A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 69

Cold sweats were running down Cassandra's forehead. She didn't know what to do considering that she was the center of attraction and everyone was staring at her. She stood awkwardly alone on the rostrum with her face as pale as the bare walls. Obviously, there was something wrong with her.

Arthur knitted his eyebrows in confusion and anxiously leaned back in his chair.

"What's going on with her?" he tilted his head to his assistant and asked.

His assistant, however, just shrugged his shoulder because he had no idea what was happening. Judging from their previous experiences in doing businesses with the Tang Group, they had witnessed what Cassandra was capable of and they dared not to underestimate her.

They had come and prepared for whatever Cassandra had in store for them, but now it seemed that it was the other way around. Something wrong was happening to her.

Rufus sensed the oddity in the way Cassandra held the flash disk on her clenched fist. He stood up without any hesitation, walked to the organizers and whispered something to them.

He was planning to ask them to give Cassandra another thirty minutes. That would buy Leo some time to go back and fetch a backup copy. He was surprised when Cassandra had braced herself and snapped back right away.

She waved up the flash disk for everyone to see and slowly explained her tight spot.

"It seemed that my flash disk has decided to leave me hanging alone, and it's not good timing," she spoke in no hurry as she shrugged her shoulders with a helpless expression on her face.

Everyone present in the room smiled at her frankness.

"The reason I bought this flash disk was that it got the coolest, most attractive, and had the most unique appearance amongst all the products of the same brand, but it turned out that it didn't serve its purpose. It has a nice appearance but of little use," she continued.

The room was filled with laughter.

Rufus straightened his back and fixed his eyes on Cassandra interestingly.

He was curious about what she would say next.

Then, she changed the topic.

"When I was a little girl, I thought that the most important thing in a certain design was an attractive appearance, but the longer I worked in this industry and the more I learned, the better I understand that the final purpose of design is practicality. The utility should not be sacrificed on behalf of beauty," she narrated emotionally.

The audience she was speaking to was a group of experts when it came to design and architecture. Thus everyone seemed to get the implication of her statement as they nodded their heads in approval.

They had seen the designs of both Tang Group and Dawn Star Group in the past. The former was conservative and practical while the latter focused on the novel appearance. To cover up the unexpected emergency brought about by her broken flash disk, Cassandra compared and contrasted the two design plans taking the example of her own experience.

In the next few minutes, she briefly introduced her design and the reasons behind such a proposal.

Attracted by her vivid introductions and the small incident earlier, all the attendees were absorbed in the picture she portrayed.

About ten minutes later, someone from the company gave Leo another flash disk and he handed it to Cassandra immediately. Finally, all the attendees were able to view a concrete example of the design plan.

It was a wonderful experience for them to see with their own eyes the things they heard slowly unfolding in front of them. They had been impressed by her description, and the pictures gave them another visual shock. They praised the design plan of Cassandra again and again, and it visibly stood out among the rest.

Rufus had sat back on his chair when he realized that there was no need for him to help her out. Cassandra's wit saved her and perfectly solved the crisis. Her misfortune turned out to be an actual blessing. Rufus was surprised to see the awe of impression on the faces of the audience.

A wicked smiled cracked on his face when he thought about the promise she made to him yesterday. He felt elated and the cause of it all was no other than, Cassandra.

After the demonstration, the organizers usually took their time to discuss things and the results would be announced several days later. However, judging from the way they commended Cassandra, it was no doubt that Tang Group would win the bidding this time.

Cloris ran to Cassandra and gave her a bear hug after she stepped down from the rostrum.

"Bravo! Great job, Cassandra! You're the best!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Cassandra patted her on the back while casting a quick glance at Rufus.

She couldn't help but notice the myriad expressions in his eyes, and it was filled with joy and excitement.

Cassandra admitted that she went blank when she was unable to demonstrate her plan, but she was hit by a sudden inspiration when her eyes met Rufus'. Then she gathered up all her strength and started from her broken flash disk, changed the topic to her design and presented her ideas clearly.

To her great relief, it all turned out to be perfect. Almost everyone in the room recognized her efforts. All went well and ended well.

Cassandra despised the quality of her flash disk. It was made from a brand known for quality, but she wondered how could it failed to work only several days after she had just bought it.

Rufus slowly averted his eyes away from Cassandra and fixed them on Cloris. He looked at her quizzically.

Victor texted him earlier that Cloris went to the ladies' room before Cassandra's presentation. She looked tense and was gripping something in her hands. Moreover, he heard a weird tinkling of something metal colliding with the lavatory. Cloris was flushing something away.

Rufus knew what would happen if Cassandralearned that her much-loved, sweet, little sister stole her flash disk from her, she must be brokenhearted.

Taking his time, Rufus walked towards them. Cassandra let go of her sister and reached out her hand to Rufus in an awkward attempt to shake his hand.