Chapter 81 Bought You a Little Gadget
Fiona was talking slowly and steadily, like she owned the place.
Every now and then, she'd chat with the stunned engineers to make sure she wasn't screwing up.
Eric's face went from "What the heck?" to "Wait, what?" and finally landed on "Damn, she's good."
"Sorry, I'm not a pro at this, Mr. Porter. Hope I'm making sense," Fiona said, all humble-like.
Before Eric could even say a word, Darwin swooped in, taking just two steps to get to Fiona.
She didn't ask for his backup, but he was beaming with pride.
It was a big middle finger to the bigwigs at Solomon Group and Atlas Group who thought she was useless. She was killing it.
Darwin asked, "Mr. Porter, my secretary didn't let you down, did she?"
"Not at all!" Eric's eyes lit up. "Ms. Woods is not only a looker but also super smart!"
Hathaway just stood there, watching Darwin look at Fiona with pride and affection.
Her hand clenched into a fist, nails digging into her skin, causing a numbing pain.
All Fiona did was memorize some machine stuff. What was the big deal?
Eric, meanwhile, was totally hooked on Fiona.
"Ms. Woods, do you know how all these machines work?" he asked.
Fiona replied modestly, "Some of them."
Eric got curious and pointed to a complicated-looking part nearby. "What about this one?"
Fiona checked the number and dug through her memory for the right info.
Once again, she nailed it.
By the time dusk rolled around, the group finally left the factory and piled into their cars.
The Solomon Group had set up a reception dinner, and everyone headed there separately.
Thanks to Eric, Fiona's throat was a bit sore from all the talking.
Sitting in Darwin's car, she sipped water to soothe her throat.
"Drop me off up ahead. I'm not going to the dinner," she told Darwin.
"You were the star today, how can you not go?" Darwin frowned.
Fiona made up an excuse on the fly. "Seeing you with Hathaway makes me sick. You want both of us, but I'm not playing along!"
Darwin was caught off guard.
This was the first time Fiona had shown any jealousy.
"She's not coming tonight."
"Not coming?" Fiona was speechless. She thought she had the perfect excuse, but turned out Hathaway wasn't even going.
"Yeah, she said she had to meet some elder," Darwin replied.
He didn't bother asking which elder.
"Then I'm not going either!" Fiona grumbled, "You guys and your social events, my stomach's been off lately, and I can't drink."
"I won't let you drink." Darwin wrapped his arm around her waist and gently massaged it. "Just stay by my side."
Fiona went quiet.
If she refused again, Darwin would probably get pissed.
"Fine." Fiona turned her head away, her expression icy.
Hathaway found out that Janna would be at a private charity auction that evening.
She originally wanted to bring Darwin along.
But as soon as she mentioned it, Darwin shot her down before she could finish.
His excuse was that he didn't do unnecessary social events.
Hathaway was pretty ticked off.
But she couldn't force Darwin to come.
The auction was on the top floor of a swanky hotel.
Hathaway showed up looking like a million bucks, instantly catching the eye of many wealthy women.
"Isn't that the new daughter-in-law of the Solomon family, Hathaway Ross?" someone quickly recognized her.
Darwin had once been the golden boy of high society.
Every big-shot family wanted to marry their daughters to him to get in good with the Solomon family.
In the end, the Ross family snagged him.
Now, some women who missed out on Darwin were still a bit salty when they saw Hathaway.
But no one dared to mess with Hathaway.
Hathaway greeted everyone with a warm smile and a polite nod.
This private auction was for the crème de la crème.
Hathaway looked around for a while but couldn't spot Janna.
No biggie, though.
She had made sure her seat was right next to Janna's.
Soon, the auction kicked off.
Hathaway was a bit late, and by the time she got there, Janna was already seated.
She put on her best surprised face. "Ms. Rhoads?"
Janna, looking all elegant in a light blue gown and a cashmere shawl, was decked out in emerald jewelry, exuding class and confidence.
"Ms. Ross, we meet again," she said with a faint smile.
Hathaway smiled back, just a little.
She knew Janna didn't like people who were too pushy.
So she played it cool.
But Janna started the conversation, "Why didn't Mr. Solomon come with you? When's the wedding date?"
All her questions were about Darwin.
Janna seemed bummed he didn't show up.
The auction got underway.
This charity auction had jewelry and collectibles donated by the ladies present.
Janna donated an emerald bracelet, starting bid: $3 million.
And a diamond kingfisher brooch, starting bid: $1 million.
In the end, Hathaway snagged the brooch for $2.3 million.
"Do you really like it?" Janna asked, curious.
"Yeah." Hathaway nodded. "When I was a kid, I saw your interview in a jewelry magazine, and you showed off this brooch. I loved it back then!"
Janna smiled gently and didn't say much.
"And you? Is there something you want to bid on?" Hathaway noticed Janna hadn't raised her paddle much.
"Of course." Janna nodded. "I didn't want to come at first, but when I saw the catalog this morning, I fell in love with one of the items!"
"Can you give me a hint?" Hathaway asked playfully.
She was like a granddaughter being playful with her grandma.
"You'll find out soon," Janna teased, then added, "I'm planning to buy it as a gift for a beautiful girl."
Hathaway was taken aback. "Your granddaughter?"
Janna shook her head. "Just a beautiful friend."
Hathaway felt a weird sense of unease.
She bid on two more items.
The next item up for auction was a diamond necklace.
It was made of imperial topaz, pink and blue diamonds, and other top-tier gems, starting bid: $1.5 million.
Janna, who had been quiet, raised her paddle.
Hathaway was a bit stunned.
She thought Janna would bid on something worth a few hundred thousand bucks, tops, for a gift.
She didn't expect Janna to go all out.
This necklace was clearly meant for an adult woman.
Who was she planning to give it to?
In the end, Janna won the necklace for $3 million.
As the gavel fell, Janna took out her phone and sent a loving and joyful voice message.
Hathaway heard it loud and clear. "Fiona, I bought you a little gadget. When do you have time to come over and get it?"
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