I gave him a faint smile. “Oh, so it belongs to your wife? Seems like I’m the one who had overthought. But I do hope to meet your wife one day.”
Just then, the elevator arrived, and Derek changed the topic, ushering Ashton into the elevator. When we reached the destination, he excused himself and went away.
Ashton glanced at me and said, “You’re normally a quiet person, but you’re surprisingly chatty with Derek just now. Did he offend you before?”
I shrugged nonchalantly and found myself a seat to sit. “Not really, but he did infuriate me before. I really dislike him. He abandoned his wife and his child, and yet he still had the nerve to say that the company belongs to his wife. What a jerk!”
He looked at me curiously and asked, “How did you know about his background?”
I pursed my lips. “His ex-wife is Linda, and she is a single parent. He does not have a wife at all, so it was all lies. He was the one who owns the company. Hmph, I swear I’ve never seen such a corrupt person.”
As I continued to badmouth Derek, Ashton gazed at me amusedly.
Suddenly, Rachel came over and passed a document to Ashton. When she saw me sitting beside him, she furrowed her brows, displeased with my presence. She probably thought that it was inappropriate for me to observe the tendering process.
I did not take it to heart and ignored her. After he looked through the document, he looked at her and asked, “Is Motha Group a financial investment firm?”
Rachel nodded in response. “It used to be an investment company, but it has changed into a small company recently, managed by a young girl. They are not doing so well, so you don’t have to put this company into your consideration.”
“Okay. Who would be their representative today?”
Rachel was surprised that Ashton would ask more about the company. “It’s the daughter of the former chairperson, Scott Webster. Her name is Hailey Webster. She is still quite young. Rumor has it that she took over the deteriorating company not long after her father passed away. Currently, their business is just barely managing to get by.”
He frowned, seemingly deep in his thought.
Half an hour later, the event started. Rachel had always been competent at work, so it was not a surprise that she could manage the entire tendering process without Ashton’s guidance. Hence, he did not participate in the facilitation process but only observed the tendering among the members of the audience with me.
A few hours passed, and the big companies were finally done with their proposal presentations. I was about to fall asleep when a young lady with a cold, impassive face went up the stage, instantly catching my attention.
There was nothing special about her, but it was hard not to notice an adolescent who looked about seventeen years old presenting on the stage as all the other presenters were adults.
The girl was wearing a black dress, looking a little gloomy. She stood on the stage, swept a glance over the audience, and started to present her proposal calmly.
However, her proposal did not attract any attention from the audience. An expert in construction tendering would probably comment that her proposal did not have any points that stood out, so it was rather boring and general. Therefore, my attention was not on her presentation but on her face.
At first glance, this little girl looked rather low-spirited and had an air of melancholy around her, like a dead soul in a living body. I did not know why I would describe her in this way, but this was the feeling I got when I first landed my gaze on her.
Since the Motha Group was a small company, no questions were asked from the host, and she came down from the stage as soon as she ended her presentation. Nonetheless, I could not help but stare at her as she walked past me. Noticing that someone was looking at her, she glanced in my direction.
Our eyes met, and I felt inexplicably cold; there was not even a hint of warmth in this girl.
I averted my gaze and focused on Rachel, who was announcing the tender results on the stage. The Fuller Corporation was a big company, after all. Hence, many corporations were eager to win the bid as a deal signed with the Fuller Corporation would guarantee a huge profit to their companies.
After a detailed analysis of the tender documents submitted by the participating big companies, she decided to choose Derek’s trading company in the end. The decision was fully entrusted to her as Ashton trusted her excellent capability at work.
Therefore, he made no further comments.
When the event came to an end, Rachel and Ashton still had some discussion to make, so I wandered around the room and saw the girl in a black dress standing at the entrance. As I got closer to her, I realized that she was staring blankly at a piece of art in front of her.
I believed humans had an instinct to seek only benefits and avoid danger. Standing in front of the girl, my gut told me to stay away from her and not to get involved with her. There were so many things about her that I was familiar with but unwilling to face.
When I was about to turn and leave, she suddenly called out to me. “I thought you wanted to chat with me.”
I hesitated for a moment and turned around eventually. Looking at her dark brown eyes, I said, “Business is not suitable for you.”
Unperturbed, she nodded. “I know.”
I pursed my lips and cast my gaze on the poignant image in front of her. It seemed to be unrelated to the bidding. Perhaps it was left to be displayed here merely for aesthetic purposes.
