Chapter 15 Winning Her Heart is a Battle

A chill crept up on Eleanor, and she was instantly wide awake. How could someone just suddenly die like that?

Knock, knock!

The sound of knocking jolted her.

Still reeling from the shock, she heard Grayson's voice on the phone, "Open up; it's me."

Eleanor bit back a curse and got out of bed to answer the door. Grayson had hung up and stepped inside, taking his usual slippers out of the shoe cabinet.

His hair was slightly disheveled from the gym.

"Why so pale? Scared by the news? Don't be. I'm here."

Eleanor followed to close the door, her nerves still on edge, "It's not like I'm the one who's dead. What's there to be scared of? It's your sudden call and knocking that spooked me."

"Boo!" Grayson suddenly spun around, making a ghostly face with mock ferocity.

Eleanor kicked out in frustration and annoyance, "Grow up, will you?"

Damn it, he had scared her again!

Grayson, anticipating her move, dodged, but didn't expect Eleanor to switch tactics and throw a punch. He was agile, though, twisting aside and catching her arm with a flourish.

The two wrestled playfully, not even adding up to the maturity of a ten-year-old.

Eventually, Grayson surrendered, allowing Eleanor to land one final hit before collapsing onto the couch, panting, "You're getting strong, huh?"

Eleanor, doubled over and resting her hands on her knees, looked up at him. She couldn't help but break into a smile, "Is that your idea of comfort?"

Their bond was closer than siblings, and Eleanor knew why he did it.

He wanted her to vent.

"It was a congenital illness, a call from above. Not your fault," Grayson said matter-of-factly. "Let's close this chapter and get ready for a bright new morning."

"And you have plans for what exactly?" Eleanor sat down.

Grayson stood up, went to the kitchen, and grabbed a bottle of room-temperature water, twisting the cap off and handing it to Eleanor. She took it and drank naturally.

"Dinner together tomorrow night," he said, taking out a bottle of athletic drink from the fridge and gulping it down.

Eleanor put down her water bottle and nodded, "What's the plan?"
"Let me set you up with a real Sunshine handsome," my friend suggested.

Eleanor frowned, "Are you also on the bandwagon of trying to get me hitched?"

"Come on, don't be like that," my friend chided. "Just consider it making a new friend. He's a reliable guy from my sports team, a real national treasure."

Eleanor wasn't having it. "No way," Eleanor replied without a second thought, "You're trying to play big brother, sneaking around with these setups, huh?"

Grayson's eyes lit up with a realization. "Oh, you like 'em older? No problem. We've got plenty of eligible bachelors on the team. I'll give you a tour of talent tomorrow!"

"I'm not going," She said resolutely.

"Eleanor, have you no heart? Tomorrow's my birthday!" he griped, rolling his eyes at me.

Eleanor paused, running through the dates in her head—tomorrow was, indeed, his birthday.

Truth be told, she had already picked out his gift, but with everything that's happened these past few days, she totally lost track of time.

Knowing how touchy he could be, and not the easiest to appease after a slight, Eleanor quickly agreed, "Alright, alright, big brother, I'll be there."

He took another sip of his water.

Finally, she agreed.

Now, he needed to figure out how to help Eleanor move on from that heartbreaker Aaron and start a fresh chapter in her life.

They say the best way to get over someone is to dive into something new.

With all the talent in the team, he was determined to win her heart.

...

When Eleanor arrived at the office, she found the intern sitting at her desk, tears streaming down her face. The moment the intern saw Eleanor, she burst out, "Eleanor!"

"What's wrong?" Eleanor immediately dropped her bag and steadied the intern's shoulders, handing her tissues to dry her tears.

"The proposal you asked me to send to the client yesterday, I messed it up. I sent them the outdated version by mistake. The client blew up at us, accusing us of fooling them," the intern sobbed, "Eleanor, what do I do?"

The intern, affectionately known as Nora, was young and endearing. Her honest and simple nature usually meant she was meticulous with her work, so such a mistake was out of character—but it had happened, nonetheless.

Eleanor furrowed her brows.

This project was a difficult win that she and Nora had been working on for quite some time.

"Eleanor, what do I do? Is the boss going to fire me? Does this mean I won't be offered a full-time position?" Nora clutched Eleanor's sleeve, looking up with a mix of despair and helplessness.

"Eleanor, I don't want to leave. What should I do?"

Eleanor spoke calmly, "Don't be scared, and don't panic. Now's not the time to worry about that. We need to think about how to fix this. Print the updated proposal right now. Then, go wash your face, freshen up, and we'll go take care of it together."

In that moment, Eleanor was Nora's beacon of hope, a modern-day miracle worker.
"All right, I'm on it," she said, her voice trembling with emotion, a tear of joy escaping her eye.

A notification popped up on her computer screen.

[Eleanor, please come to my office.]

It was from Vincent.

Seconds later, Eleanor knocked on the Director's office door.

"Come in."

She entered to find Vincent watering the plants on her desk, clad in a smoke-purple business suit similar to Eleanor's own. However, Vincent's frame was slighter, not as dramatically curvaceous as Eleanor's, her attire exuding a corporate vibe more than anything.

Not like Eleanor, whom Nora would teasingly refer to as 'Affiliate's own seductress,' claiming any business suit she wore seemed to whisper sweet sins.

"Director Thompson, did you need me?"

Vincent set down her watering can and looked up with a smile. "It's just us here, no need for formalities. Have a seat."

Eleanor took a seat, her eyes flicking over an invitation on the desk she recognized from the Quinn family – it was for her and Aaron's engagement party.

Suppressing the stir of emotions within, she averted her gaze and asked, "Is there something you needed, Director Thompson?"

Vincent took a seat, sipped her coffee, and glanced casually at the invitation. "I got a call from Spare Credit this morning. The intern you're supervising, Nora, made a rookie mistake. They're questioning our competence and considering ending our partnership. Are you aware of this?"

"I know, Nora just briefed me. Actually, it's not entirely her mistake – I should have reminded her to double-check before sending it off."

Vincent chuckled, "She's an intern, not a child. She doesn't need to be reminded about everything."

Eleanor knew this all too well but didn't wish to keep justifying. "I've already instructed her to print the correct proposal. I'll take her over to Spare Credit myself shortly to explain and, hopefully, win back their understanding."

Vincent nodded and then sighed, "This is the last thing I need so soon after taking the helm. I was supposed to use this opportunity to assert my authority, but since she's your intern and you've asked me to spare her, consider it a favor owed."

Then, with a smile and a warmer tone, she teased, "After all, we are about to become family."