Chapter 10 Bring Me A Deal!

Yvonne pressed her ear against the closed iron door. Elijah hadn't made any sound, but the green-haired youth's cry broke intermittently.

Curiously, Hannah approached as well.

Soon, Elijah twisted the door open, and Yvonne noticed his rolled-up sleeves and red palms.

The green-haired youth was bleeding from his mouth and nose, supported by a few followers as they stumbled out of the mediation room.

The youth's face was filled with hostility, but his head was low. "Within an hour, I will transfer the medical expenses to Miss Anderson's account."

Hannah couldn't believe it. "Okay."

As the green-haired youth and his group were about to leave the police station, Elijah sternly shouted, "Apologize!"

The green-haired youth immediately turned around, gritting his teeth, and deeply bowed to Hannah. "I'm sorry, Miss Anderson. I was the one who struck Oliver first. Please relay my apology to Oliver."

Hannah was shocked.

The green-haired youth and his group quickly left.

Yvonne waved her hand in front of Hannah, who was still in a daze, before she thanked Elijah.

Elijah didn't say anything. He simply glanced at Yvonne. "I'll wait for you in the car."

Yvonne responded with an "OK" gesture, while Hannah held her chest and praised the heavens.

"Yvonne, you're dating Winslow's most formidable lawyer! Impressive!"

"Don't talk nonsense. We just know each other!" Yvonne whispered with a guilty conscience, "Someone like Elijah may satisfy his vanity a few times in bed, but if you actually have a relationship with him, it would be exhausting!"

At that moment, Hannah's phone received a message. Not only did the green-haired youth transfer Oliver's medical expenses, but he also added an extra ten thousand dollars.

"Mr. Harper has done such a huge favor, you must thank him for me!" Hannah smiled and pinched Yvonne's cheek. "If all else fails, offer yourself to him! Mr. Harper may be a bit aloof, but I think his character is still better than that person."

"Why do you keep mentioning that bastard?" Yvonne glared at Hannah.

Hannah immediately covered her mouth, and Yvonne bid farewell to Hannah, afraid that Elijah might be getting impatient.

Two meters away from Elijah's car, Yvonne overheard him speaking on the phone.

"Carter intercepted a young girl with his questionable friends last night, sending her classmate to the hospital. He showed no remorse and caused a scene at the hospital. If you don't intervene, I'll break his legs next time." His voice was cold and emotionless.

It turns out the young man with green hair is named Carter. It's unclear what relationship the two Harpers might have!

She foolishly believed Elijah had developed feelings for her after sleeping together a few times. How ridiculous! If two times isn't enough, then sleep a few more times.

Yvonne hesitated for a moment before knocking on the car window. By the time Yvonne got in the car, Elijah had finished his call. Yvonne thanked him sincerely.

Elijah, looking handsome and serious, spoke without any warmth in his voice, "Get off at the next intersection."

"My car is still in Rhode Hills. After everything, you should at least give me a ride there!" Yvonne instantly became annoyed.

Elijah changed directions, and the car stopped by the road. Unlocking the central locking system was another way of urging her to get out of the car.

Yvonne still had the ongoing renovation of the Harper family's old house on her mind, so she didn't dare argue with him and obediently got out of the car.

Elijah drove away in a hurry. He had a charming appearance and a mature and steady personality. As long as he didn't cling to her, occasionally arranging a meeting would be fine.

The most crucial thing was that being with Elijah would infuriate Grace. After being suppressed by Grace for so many years, Yvonne finally had a sense of satisfaction from turning the tide.

Yvonne hitched a ride to Rhode Hills and then returned to her rental house in her white Volkswagen. After changing into comfortable home clothes and entering the information from the Harper Mansion into her computer, Yvonne began sketching the preview blueprint.

Once she entered work mode, she could single-mindedly sit for the whole day. Combining Elijah's requirements, she drew a rough framework first, but no matter how she looked at it, she wasn't satisfied.

Exhausted from making modifications, her neck was sore by the time she got up. Picking up her phone, which had been set to silent, she saw that it was already 11 PM. Yvonne massaged her sore neck and cooked a bowl of noodles before taking a hot bath and falling into a deep sleep.

The next day was Monday, Yvonne's first day in the design department. Because she had to hand over her work, she went to the marketing department first after clocking in.

Several colleagues, with whom she had a good relationship, quietly congratulated her on escaping Grace's clutches. Everyone chatted and laughed, and one colleague accidentally mentioned Mr. Granger.

"Mr. Granger must have offended someone. It was revealed that he had committed accounting fraud and tax evasion. I just heard that he's in prison now. Yvonne, your order is gone!"

Yvonne knew that Mr. Granger's order would be canceled, but she didn't expect him to get into such big trouble. She had a feeling that this matter wasn't so simple.

Half an hour later, after completing the handover, Yvonne arrived at the design department to report. The design department had three teams, and Yvonne was assigned to Team C. Including Yvonne, Team C had a total of five people. One of them was honest and straightforward.

The female college graduate who had just walked out of the school gate, like Yvonne, was brought in with nothing but enthusiasm. There were two middle-aged men, both in their forties, who talked about health all day long; they had everything except for ambition.

The team leader, Susan, was a forty-year-old spinster, nicknamed the witch. She had never been in love or had a boyfriend. She had been working at the Brooks Group for fifteen years, diligently and tirelessly.

Team A had two top-notch designers who were well-known in the country, and Team B had someone who was highly paid to join them.

Clearly, Team C was the least promising. They ranked last in monthly and quarterly assessments.

The women's professional skirts at the Brooks Group were already quite rigid, but Susan insisted that the neckline was too large and used an invisible button.

Susan had an unremarkable appearance, neither wearing makeup nor smiling.

Yvonne was so intimidated by Susan's expression of disappointment that she lost all desire to greet her.

Susan looked at Yvonne's "impressive performance" in the marketing department on her computer screen, and the crow's feet at the corner of her eyes deepened. "Mr. Brooks looks down on Team C! They just keep stuffing newcomers in here! I can't continue as the team leader anymore!"

Yvonne burst into laughter.

She had been called "seductive woman" and "shameless," but being called a "newcomer" was a first.

"You have the nerve to laugh!" Susan covered her chest, her face full of bitterness. "Team C's performance has been consistently at the bottom this year. We barely receive the base salary. We have a quarterly assessment next month, and if we can't break through, we'll be kicked out!"

"Susan, let's work hard together," Yvonne replied absentmindedly.

"Work hard? I'm the first one to arrive at the company every day and the last one to leave. I even work overtime on weekends. Am I not working hard enough?" Susan looked aggrieved and banged the table. "I'm already fed up with those three idiots, and now they sent me a useless vase. I should just resign now!"

Yvonne's scalp tingled as she listened. "I graduated from the Architecture Department of Seattle University. Who told you that I'm a useless vase?"

Susan looked Yvonne up and down several times and sneered, "In the marketing department for three months, you've only closed a deal of less than a hundred thousand dollars. Energy is limited, and with such delicate makeup and long nails, it's natural to cut corners at work. If you're not a vase, then what are you?"

Yvonne was speechless.

Susan was right. The only "achievement" she had in the marketing department was the result of a face-off with Grace.

"Do you want to leave Team C and go find Mr. Brooks on your own, or should I go?" Susan said with a stern face. "Or should I give you a chance? Bring in a two-hundred-thousand-dollar deal by the end of the month, or get out of Team C."

Yvonne didn't want to be sent back to Grace, so she smiled and said, "Just two hundred thousand dollars? Not a big deal."

"Then get into work mode now!" Susan sounded like an emotionless robot.

Yvonne walked out of Susan's office door and made a disdainful sound. Carrying a storage box, she arrived at the C team's office area only to find a glass bottle on her empty desk, with a budding rose inside. There were also a few snacks on her desk.

"Welcome!" Her three colleagues applauded and welcomed Yvonne in unison. Yvonne greeted them with a smile. Lily, a girl of the same age as Yvonne, had a sweet appearance and long hair. She spoke gently. The rose and snacks on Yvonne's desk were gifts from Lily.

The four of them had met before, and in less than five minutes, they became quite familiar. Thomas, who wore glasses with a high prescription, asked if Susan had scolded her.

"No way," Yvonne denied.

"We've all been through it," Thomas comforted Yvonne with profound meaning, "Susan has a bad temper, you'll get used to it."

"Our team submits the highest number of design drawings each month, but they always get rejected because they don't meet the client's design concept," James lamented while sipping his herbal tea. "I don't know if the client is unsatisfied or if someone is setting Susan up to make us take the responsibility."

Yvonne vowed to achieve something in the design department.

After arranging her office supplies, she dialed Elijah's phone number, but he didn't answer. She sent a message to Elijah on WhatsApp along with the design drawings. Elijah still didn't respond.

Mr. Harper was really a tough nut to crack. But she found this challenge interesting. She had to excel in her performance, and she couldn't hang herself on one tree.

She found Ryan's number and called. He didn't answer the first time, but the second time the call went through, and a sweet female voice answered, "Ryan is taking a shower and can't answer the phone right now."

Yvonne glanced at the time on her phone. It was 9:30 in the morning. Mr. Winston was lucky. He didn't have to work on a busy Monday.

"I'm a friend of Mr. Winston, involved in interior decoration. I would like to go to Mr. Winston's villa as soon as possible to check it out and get the blueprints done. Could you please let Mr. Winston know?"

"Alright, goodbye," the woman politely hung up.

Yvonne opened the chat screen with Elijah and scrolled up. Since becoming friends, she had been talking to herself, and Elijah hadn't left a single word. Yvonne chuckled at her own failure.

By noon, Yvonne felt that she couldn't wait any longer. That's life; if you don't fight for something, you'll never know if a miracle will happen.

Yvonne drove to the Elijah's law firm, but without an appointment, she couldn't see Elijah at all.

Yvonne pulled the same trick again. She used the power of attorney previously issued by the Brooks Group to deceive the receptionist and knocked on Elijah's office door.

"Come in." Elijah's deep voice came through, and Yvonne turned the doorknob, calling out with a smile, "Mr. Harper!"