Chapter 159 Can't Lose to Her
After a pleasant dinner together, Roy and Lilian enjoyed their conversation immensely.
When parting, Roy sincerely said, "To be honest, I have great admiration for you, Miss Robbins. If it were up to me, I would definitely put this deal in your hands. But... Chelsea has impressed all of our shareholders with her capabilities, there's hardly a day when someone isn't recommending her to me!"
Lilian's smile remained unwavering.
"Chelsea has indeed fought some impressive battles these past few years. Not just your shareholders, I admire her myself. However, most of her clients are not from our side, and I'm afraid she might struggle to adapt to Armie Country."
That was also Roy's concern.
Even with last year's success with the national enterprise case, he still had his reservations.
This was one reason why he didn't go straight into a partnership with Monsoon Investment and instead welcomed other companies to submit competing proposals.
"In any case, I have utmost confidence in both Solomon and Miss Robbins. I hope you won't disappoint me!" Roy said with a meaningful look.
"Rest assured, the capabilities of Solomon are not something a company established for only a few years can match." Lilian finally said ambitiously.
"That's good, I'm looking forward to your proposal." Roy replied and then got into his car.
Lilian watched as he drove away. She had already set her sights on winning this project with determination. Now, having seen the rumored Chelsea, her resolve to secure the project intensified. Even though Lilian couldn't be sure if Chelsea was actually Fiona, she felt that she couldn't bear the thought of losing to someone with such looks!
After Fiona returned home, she had lunch with her two children and then went out for a walk. After returning, she gave the kids a bath. Then it was time for each member of the family to get busy with their own things. One locked themselves in the study, tinkering with a new program, while another was deeply engrossed in drawing.
Chicago had a gift for both social interaction and art. Last year, she won a respectable award for one of her oil paintings. Janna was planning an exhibition for her, but the youngster was very conscientious, refusing to display any work she didn't think was good enough. As a result, there weren't enough pieces for the exhibition, and it kept getting delayed while waiting for Chicago to accumulate a sufficient body of work.
Fiona was busy with work. She condensed and organized the requirements Roy had mentioned earlier that day, wrote an analysis report, and listed both feasible and non-negotiable demands.
Ashton was also out working. In the past two years, her mother had changed her mind about settling in Switzerland and was planning to return to their home country. Ashton thought it over and decided to expand her business there, allowing her to balance work while spending time with her family. By the time she finished her engagements and got home, it was after ten o'clock.
Ashton quietly went to check on the kids in their room, wanting to see them. The room was empty. However, the lights were on in the art studio, study, and Fiona's workspace. She tiptoed over and peeked through each door. What an extraordinary family this was: a painting prodigy, an IT prodigy, and another whose genius wasn't easily categorized but was undoubtedly formidable. Ashton felt her fatigue made her seem particularly inadequate in comparison.
Chicago put down her paintbrush and turned to see Ashton trying to sneak away. She immediately climbed down from her little ladder (she needed assistance due to the large canvas and her short stature) and ran towards Ashton. Ashton didn't care about the paint all over Chicago and picked her up, tossed her into the air, then held her close.
"You little rascal, staying up so late, you need to sleep or you won't grow tall!"
"You've been drinking! You stink!" Chicago leaned back, wrinkling her nose in disgust, trying to avoid the smell.
Ashton playfully moved in closer. The two ended up in a joyful tussle.
Worried about disturbing the others, Ashton simply carried Chicago into the studio.
"What are you painting?" Ashton asked, craning her neck as she held Chicago.
She never quite understood Chicago's artwork, only knowing that professionals praised Chicago's high sensitivity to color and sophisticated use of it.
"It's Uncle Knight." Chicago replied earnestly.
Ashton still couldn't make it out.
But the layers of colors did indeed look beautiful.
One could tell that the painter was in high spirits.
"Wait, Uncle Knight? Charles?" Ashton abruptly changed the topic.
Chicago giggled, "That's a secret, I can't tell!"
Ashton clicked her tongue and pinched her cheek, "Are you still painting?"
"Just a bit more to go."
"Then you continue, I'm going to take a shower!"
"Go, go, you stink!" Chicago waved her hand at her.
Humming, Ashton set Chicago down, yawned, and lazily left the studio.
As she was about to head back to her room, Fiona came out.
"Done with your tasks?" Ashton yawned so hard that her eyes teared up.
"Yeah." Fiona nodded and glanced at the study and the studio, "They haven't gone to sleep yet?"
"Not yet." Ashton yawned again.
Then she heard Fiona say, "I saw Lilian today."
Any hint of sleepiness vanished from Ashton. "And then?"
"What do you think? I pretended I wasn't Fiona." she said with a shrug of resignation. "Actually, before going to Serene City, I had run into Wyatt in the park."
Ashton hesitated, wondering whether to tell Fiona about Chicago having already met Darwin.
"Bay City is so big, how come you ran into these people so quickly?" Ashton wondered.
"Don't worry, Wyatt won't tell Darwin, and Lilian definitely won't." Fiona said calmly. "How about you? How's your business going?"
"It's okay."
"Drink less alcohol." Fiona advised, rubbing her head, "Go wash up and get some sleep."
Ashton responded with a nod.
Fiona was about to head downstairs.
Ashton watched her slender figure. Again, she thought of Darwin whom she had seen the other day.
Honestly... since she saw Darwin and held Chicago in that moment, Ashton had a premonition.
The issues between Darwin and Fiona weren't over.
"Fiona…" Ashton called out to Fiona.
Fiona turned to look at her, "What is it?"
Ashton had plenty to say.
But when it came to the tip of her tongue, she just couldn't spit it out.
"It's nothing." Ashton shrugged, turning to head back up the stairs to her room.
Fiona was a bit perplexed.
She wandered into the dining room and casually fixed herself a drink.
Sitting at the bar, she sipped her beverage while replying to emails.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, at some point, a light rain had started to drizzle down.
Fiona looked outside, suddenly recalling the Lilian she had seen during the day.
She seemed different, somehow changed, unfamiliar yet strangely familiar.
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