The Montgomery Group’s corporate performance was assessed quarterly, and the president personally reviewed it, basing the company’s development on the performance of various departments and their staff members. For the employees, this performance report was critical due to its implications on their bonuses. Everyone had worked hard for three months, all for this reward.
However, due to the numerous departments and their differing responsibilities, the standards for performance evaluation varied greatly, as did the methods of assessment. The Montgomery Group was not a small company, and compiling the data of so many employees would normally take at least a week. Yet, she was expected to complete it in just one day?
Mrs. Lyman patted her shoulder, “Heather, I was too busy with other matters the past few days and forgot to hand it over to you. You are competent, and even the manager holds you in high regard. I believe you can do it.”
“But… how can one day be enough?” Heather said, holding a thick stack of documents.
“Heather, I thought you didn’t mind working overtime? Just put in some extra hours tonight and you’ll have it done. I really appreciate it, and I believe you can handle this,” Mrs. Lyman said with a smile before leaving.
“Mrs. Lyman, I…”
Heather stretched out her hand but failed to catch the hem of Mrs. Lyman’s garment, a look of worry spreading across her face.
One day it is, she couldn’t believe she wouldn’t manage. The manager had said that any difficulty must be overcome, so Heather began to meticulously review the documents, unaware of the mocking smiles on the faces of some people behind her.
Aurora arrived at Luminary, a company that had been established just this year. Despite being new, its size was considerable, indicating that Luminary intended to deeply root itself in Clothville for long-term development.
Upon entering the lobby, a beautiful receptionist approached, “Are you Miss Montgomery? The president has been waiting for you for a while now. I’ll take you up.”
“Thank you.”
Following her into the elevator, they went directly to the top floor.
The higher they went, the less crowded it became. When Aurora stepped out, she noticed the floor was almost deserted.
She stopped in front of a grand, retro-styled door, “This is it, Miss Montgomery, please come in.”
“Okay.”
Aurora knocked on the door and heard a man’s voice inside say, “Come in.”
She pushed the door and entered.
The office decor was simple and understated, predominantly black and white, almost devoid of any other color, which felt somewhat oppressive, unlike Jason’s character.
“You’re here.”
The person who turned around in the luxurious leather chair was not Jason, but Eric.
Seeing him, Aurora’s expression changed immediately, “It’s you? Whatever game you’re playing, I’m not participating.”
She knew too well that pie doesn’t just fall from the sky; this was yet another decoy to lure her into a trap willingly.
Aurora turned to leave, but Eric’s voice followed, “This is the draft contract I’ve prepared. Are you sure you don’t want to look at it?”
Resorting again to talking about contracts, Aurora turned back to see the contract laid out in front of him and walked toward him, “I advise you not to play any tricks, or I will call the police.”
Eric gave a wry smile of resignation, realizing he had been too hasty initially, thinking of Julian, that cunning wolf.
If not for him, Eric wouldn’t have been so desperate to secure a deal before Julian’s return, ultimately ruining the image he had painstakingly built.
“I won’t hurt you again.”
Aurora didn’t respond but started to examine the contract carefully, wary of any tricks, reading each sentence several times over.
“You have plenty of time, you can sit and watch,” Eric began.
Even so, Aurora did not want to sit across from him and instead went to the adjacent sofa to carefully review the contract.
Eric slowly stood up and ground a cup of coffee for Aurora.
“You bought this one; it tastes quite good. Try it.”
Aurora was so engrossed in the contract that she didn’t notice and took a sip of the coffee, likely thinking it was just a cup of plain water in her hand.
Eric walked to the window and drew back all the curtains, letting the sunlight fall on Aurora, who naturally belonged in the light, unlike himself.
Every time he saw Aurora’s serious profile in the sunlight, he found it utterly charming, and watching her like this felt like happiness.
Aurora read over the contract several times and finally finished, “There’s nothing wrong with this contract.”
“If you have any additional requests, you can make them now,” Eric reminded her.
Aurora shook her head, “No.”
She found it odd, sometimes for small orders, both parties would negotiate extensively before reaching an agreement.
Not to mention such a major collaboration. The contract Eric presented was so comprehensive that there was no room for amendments or additions.
Could it be just because Eric also worked at Montgomery Group and was familiar with both sides, that he could draft such a perfect contract in one go?
“If you have no objections, I will have someone print the official contract and send it to your email shortly. Review it again, and if there are no issues, we can choose a date to sign.”
Aurora looked at him suspiciously. Was Eric always this easy to talk to? She hadn’t noticed before.
“Fine, but I have one question. Why the sudden change of heart? Don’t you want the vice president position at Montgomery Group anymore?” Aurora asked indifferently.
“I want to keep that a secret, but please believe that I mean no harm,” Eric could have said that he was giving up the vice presidency to Aurora as a way to make up for that incident.
But he knew it was Julian who had traded land to make it happen, and even this contract had been drafted by Julian, each word proving his deep affection for Aurora.
Thinking of this, Eric suddenly didn’t want to do it anymore; doing so would only make Julian appear noble and himself insignificant.
“A secret?” Aurora felt this was even more peculiar. To her, it seemed like it could be explained in a simple sentence. Why did Eric insist on keeping it a secret?
“Try the coffee, I made it myself,” Eric changed the subject.
Aurora sipped the now lukewarm coffee. Although it didn’t taste as good as when it was hot, she could still discern its uniqueness compared to other coffees.
“So, that information about Jason was actually yours? You’re the one who likes Blue Mountain Coffee?” Aurora then realized that from the beginning, she had fallen into Eric’s trap.
“Yes, Aurora, actually, I’ve wanted several times…”
“Let’s settle the contract then. I have to get back to my company,” Aurora cut him off, wanting to revisit the past. Even though he had helped her today, it didn’t make up for what he had done before.
No matter what he said, she would not believe him anymore. Value your life, stay away from Eric.