Vermont was surprised. "Thirty percent?" he asked. "Listen, Stella, the selling price for these can easily hit eight figures. Do you know what giving me thirty percent means?"He was worried that Stella might not be familiar with the value of these items, so he thought it would be best to give her a heads-up.Stella chuckled, "Of course. I'm well aware of this. I'm offering you a generous commission, so you won't shortchange me. We'll both benefit from the sale. But, if you feel uneasy about taking thirty percent of the profit, you could do me a little favor in return.""Don't worry. I may not have much, but I have a thick skin. I'm comfortable with taking your money," Vermont reassured.Stella was taken aback by his comment.Keegan kicked Vermont from behind, nearly causing him to crash into the coffee table."Hey!" Vermont ground his teeth. "I was just kidding! Can't y'all take a joke?""You had it coming for running your mouth with my best friend," Felicity giggled.Vermont
Vermont found Stella's proposal intriguing. After contemplating, he said, "You'll need to familiarize yourself with every aspect of The Velvet, from sourcing raw materials to crafting and delivering the final product. It's crucial to have reliable people in key positions. There is no room for error once you start getting large orders."Stella nodded. "Darcie's assistant arranged for me to visit The Velvet tomorrow to get a feel of the operation.""I'll join you," Felicity chimed in immediately. "Jaylene must be mad that you got the jewelry store. She's probably itching to ruin your plans. Take me along. I've got your back if they try to give you a hard time."Vermont thought for a moment and suggested, "That's a good idea. We can have a video call before you guys enter the store, and I'll keep an eye on things through the screen."Stella was waiting for Vermont to say that. "As long as The Velvet can be managed smoothly, I'll add an extra one percent commission for you on these pie
"Good morning, Stella," Felicity greeted with a yawn. She grabbed some clothes from another room and disappeared into the bathroom. Shortly after, she came out, all set.Stella pushed a glass of soy milk toward her and inquired in a hushed tone, "Where's Vermont?""He went back to sleep," Felicity replied.Stella pursed her lips and finally asked after a moment, "How's Vermont's condition?"Felicity let out a sigh. "It's still the same. You know, we share a bed, but his member doesn't respond to me at all. The doctor suggested surgery, but Vermont is dead set against it, claiming it's too risky. But, I think, since he's already living on the edge, what's the extra risk? He could just continue living the way he is."Stella did not know what to say. Her best friend had a remarkably open mind."So, are you considering giving up on treatment?""I do want him to get better, but it feels like he's resisting," Felicity confessed.Stella found it peculiar. Vermont was still young, so i
Stella's expression turned serious."Stella, what's going on?" Felicity noticed the sudden change in her best friend's demeanor and felt a twinge of concern.Stella collected herself and said, "Tell me, how is Vermont treating you?"Felicity's eyes sparkled, as she responded, "He's... treating me well. I don't have to worry about cleaning or doing laundry. He's always there to lend a hand, even when it comes to cooking. After meals, he takes care of the dishes. He also handles things like changing the light bulbs and fixing the pipes, so I don't have to do it myself."Her words caused Stella to be surprised."Tell me something beyond being handy around the house.""He drives me to and from work and saves my favorite food for me. He's quick to apologize whenever he upsets me. He's just a bit too much of a smooth talker."Stella was not quite sure how to respond. Vermont seemed practically flawless. It was just his approach to courtship that was infuriating. 'How dare he deceive h
As the wind scattered the papers across the place, Stella and Felicity quickly joined in to retrieve them. After a thorough chase, they finally managed to collect all the blueprints.While Stella was gathering the papers, she was surprised to find that they were sketches for jewelry designs. She flipped through a couple of pages, glanced at the signature, and paused.Just then, the girl whose papers had been scattered about caught up with them. She abruptly snatched the papers from Stella's hand, and her face was tense. "Don't go snooping through other people's things."Felicity frowned. "You seriously lack manners. We were helping you with picking them up."The girl replied coldly, "None of this would have happened if she hadn't run into me.""You—"Stella held Felicity back and politely apologized to the girl. "I'm sorry. I was on the phone, and I didn't watch where I was going. Please check if any of the papers are missing."The girl seemed to appreciate Stella's decent attit
Felicity's initial irritation dissipated, as she listened to the story of Maggie Hart. "No wonder she reacted that way when we looked at her sketches."Just then, Darcie's assistant called to inform them that she had arrived at the store.Stella ended the call, turned to Felicity, and said, "Let's go. She's here."Felicity snapped back to her senses and quickly video-called Vermont before inserting a wireless earpiece into her ear.The Velvet was situated on the mall's first floor, boasting a spacious storefront covering at least two thousand square feet.When Stella and Felicity entered, they were warmly greeted and asked what they were looking for."I'm here to meet someone," Stella replied calmly.At that moment, a woman who had been taking a call by the counter suddenly turned around.She sized up Stella and said something to the person on the other end of the line before hanging up. She walked directly up to Stella and respectfully said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. H
Chris maintained his smile. "Ms. Hall, it's not that I'm unwilling to show you, but the key to this safe is with another team leader. She has taken a day off today, so... I'm terribly sorry. But it seems you might not get to see the piece today."Stella glanced at him and then inquired, "Well, there must be some accounting records in the store. Can you bring them over?""Ah, that's rather unfortunate. Those accounting records and the valuable jewelry are kept in the safe. Perhaps we could arrange for another day. I'll personally take you to have a look," Chris explained.Felicity furrowed her brows. "Who stores jewelry and accounting records together? Aren't you worried about dropping the jewelry when you're handling the records?"Chris replied, "It's always been this way in our store. We're used to it. Ms. Hall, everything will go smoothly once you're accustomed to it."Felicity clenched her teeth. 'He's clearly doing this on purpose! How dare he ask the boss to get accustomed to
Chris turned to Stella after he finished his statement. Stella cleared her throat and feigned, "You can sell a whole bag for ten thousand dollars?""The person in charge of recycling is a partner of our store, so the price they offer us is relatively high. The few newly established factories only offer six thousand per bag," Chris explained.Vermont's voice grew serious. "With this quality of scraps, unless they're too damaged to be used for jewelry, they should definitely not be sold by the bag. Their raw stones are of good quality. Even if they're considered scraps, a bag shouldn't cost only ten thousand dollars.""Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. Stella has just arrived, and the business hasn't fully started yet. The people don't trust her, and nobody will tell the truth even if we look into it."Felicity did not know how to convey such a long message to Stella. However, Stella would surely sense something fishy even if Felicity did not say anything."Chris, let's go tak