Serena had a fleeting second of panic, but the secretary accompanying Julian was extremely quick-witted and proactively pulled out the chairs for them.
Words spoken could not be taken back, so Serena had to give a wry smile, then sat still in her chair.
Logically, upon knowing the legal wife had arrived, shouldn’t a refined lady proactively yield the seat next to the person’s husband?
Clearly, Serena completely ignored this basic courtesy, remaining seated there as still as a statue.
Chloe also did not move, pretending to adjust her handbag.
The fire of anger in her heart was still smoldering.
Normally, with her education and pride, she definitely would not bother arguing to snatch a seat, but today her hormones seemed to be protesting, making it impossible to control herself.
Julian at this moment quietly stood up and moved to sit in the empty chair next to the secretary, thus leaving the prime spot right next to Serena completely empty.
“Sit here,” Julian spoke in his calm, deep voice.
In her heart, Chloe felt the lump of anger subside somewhat.
She nodded slightly, telling Harper to choose her food first, and then, without any polite hesitation, leisurely sat down with her legs crossed right between Serena and Julian.
As soon as she settled in, the air pressure on Serena’s side seemed to suddenly drop below zero.
The M&G agency staff looked at each other in utter confusion, somewhat not understanding what this dramatic play was ultimately all about.
Who was this breathtakingly beautiful brunette woman who suddenly appeared, and why did CEO Julian Quinn’s attitude towards her seem so indulging!
Could this be the romantic rival of their boss Serena?!
“What the hell is she doing…” Madison, sitting diagonally opposite, muttered a curse with a sullen face.
Her lips jutted out exactly like Donald Duck, combined with her smudged makeup that hadn’t been thoroughly removed, making her look exactly like a plucked peacock.
“Madison!” Julian raised his voice.
Although deep and not loud, it carried an incredibly terrifying, oppressive authority.
Under Julian’s sharp, ash-gray gaze, Madison immediately bowed her head, wishing she could dive right under the table.
Damn it, meeting Serena again today and successfully making her cousin Julian stay for a meal, Madison seemed to have gotten overly excited and completely forgot her status and boundaries…
“Milady, here is the detox celery juice you like!” The landlady beamed radiantly at this moment, bringing over a glass pitcher.
“Thank you, Maria!” Chloe was overjoyed.
Because she frequently came over to find Cecile to discuss work, she was quite familiar with the owner’s family here.
From the first time she tasted the secretly formulated detox juice made by the eatery, she was completely hooked.
Gradually, every time she dropped by, the landlady would automatically bring it out to serve.
Chloe smoothly picked up the lemon-infused water glass that Serena had just coquettishly poured for Julian; the ice in the glass had already melted into a bland taste.
She calmly tossed that leftover water into the empty bowl used for table scraps, then proudly filled the glass to the brim with the cool, vibrant green juice.
She pushed the glass toward him and said in a sweet voice: “Try a taste, it is my favorite organic drink.” Julian reached out to take the glass from Chloe’s hand, his thumb accidentally brushing lightly across the back of her hand.
He took a sip and then calmly nodded: “The taste is not bad.” The series of interactive movements between the two happened incredibly naturally and in perfect harmony.
Anyone with a normal EQ at the dining table could immediately understand that the relationship between these two was definitely not that of ordinary business partners.
Serena’s face on the other side, if looked at closely, appeared pale and ashen beneath her expensive foundation.
Even though she was still maintaining an industrial smile, one could still see through the crumbling awkwardness within it.
“Oh my God!” A young female employee wearing horn-rimmed glasses on the M&G side opposite suddenly jumped up.
Her face flushed red with excitement, she covered her mouth with her hand and pointed straight at Chloe in disbelief: “This…
this is…” Everyone looked blankly in the direction of the girl’s gaze, their line of sight stopping at the left hand resting on the table by Chloe.
On that slender ring finger, under the brilliant sunlight shining through the glass window, was a massive diamond reflecting a blindingly sparkling light.
Seeing this, the rest of the people either let their jaws drop or took a deep breath in admiration.
One did not need to be a connoisseur; just looking at the size of that Emerald-cut diamond was enough to understand that its value must reach millions of dollars!
“Good Lord, a stone this big must be worth an apartment in Manhattan!” Employee A exclaimed in awe.
“It’s not worth much anyway, diamonds are essentially just a De Beers marketing trick to inflate prices, they have absolutely no profitable investment value compared to solid gold…” Employee B – a dry IT guy who did not understand romance – spoke up and pouted.
“What the hell do you know?
This ring of hers is conservatively estimated to be at least 8 carats, and as for how much the retail price is, it is impossible to guess; one must see which luxury brand’s Custom Design it is!
Poverty has truly limited my imagination!” Employee C exclaimed sharply.
“I am well aware of the designs from Cartier or Tiffany & Co., this model looks very unfamiliar…
But indeed, the crafting lines are excessively exquisite.” Employee A showed immense interest: “Miss, where did you buy this wedding ring?
Or is it a Private Custom piece?
Do you have the jeweler’s name card?
I want to order a smaller one.
Does your model come with an accompanying men’s ring design?” A series of continuous questions rained down on Chloe.
“Wait a minute?
So you…
are already married…” Employee C looked at Chloe with a scrutinizing gaze, then shifted her eyes to Mr.
Julian Quinn, stringing together their intimate actions from just now.
After that, her gaze accidentally caught a glimpse of the plain platinum band on Julian’s left ring finger, and she was so surprised that she clumsily clamped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming.
She had seen it, and the other colleagues naturally were not blind either.
Immediately, the complexions of all the M&G employees became incredibly colorful and awkward.
Without prior agreement, they simultaneously threw judgmental glances toward their own Director Serena.
The man clearly had a legal wife sitting right there in plain sight, yet Director Serena was still brazenly flirting and trying to rope him in…
the youth nowadays truly have such a loose lifestyle…
As for Serena, she was trying her best to bite her lower lip tightly, attempting to maintain a superficially fake, calm facial expression.
“I’m telling you…” Employee B calmly pushed his glasses frame up the bridge of his nose: “Stop having delusional dreams about this lady’s ring; just the fee to pay for the design sketch alone, your entire year’s salary would not be enough to cover it.” That was the genuine, authentic Mrs.
Quinn; the value of that diamond ring could only be reached by the ultra-rich on the Forbes list.
“Shut up!
Everyone be quiet and listen to me!” The young girl who had jumped up in shock earlier stomped her feet continuously: “Do you guys know that this lady’s ring model is precisely the limited edition Masterpiece from the GY brand launched during Paris Fashion Week two years ago?
What does limited edition mean?
It means it is Unique!
This is a work personally crafted by Noreen, the Creative Director of GY.
Back then, a photo of it was only posted on the official Instagram for exhibition, completely rejecting all offering prices!” Hearing this, Chloe gently raised a hand to rub the bridge of her nose: “This young girl truly knows her stuff inside out…” Initially, when she personally designed the wedding ring for herself, because she could not contain the sublimation of her artistic emotions, she indeed posted a rendered photo of the finished product on the brand’s Instagram account.
But she did not attach a caption announcing that it was her personal wedding ring, and she only made it public for three days before deleting it immediately.
“Of course!” The girl puffed out her chest proudly: “My major is Fashion, but the biggest passion of my life is Jewelry Design!” “Just a lowly intern…” Employee C disdainfully interrupted to mock: “You haven’t even passed your probation period yet you dare to broadcast to the outside world that you are a designer?
Where did you get that confidence from?” The small girl instantly deflated like a popped balloon, looking extremely despondent.
It was true; if they hadn’t been short of an errand-runner to fetch coffee today, she would not have had a slot to be dispatched to follow the team for support.
Chloe unconsciously twisted the diamond face on her ring, her gaze absentmindedly drifting over to Julian’s left hand resting on the table.
His wedding ring was just an incredibly rustic, plain, smooth platinum band, entirely without any ornate engravings.
Back then, Chloe had thought Julian’s style leaned toward Minimalism, disliking complicated, ostentatious things, so she chose this elegant design.
Previously, because she wanted to handcraft the wedding rings for the two of them, Chloe had locked herself in the crafting workshop for an entire month straight.
From 3D sketching, selecting the rough stone, and casting the wax mold, to the moment of polishing the final product, everything was personally done and monitored by her down to the millimeter; the meaning hidden within the pair of rings was incredibly profound.
Just escaping her stream of memories, she saw the young intern’s despondent, mocked face.
She tilted her head and asked gently: “Since you are so passionate about jewelry design, why did you choose to apply as an intern in the fashion sector?” The girl let out a long sigh: “Portfolio limitations, miss.” She was just a poor student who graduated from a mid-tier school.
Currently, major jewelry brands all demanded degrees from prestigious institutes like GIA, plus practical experience.
Without a senior to support her, and even less having any connections, how could she have a chance to cross over into the luxury gemology industry?
“Tsk!” Employee C disdainfully rolled her eyes: “Can you stop playing the victim oppressed by life?
The saying goes, whatever profession you work in, you must respect it.
Lacking the competitive ability and having to choose a makeshift workplace, yet still brazenly showing off your personal hobbies in front of colleagues and management—is this kind of working attitude truly acceptable?” The small girl’s complexion instantly turned as pale as a sheet of paper.
Looking at Director Serena’s face, which clearly displayed harsh annoyance, the girl didn’t dare to shed a tear even if she wanted to cry: “I…
I am just passionate about jewelry design…” She had never once opened her mouth to disparage her current fashion job, after all.
How did just a slight slip of the tongue get her labeled with such an irresponsible attitude!