Estelle was pleasantly surprised to hear this. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Jones.”
“Don’t call me Mrs. Jones anymore. My name is Bella Jaycox. Just call me Bella from now on.”
Estelle nodded with a smile and agreed, “Okay. Thank you, Bella.”
“I’ll call you Estelle from now on,” Bella said, “The next magazine issue is going to print next Monday. Send me your design drawings as soon as you can. Also, send me your photos, resume, and past work. I want to showcase not only your designs but also introduce you to the fashion world!”
“Ms. Jaycox, you’re a role model for independent women. I truly admire your determination to pursue what you want!” Eva praised Bella tactfully.
With her chin held high, Bella said with a cheerful tone, “You have good taste. But aren’t you Cristofer’s secretary? I just criticized your boss. Now you’re on my side. Aren’t you worried he might fire you?”
“I don’t care! If he does, I’ll come here and work as Ms. Hudson’s secretary. I also want to be an independent woman like you and Ms. Hudson.”
“Good. You’ve got potential,” Bella said with satisfaction. Then she stood up, grabbed her handbag, and said, “Estelle, I need to leave now. I’ll head back to the office and ask the editor to change the magazine cover for this issue. Send me your design drawings and the other materials before I finish work this afternoon. If you can help double the magazine’s sales, I’ll cancel your debts.”
“Alright. Thank you.”
After Bella left, Eva crossed her arms and smirked at the exasperated Gretchen. “Miss White, it seems like you were trying to stir up trouble, but you inadvertently brought about a partnership between Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Hans. Thank you for that.”
“You…”
“Tsk-tsk. A pest in the drain and a repugnant rat on the street… Haha!” Eva chuckled, looking at Gretchen.
Hearing this, Gretchen snapped, “Who are you talking about?”
“Obviously, she’s talking about you. You should have figured that out,” Estelle chimed in with a laugh. “I think the metaphor is quite fitting. What do you think?”
Hearing Estelle’s words, Gretchen was rendered speechless. She asked, “Did you ask me to come here just to ridicule me?”
Shaking her head, Estelle answered, “No, I asked you to come here because I need to act.”
“Act?” Gretchen was confused.
“You’ve been acting for so many years, and now it’s time for me to act. There was so much media outside just now. I had to play a generous and tolerant person in front of them. Do you really think that what you did today will cause any harm to me?”
“Even if I can’t do anything to you this time, it doesn’t mean you are the winner. Just wait and see,” Gretchen said, snorting.
Estelle said firmly, “I won’t just stand by. You’re responsible for the deaths of four people. That’s a fact that can’t be changed. You escaped the death penalty because of your pregnancy before, but I won’t allow you to evade legal consequences this time.”
“Hahaha, Estelle, you’re quite naive. Do you know why I got released from prison this time? Victor posted bail for me. He’s ‘Cristofer’s now. No matter how many times you try to put me in prison, Victor will ensure my release as long as he’s alive.”
Without saying a word, Estelle calmly organized the items on her desk and asked, “Do you know why Victor helped you?”
“Of course, I’m not foolish. Someone like him doesn’t do things without a motive. He helped me get out of prison just to cause problems for you,” Gretchen responded with a smug smile, her arms folded. “But I don’t care about his motives. As long as he helps me, that’s all that matters. Plus, I enjoy making your life difficult. It brings me satisfaction.”
Hearing this, Eva was so infuriated that she slapped Gretchen across the face. “What nonsense are you spewing? You’re a mother. Have you ever thought about how your child will view you when he discovers that you’re a despicable person involved in shady dealings?”
Gretchen shrugged indifferently and replied, “Why should I care about what he thinks of me? I only care about my own survival.”
“So you had a child just to avoid the death penalty?” Estelle questioned.
Gretchen laughed and glanced at Estelle, asking, “Estelle, is this girl your secretary?”
“It’s none of your concern,” Eva retorted, rolling her eyes. “Get out of here immediately! You’ve tainted our company’s reputation. If it weren’t for Mrs. Hans, I would have kicked you out long ago!”
“I’ll leave, but I’ll be back soon,” Gretchen said with a knowing smile. “Estelle, just wait and see. You want to restore the Hudson Group’s success, don’t you? Forget it. I won’t let you succeed.” With that, she pushed the door open and confidently left.
Stamping her feet in anger, Eva exclaimed, “Mrs. Hans, you’re too kind to her. If it were me, I would have given her a good beating!”
Estelle responded with a gentle tone, “Everyone knows I brought her into the company. If she were physically harmed, the media would spin even more sensational stories about us.”
“So, there’s nothing we can do about her? If she keeps causing trouble here as she threatened, our company won’t have any peace! Shouldn’t we involve the police?”
“Didn’t you hear what she said? Victor would come to her aid even if she’s arrested,” Estelle explained, letting out a sigh. “I’ll consider how to deal with her later. Right now, the most crucial thing is our collaboration with Ms. Jaycox. Eva, inform the production department that I’ll send them the design drawings tonight and request them to create samples as soon as possible.”
“Alright,” Eva replied. “It’s just so frustrating that someone like Gretchen can evade legal consequences. It’s so unjust.”
“Let’s not dwell on this now. Get back to work. We can’t afford to waste any more time,” Estelle ordered gently.
“Okay,” Eva sighed and nodded, then hurried out of the meeting room, forgetting to close the door behind her.
Taking a deep breath, Estelle left the reception area. When she returned to her office, she sat down wearily, feeling a sense of helplessness.
Estelle pondered, ‘If Gretchen continues causing trouble here, it will harm the company’s reputation. Victor’s actions are despicable. He couldn’t achieve his goals, so he bailed Gretchen out to disrupt my life. But dwelling on this won’t help. My focus right now should be completing the design drawings promptly and sending them to Ms. Jaycox. This collaboration opportunity is precious, and I must make the most of it.’
Feeling fatigued, she massaged her temples and opened the drawing software to begin her work.