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Ava stood there, her first instinct being to call Oliver back and tell her what he had meant by his last statement.Her phone beeped, signaling an incoming message."All packages have been delivered as requested," Ava muttered as she read the message.Instantly, a call came into the phone again."Hello," Ava said, picking it up.It was a call from her personal assistant."Hello Ava, did you get my text?" Lily asked"Yes, I just did," Ava replied, adding, "Did we get any complaints from the client?""No, we didn't, although they are requesting for you to commence work for the coming season," Lily replied."Okay, uhmm, why don't I get back to you on that? I'll let you know what my response to the client is," Ava explained."Do you think she knows?" Lily asked.Ava was silent for a few minutes before she shook her head and replied, "I don't think so."The diner had two sides, and in the right area, Nathan's brows drew together as he stared at the empty parking lot through the glass door.
Mike was silent for a moment before he asked, "What exactly did you see?""You knew," Nathan muttered, walking slowly towards the car."Knew what?" Mike asked before adding, "Is this about Ella's contract?"Nathan turned to him slowly, his brows raised as he replied, "I believe you already know who I'm talking about.""Uhh, I didn't want you to get pissed; you have a lot going on with you already," Mike replied."Well, I won't be pissed if that was all I saw," Nathan replied."What else did you see?" Mike asked"Something you probably didn't want me to see," Nathan muttered."And what would that be?" Mike asked with his hands in his pocket as he walked slowly to match Nathan's pace.Nathan didn't reply, too embarrassed by what he was feeling to even put it to words."Let's go; I'll drop you off at home," Nathan replied instead."Okay," Mike muttered with a shrug, deciding to leave the issue."We didn't get to talk about Ella's contract," Nathan stated as they got into the car."There'
"Dad!" Thomas exclaimed, running down the stairs with a broad grin on his face."Hey, champ, be careful or you'll fall," Nathan called out with a smile.As he got to the last step, Nathan scooped him up into a big hug as he twirled around with him."How is my champ doing this morning?" Nathan asked."I'm fine, Daddy," Thomas replied."I can see that," Nathan replied as he swt him on his feet.At that moment they heard someone coming down the stairs and looked up to see it was Nora."Dad, can I go to school with you?" Thomas asked, holding onto his hand."Your mom is taking you already," Nathan replied.As Nora got closer to them, she said softly, "Nathan."Nathan looked at her, knowing fully well he couldn't stay angry at her in front of Thomas.He sighed deeply and replied "Okay."Nora grinned, walking into his arms and hugging him."Thank you," Nora replied."I'll see you guys around," Nathan said as he stepped away from Nora and turned to kiss Thomas on the head."Mom, let me go wi
"Did you mention we were coming to the Sage head office?" Ava asked as they worked into the building.Bella's brows squeezed in confusion as she thought about it for a minute before she shook her head."I am not sure, but I think I did," Bella replied with a shrug."Good morning and welcome to the Sage group." A receptionist stood up to attend to them."Morning, I am Isabella Brown, and I am here for a meeting with Elliot Sage," Bella introduced.After a few minutes of clicking, the receptionist looked up with a smile and said, "You can go right in, Ms. Isabella. Mr. Sage's office is on the last floor.""Thank you. You're most kind," Bella replied, flashing a sweet smile in the receptionist's direction."Well, I don't think you mentioned," Ava muttered as they walked into the elevator at the end of the hall."Elliot really liked your idea at the last meeting, and he personally insisted that you come for the meeting with me," Bella responded."Oh, I see," Ava muttered under her breath.
"I must say I'm impressed." The voice said it over the phone.Nathan's eyes widened as he finally placed the voice. His head bobbling up and down in a nod to acknowledge the statement."Good day, Mr. Lee," Nathan said, a smile spreading across his lips."I didn't really believe you had what it took to handle such a sensitive project, but your grandfather insisted. Well, I must say, after reading the report before me, the Crawford group is in safe hands," Mr. Lee stated."Thank you, Mr. Lee; that is very kind of you. Does this mean you agree with all the stipulated conditions in the report?" Nathan asked.Around him, everyone went by their work, trying not to get the attention of Nathan. Beside him, Mike hung back, giving him space and privacy."Well, to a large extent, I would send back my response, and then we can finalize," Mr. Lee responded."Okay, I will be waiting for that," Nathan responded.As the call ended, a big smile played on Nathan's lips, satisfied with himself."Looks l
"Daphne?" Elliot called, turning his head to her sharply.Nathan walked through the door, a frown appearing on his face at the tension in the room."Was that directed at me?" Ava asked, looking from Bella to Daphne."Who else would I be talking to? How did you end up in this meeting anyway?" Daphne asked."What is going on here?" Nathan asked.Everyone looked up instantly, surprised to see Nathan, as they had all been distracted by Daphne's words to notice his entrance."Hey, Nathan, you came; I didn't think you would." Elliot said, standing up."You made it obvious you wanted me to," Nathan replied as he walked around the table to sit beside Daphne."You might as well just leave," Daphne said again, not ready to let the matter go."I specifically asked her to be here," Elliot interjected.Daphne turned sharp, surprised eyes in Elliot's direction as she asked, "Why would you do that?""She seems to have a mind for it, and moreover, she works with Bella, so it shouldn't be a problem,"
At the imperial college, preparations were underway for the competition as various classes were undergoing the final preparation.In Jordan's class, as Pitts walked in, Maxwell asked, "Mr. Pitts, how many of us?""How many?" Pitts asked, confused"For the competition," another girl shouted from the back of the class."Oh, I see," Pitts replied with a grin."Yes," Maxwell muttered.There was already a pre-selected list of some students, one in which the decision was currently being made."We will know that by tomorrow," Pitts assured them."Awwww," the students grumbled, discouraged that Pitts didn't want to tell them."Okay, okay, let's get back to work. Where are we?" Pitts asked the class."Simple equation," Thomas shouted from his seat in the middle of the class.Pitts nodded with a grin as he said, "Impressive Thomas."While the class went on upstairs, a meeting was taking place in the left wing of the school building."It's nice to see you all here today," Mrs. Chucks said, smili
"For someone who thinks there's something left out, you actually look clueless," Nora said as she saw Mrs. Hillary on her feet."You have to hear what I have to say first before you can decide that," Mrs. Hillary replied.Everyone at the table wondered what it was she had to say."Very well then, you have the floor," Nora replied, interested to hear the nonsense she was going to spew from her mouth."I believe that the letters that would be sent would invite the parents to grace the occasion. I would like to say that we can have the parents of the competing children at this year's competition too." Mrs. Hillary said.Nora was silent for a minute as she tried to make sense out of what she had just heard."We don't do that for a reason. We can't have every parent fly in from all over just to witness the competition," Mrs. Anderson responded."Yes, I don't think we should," Mrs. Orpha added.Nora smiled, thinking about how sweet it would be to show everyone how low Ava had fallen. What b
Daphne turned to look at Nathan, her brows raised as she asked, "What question?""Would you mind if we took it away from here? It's quite important." Nathan stated."If it's important, I guess it can wait a few more minutes," Daphne stated, turning to face Elliot.Nathan was not surprised by her response, putting into consideration the fact that she was currently really pissed at Elliot."Could you guys give us a minute? We will join you all shortly," Elliot stated, taking Daphne by the hand and walking out of the building.Elliot walked a few feet to the right of the building before turning into a corner. Only then did he let go of Daphne's hand."For god's sake, what the f*ck did you just pull in there?" Elliot asked, totally pissed."Nothing less than the reaction you are supposed to get when you don't consult me before making some certain decision." Daphne shot back at him.Her eyes were hardened, almost blazing with fire as she tried to stare Elliot down.Elliot brushed his left
Nathan stood up and walked a few feet away from the table before turning back to face Elliot."I need to speak with your designer," Nathan stated.Elliot was silent for a few seconds, unsure what Nathan was trying to imply."Okay, would you care to explain? Because I'm aware you already have a designer for your project," Elliot responded."I can't really go into specifics right now," Nathan stated."Okay, who specifically do you want to speak with?" Elliot asked, adding, "Bella or some other fashion house designer, who I know you can meet on your own without coming to me.""I can't explain anything for sure right now; I need to speak with your major partner," Nathan stated."Okay, hold on, what exactly is going on? You don't sound like your usual self," Elliot said, his eyes squinting in concern before adding, "Does this have to do with your grandfather?"Nathan's head snapped to Elliot in surprise at his words."What? I should know there is only one person who has the capacity to mak
"Dad, what do we do?" Emily asked her father.The embarrassment of the day before had been weighing heavily on her mind."What else can we do? She is practically untouchable right now," Amelia stated.Emily raised her eyebrows, an angry look crossing her face as she responded, "Says who, Mom?" She is going to pay for this; I swear she will. How high can she rise again?""Enough, the both of you! We need to come up with a plan," her father snapped at them, his brow furrowed in thought."I really don't think we should go against Ava anymore; she is no longer the girl we used to know. What if she decided to come make us pay for what we did to her all those years ago?" Amelia asked in concern."She won't, because I won't let her," Emily stated firmly."Shut up! Nobody is making anyone pay; we need to find a way to get into her good books right now," Charles stated.Emily's hand clenched into a fist beside her at her father's words."Why do we need to do that?" Emily shot at her father."W
Nathan's eyes narrowed, his hand clenching into a fist, as his jaw tightened.His voice was cold and sharp as he responded, "I have no idea what Tyler is talking about.""I don't think we should do this here," Peter interjected, looking between Timothy and Nathan."I agree," Mike stated, a nervous look coming to his face."Shut the f*ck up; you don't have a say here," Tyler responded to Mike."It's not going to be much of a problem if Tyler just tells us what he knows," Wyat said with a satisfied grin."I don't want that," Peter snapped, shutting Wyatt up."We will have this conversation at the office tomorrow then," Timothy stated, signaling for someone in the crowd."That would be better; we can't have everyone staring at us for having a family spat right now," Peter added."Okay, if that would be all, I guess we are done here, right?" Nathan stated, looking at everyone before adding, "Good night."He walked away from the group and headed to the entrance. Mike followed him closely,
"Hello ma'am, nice to meet you," The staff greeted Ava.Their faces were filled with pleasure at meeting their new CEO. Oliver and Mr. Clark were walking her through the various departments in the building."Thank you all for the good work over the years. I hope to have a splendid time working here with you all," Ava responded with a smile.As they left the office, Ava looked at Oliver and asked, "How many offices do we have to go to?""Not much; I think it's just the human resource department and IT department," Oliver replied."Okay," Ava muttered as they entered an elevator at the end of the hall."After the introductions, we would be heading to your office on the last floor," Mr. Clark interjected."Okay, and what is the last floor?" Ava asked curiously.Mr. Clark only grinned at her and kept mute as Oliver tried not to laugh beside them."What?" Ava asked, but they didn't give her a response.After a few seconds, Oliver stated, "I guess we'll find out soon enough.""Oh, and that
"Really? Who is it?" Someone asked from the group.All eyes were glued to Mick, expecting his answer, wishing it was their own design that won."The winner for the design submission is," Mick replied."I have something to say before that," Daphne stated coldly.Her voice cut through the excitement like a sword as she stood up to face the crowd.Mick turned to look at her, noticing her expression for the first time."Hmm, of course," Mick muttered, stepping aside for her."So, the winner announcement would be put on hold for now," Daphne stated.There were silent murmurs as everyone looked confused, glancing from her to Mick."Okay, hold on, why? Mick just mentioned that he has the winner's name with him." Bella stated.Daphne turned towards her, her gaze freezing as she turned her icy stare at her."I see no reason why I should give you a response here; if Elliot is not around, I'm as good as being in charge." Daphne muttered.A surprised gasp rose up from the crowd as they all stood
"Don't you think we need to go see them at the school?" Bella asked as she packed her bag."Stop running!" Ava shouted to Jenna, who was running after Angel up the stairs."Come on, buddy, the competition is going to happen eventually. Okay, I'm sure they probably have a reason for shifting it forward," Brad said, patting Jordan on the back."I don't think there is any point in going; Nora was probably just messing with me when she called," Ava replied with a shrug."Why would she do that?" Bella asked."If I know her, which I kind of do, she is just trying to rub it in my face," Ava muttered."Well, I guess the joke is on her now, Ms. CEO," Brad teased.Ava smiled, moving over to Jordan as Brad stood up to head out the door."I'll see you guys later," Brad called over his shoulder."Bye, Dad!" Angel shouted from the stairs where she was now sitting with Jenna."Bye, darling," Brad replied, blowing her a kiss before stepping out the door."Hey sweetheart, don't worry; the competition
Monday morning came faster than anticipated after the long weekend with its shock and unexpected turn of events.The Crawford Group head office was abuzz with activity as guests moved through the lobby. The event was taking place at one of the halls located in the building."Looks like it's going to be a big one." A staff member whispered to another as they directed guests through the lobby.There were reporters stationed outside, and a live broadcast of the event was being streamed."Well done, Tyler, that was a good one," Peter stated with a warm smile as Tyler walked up to him.The event had come to an end with a final speech from Tyler. Now the ball was in the court of the guest to actually invest in the project."Thank you, Dad," Tyler said, grabbing a wine glass from a passing waiter.Timothy Crawford was seated in one corner of the hall, silently observing and exchanging pleasantries with guests."Tyler, that was a good one. I guess you took the bull by the horns," Mr. Lee stat
For a few seconds, Nora struggled to find the words with which to respond to Tyler."Didn't mean to get you all scared, you know, just saying how bad it's going to look if Nathan finds out what happened in LA," Tyler muttered."You wouldn't dare!" Nora replied, her voice low and hardened as her eyes darted around the room, a flicker of tension betraying her tough behavior."Oh, you should worry about yourself; I just might tell him when you least expect it. That's why they say karma's a b*tch," Tyler responded, folding his hand on his chest."Then I bet you, you're going to lose all you ever hold dear; hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Tyler. Thomas is going to get acknowledged as Nathan's heir, and then you're going to be worthless like you are meant to be," Nora spat at him in disdain.The smile on Tyler's face faded away as he took three steps closer to Nora, pushing back against a couch.Tyler leaned close, his lips to her ear as he whispered, "Oh, I would like to see you tr