the president's office on the top floor and looked at Carson, who was still reading through reports, thoughtfully and said, "Mister Baxter, Miss Pettis is gone and passed me this before she left."He then took two steps forward to place the document in his hand on Carson's desk.When Everly was talking to him about compensation, he had already sent words to Lucy and did not give Everly the answer before Lucy had sought Carson's opinion.The act of leaving without a fair warning was considered extremely offensive, but it could be explained when it concerned Everl
Carson went all the way in through the area where the normal employees worked, toward the deepest end of the office.He walked past a long corridor where they used to display Everly's art for the past year, which had all been taken down, leaving nothing but the marks on the wall where they used to be.Carson stared at the mark with dark eyes. He stood alone for a while, and before him, he saw everything as it used to be when Everly was still there and heard all the laughter that had once echoed through the hall.Now, there was nothing left but dust.He lowered his gaze and went towards the other end, where Everly's office was located.Carson had been here a couple of times, but every time he did, Everly never showed any sign of welcoming his presence. He stared at the empty space, and her face appeared before his eyes.He simply stood in silence in the empty office without a word. He did not know how much time had passed, when suddenly…Knock, knock, knock!He heard knocking on
Everly wondered, 'Why does he look so pitiful? Is he going to ask me to be with me as he did before?'Meanwhile, Carson moved his eyes from her to the sunset on the horizon and said, "It's late."She looked across at the sea and the sky. The glorious declining sun gilded the sky.The salty sea wind swept over them.They gazed at the sunset until the fish suddenly struggled and startled Everly.It had been quietly staying in her hand for a while. She had forgotten that she was holding the fish. Thus, she subconsciously let go of the fish and shook Carson's hands off.The fish flopped back into the water and waved its tail to flee away."Oh, no. The fish has escaped. Dad, hurry up and catch it!" Oliver yelled. He had been squatting on the side so as not to disturb his parents. Carson and Oliver then chased after the fish.Everly slowly got up and stood there. The father and the son in white T-shirts were surrounding the big puddle. Everly felt strange while watching them.She wa
She was a little embarrassed. After all, they hadn't been so close to each other for a long time. She felt a bit uncomfortable.So, she found a random topic. "Oliver still hasn't come back?""Maybe he couldn't find the bucket," he said, his chest vibrating. Not knowing how to pick up the conversation, she just looked at him. "Put the fish down," he said again after about three seconds. "But it will slip away," she blurted out. He paused, nodded, and hummed.Actually, she could place it somewhere dry rather than in the water... Then it couldn't slip away...She found herself so stupid. But she couldn't take back her words...She wondered, bit the bullet, and awkwardly held the fish. Should she say anything to defuse the awkward situation?She thought for a moment and asked, "What's your plan? I mean your career.""I haven't laid it out yet," he replied frankly. "I've been working for too long, and it's time to take a break. In the past, I didn't have time to hang
Everly immediately put the crab into the small bucket.At this time, the bucket was filled with many crabs. Oliver looked inside and wore a bright smile."Wow! We got a lot of crabs today! My bucket is almost full!" Oliver said and looked back. When he saw the bucket in his dad's hand, Oliver took it and dumped all the crabs inside his own bucket into it. He then pushed it to Everly and said, "Wow. Aunt Violet caught so many crabs today. You are awesome!"Everly froze. She looked at Oliver's smiling face and understood what he meant.Oliver wanted her to take all the credit for catching those crabs."Oliver...""Aunt Violet! Look over there. There are bubbles coming out of that small hole. Let's go over there. There must be something in there!" As he said, Oliver carried his bucket and a small shovel and trotted over in his slippers. He ran to the hole and exclaimed, "Aunt Violet, come on! It is a big fish!""Go ahead. He likes playing with you," Carson said to Everly when she w
"How do you know if they have contact in private?" The man asked as their car was waiting for a green light. The man's consecutive retorts annoyed Lisa. She looked in the rearview mirror at the man with chill eyes. "What do you mean? Are you trying to deliberately piss me off?" "No." The man replied. Then he paused for a few seconds and changed the subject. "So what are you going to do next?" 'Let Everly crash down to the hell!' During these days all their tactics were covert. They only took some subtle moves to test Carson, to see what was in Carson's mind. Now that Lisa had learned about it, then the next step she was up to was to put Everly through hell! "What's going on with Violet's studio now?" Lisa asked. "According to the information we got, it won't be long before Violet Studio and Baxter Group's collaboration on 'The Angel' is finished." The man replied. Before Lisa was about to respond, suddenly, her phone vibrated. Buzz--Lisa picked up her phone to check t
Everly, Carson, and Oliver were playing on the beach. Meanwhile, Lisa came out of her villa to a car and talked to someone on the phone.She got into the passenger seat, smiled at the man in the driver's seat, and said, "I've just heard that the opposition faction of the Baxter Group changed their minds. They want to get Carson back."The man started the car without speaking. Lisa made up her face, smiled contentedly while looking into the mirror at her delicate figures, and continued, "I knew that the Baxter Group couldn't do well without Carson and that they would give in!"The car's tires squealed.The man suddenly braked."What are you doing?" Lisa growled at the man with a frown, hurriedly grabbing something to steady herself."Lisa, what the hell do you want?" the man said resignedly, "didn't you say that you just wanted to help your family out of trouble? I don't understand what you're thinking. Do you love Carson? Are you proud of him?""What's the problem with this?"
While waving at her, Oliver murmured and walked in with Carson.Everly nodded with a smile. With the clothes in her hand, she got into the car and changed her clothes.The clothes were very simple, which were just a big white T-shirt and a pair of casual shorts. Looking at the clothes, she couldn't help wondering what Carson and Oliver would wear.She walked out, with her mind wandering. She saw Carson and Oliver not far away, both of whom were wearing a white vest and a pair of shorts to their knees. The color and style of their clothes were the same, except for the size.They two seemed to be talking about something, with buckets in their hands. Carson held a big bucket while Oliver held a small one. There was another bucket on the ground, obviously prepared for Everly.Noticing her coming, Oliver turned around and looked at her. "Aunt Violet!"Carson also looked up at her.Her heart was thumping faster inexplicably.‘He seems to be closer to me these days.’Maybe it was bec
The shopkeeper felt embarrassed. He looked at Oliver and replied, "What? I couldn’t do that. Don’t talk nonsense."Oliver pouted and didn’t say anything. Carson patted his head and then looked at the shopkeeper.The shopkeeper already understood his meaning. So then he handed three sets of clothes to Everly and Carson, "You can rinse over there.""Thank you." Everly nodded, then they went there together.After lifting the curtain of the outdoor shower, Carson and Oliver both frowned slightly and looked at her at the same time.Everly was a little confused, so she asked, "What’s wrong?""You can change the clothes in the car." Carson opened his mouth.Oliver nodded and explained, "Right, Aunt Violet. This place has some leaks. It’s okay for me and dad, but it's not okay for you, and there’s no mud on you. It's just me falling into the mud puddle."Everly looked at him and then at Oliver, understanding what they meant.She nodded and pinched Oliver's face with a smile, "Okay,
She immediately quickened her pace to rush over and snatched Oliver from Carson's hand."Hmm..."Before Oliver jumped into her arms and complained to her, Carson's cold voice sounded, "Stop. You're covered in mud."Oliver stopped immediately, looking down at himself, then he glared at Carson. Just a few seconds later, he sat down on a small rock and pointed to the big mud puddle beside him. "Aunt Violet, I just fell into it."Everly glanced in the direction that Oliver pointed to. There was indeed a mud puddle and a human shape was still there. Oliver's father just wiped his face. Otherwise, he could not be recognized.Looking at him sitting on that small rock and his aggrieved look, Everly thought he was so cute and couldn’t help laughing out loud, "Puff..."Hearing her laugh, Oliver turned his head. Everly immediately tried to hold back her laughter, but she failed."Ah! Aunt Violet, you laughed!” Oliver directly came down from the rock, sat in the mud, and childishly showed
Yet the meeting room was quiet. No one spoke.If there had been a way to settle the matter, they would have dealt with it many days ago.And if they gave advice but failed in the end, they might have to take the blame."Why do you all keep silent? Didn't you have a lot of ideas at the very beginning?" the leader roared, slapping the table.However, no one answered.After a minute, someone trembled and said, "Then ... shall we find Carson and make him the president again?""What are you talking about?" The leader was even angrier.But another person said, "I think he's right. The share price is falling. We have less and less money. If it goes on like this, none of us can stand it. We'd better get Carson back... When he managed the company, the share price was rising.""You're looking down on yourself and flattering Carson!" the leader growled, "and the share price is falling. Their losses must be bigger than ours. They should be the most anxious!""But..." the person who had be