Chapter 22

The night was late, and the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom.

Emily's head was foggy from the steam, and she felt like she had no control over her body.

James was still inside her, moving slowly in and out.

Emily's body was flushed, her slender fingers pressing against the wall until James grabbed her, kissing her back. His movements became more intense.

Emily couldn't take it anymore and cursed him, "James, you jerk."

"Emily, I'm just trying to please you. Aren't you enjoying it?"

Emily let out a groan, rolling her eyes. In bed, James was such a jerk!

When James carried Emily to bed after their shower, she was so exhausted she couldn't even lift a finger.

The next morning

When James woke up, Emily was already gone.

He heard a car engine outside, walked to the window, and saw Emily driving away from Crystal Valley Manor.

Emily went straight back to the company, where everyone in the design department was gathered around Veda, fawning over her.

Yesterday, Veda had openly announced that her boyfriend was John. It seemed like everyone was treating her as Mrs. Williams already.

Plus, Veda was going to discuss the details of a collaboration with James later, so naturally, most people wanted to flatter her.

Veda was well-prepared for the negotiation with ten design drafts.When Emily approached, she handed the drafts to her and said gently, "Emily,take a look at these. Do you think Mr. Smith will like them?"

Emily just glanced at them indifferently.

Nora, standing nearby, said, "Ms. Johnson, Emily doesn't know Mr. Smith well. Asking her is pointless. Besides, few people like her designs."

Emily narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and looked at Nora with interest,saying, "I just happened to meet the founder of Empire Glance a few days ago. She mentioned you provided them with plagiarized designs and refused to correct them, so they don't want to collaborate with us. If I join her in exposing this, I wonder if you can still survive in this industry."

Nora's face stiffened. Everyone in the office heard Emily's words. Being directly exposed for plagiarism left her with no face. Nora wished she could find a place to hide. Everyone knew she plagiarized, but it hadn't caused serious consequences.The founder of Empire Glance, who had a good relationship with Emily,didn't cause trouble for the Williams Group. This gave Nora the illusion that she could get away with it.Emily said flatly, "Plagiarists deserve to be called out. Don't you think so, Veda?"

Bringing up the plagiarism incident made Veda embarrassed. She quickly composed herself, her eyes red, and said, "Emily, I just wanted you to take a look and give me some advice."

Emily chuckled softly, her voice piercing. "My advice is to take your designs and get lost."

Unable to bear it, everyone left with Veda to comfort her.

Emily returned to her office, shut the door, and finally found some peace and quiet.

But it seemed like the chatter outside was intentionally disturbing her peace, as their voices soon drifted back in.

"Ms. Johnson, I bet your work will be on Quigr soon."

Quigr was a jewelry brand under the Golden Birch Group. This collaboration not only involved buying mineral jewelry from the Golden Birch Group but also partnering with Quigr to showcase the Williams Group's brand, Diamond Glow, on the international stage.

"You'll definitely be the only Ms. Johnson in the company in the future. It's like the company has been expanding faster since you arrived." Even Emily couldn't help but laugh mockingly. The Williams Group was really banking on this negotiation with James. If they could finalize the design drafts, they could start promoting and get the jewelry into the market sooner, especially with the upcoming shopping festival. No company would miss this opportunity. So Veda even brought two assistants and prepared drafts to deal with James.

When they arrived at the Golden Birch Group, James's personal assistant,Ryan Martin, came downstairs to greet her.

Veda's assistants were stunned to see this.

"Ms. Johnson, he's a personal assistant. Do you have a good relationship with Mr.Smith?"

Usually,a receptionist could take them upstairs for such negotiations.

Veda was also a bit puzzled. James clearly didn't like her and Emily yesterday, not giving them a good reception. Veda thought, 'Why the sudden change today?

But with her assistants backing her up, she gradually forgot about yesterday. She had already come, and James wouldn't kick her out.

Ryan led her to the meeting room and then went to fetch James.

When James entered the meeting room and saw Veda, his brow furrowed slightly.

Veda delivered the official opening remarks and reached out to shake hands. James didn't move and just looked at her indifferently, the coldness in his eyes surprising Veda.

After a while, she realized thatJames really had no intention of shaking hands,so she awkwardly withdrew her hand. She bit her-lip, then spoke reluctantly, "Mr. Smith, I brought a few new design drafts today, much better than what I showed you yesterday. There must be something you like in them."

Veda tried to hand over the design drafts, but James dropped a bombshell,"Don't fool me with plagiarism."

Veda's assistant wanted to explain, but James directly said, "I never said I was here to negotiate with you. I want to talk to Ms. Johnson from your design department."

Veda's heart sank.

Finally, the assistant couldn't help but speak, "She is Ms. Johnson."

Veda hoped to show James the designs first, and said, "Yesterday's drafts were a mistake. Today's design drafts will surely impress you."

James just looked at her indifferently and said coldly, "I remember losing to Ms. Johnson in the bet yesterday. I naturally have to pay up. Since you were there at the time, you should be clearer than anyone."

Veda's face stiffened. Before she could say anything, James said directly,"I always keep my word. If the person here today is not the genuine Ms.Johnson, then there's no need to continue the cooperation."