Hiding Behind Her Superficiality novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18 A Challenge From an Old Friend
“Callum!” As much as Max was furious, Callum was still the one who established Winthrop Group, so he did not have a say in this situation and could only clench his fists in anger.
Meanwhile, Elspeth looked at Max’s angry expression and smiled casually. “Hey, you look like you’re not having it.”
“I don’t know how you managed to convince my father, but you’ll only be bringing trouble to the company. Who knows how you’d sabotage the company as soon as you step foot into it?”
“Don’t be so quick to deny someone.”
Not wanting to argue with a child, she stopped talking after that. It was confirmed that she would be joining the company anyway, so no matter how angry Max was, he could only accept the fact.
Staying true to his words, Callum knocked on Elspeth’s door the following morning so that they could head to the company together. It was her first day, so he had arranged for her to join the design department as an ordinary employee.
She smiled and greeted her fellow colleagues. Just as she sat down, a stack of documents was heavily dropped onto her desk before her.
“Alright. These are the things you’re going to be working on. Finish them by 12.00PM and email them to me. Don’t think you can have it easy just because someone is back—Elspeth?” The ranting Ava Wiley suddenly stopped talking as she was stunned when she saw the familiar, beautiful face before her.
“It’s been a while, Ava.”
Elspeth naturally remembered the woman before her. Back then, Ava relied on the fact that her father was the principal and bullied her because the guy she secretly liked had a crush on her; they even fought with each other. After that, Elspeth was expelled and went abroad. It was not until she finished her double major that she returned to the country.
What a small world it was as they met again at this very place. However, the current Elspeth was different from before, yet she was still as stubborn as ever. With a sneer, she looked at Ava’s distorted face and laughed. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”
Remembering that she was the supervisor here, Ava regained her confidence and reprimanded, “I’m telling you, I’m your supervisor here, so don’t play any tricks with me. I have many ways of chasing you out of here if you don’t do your job well!”
Wow. She’s already using her position to threaten me.
“Then, you’d better secure your seat tightly.” Elspeth laughed.
After she said that, Ava instantly became furious. Not having it, she started taunting and mocking her by revealing events from the past. “Who do you think you are to criticize me? Who knows where you’ve been since you dropped out of junior high? Who knows? Maybe you’ve found yourself a sugar daddy. Otherwise, how would you have gotten this job?”
“A sugar daddy?”
Assuming that she had hit Elspeth’s sore spot, she continued, “I’ve heard that you and the security guard, Mr. Beischel, have a close relationship. Maybe… It was him who pulled the strings to let you have this job. You’re so disgusting, accepting every man that comes to you. Oh, Elspeth, it’s only been a few years, yet you’ve already stooped so low.”
Her rants attracted the other employees’ attention and they were all listening intently.
Originally, Elspeth was not bothered by what Ava was saying, but when she heard Albert’s name, her gaze immediately turned sharp. “You said I found myself a sugar daddy?”
Noticing that the atmosphere suddenly turned chilly, Ava shivered, but she soon remembered that she was higher in the hierarchy here while Elspeth was merely a mistress with a sugar daddy, so the rage inside her burned again. “What about it? You have the guts to do it, but you don’t have the guts to admit it?”
Since Elspeth was taller than Ava, she leaned forward slightly and sneered, “Would Mr. Winthrop throw a fit if he finds out that his future daughter-in-law is called a sugar baby?”
“You… are the Miss Lynwood on the news who’s engaged to a Winthrop son?”
Ava rarely paid attention to the news, so she only knew a little about this from others. Never would she have expected that the one getting engaged to the Winthrop Family would be Elspeth, whom she had looked down on since they were young!
If it was just Elspeth in the picture, Ava could accuse her however she wanted, but if the Winthrop Family was involved, then…
As she thought about their capabilities, she could not help but shiver in fear.
Meanwhile, Elspeth was reluctant to continue reminiscing about the past with her ‘old classmate’, so she concluded without bothering to look at her. “Glad you’re well-informed now, but Miss Wiley, you’re disturbing my work.”
That sentence was the final blow for Ava. Her expression darkened as she opened her mouth to say something, but she could not find any words to do so. She then straightened up and threatened, “You! I’m telling you, even if you’re going to be a part of the Winthrops and have their protection, this company does not accept people with no abilities. Those who can’t contribute will be thrown out of the company!”
Still, Elspeth was unperturbed by her threats and merely smiled. “Okie. We’ll see.”
After glaring down at her, Ava clanked her four-inches-tall high heels and angrily left while conjuring up a plan to vent her anger.
By 11.00AM, Elspeth had sent all the files to her an hour before the deadline, but they were soon returned to her with no comments and only one simple word, ‘Redo’.
What a textbook approach to vent your anger, Ava.
She was very confident in her proposal, so she sent it back to her without editing anything. Of course, it was returned to her yet again. By now, she did not want to communicate with Ava anymore, so she brought her proposal and went straight to the president’s office.
Callum was working when he saw her enter. “What’s the matter?” he asked coldly.
Placing her proposal before him, Elspeth smiled and rested her chin on her hands. “Callum, the director of your department thinks my proposal isn’t good enough. Why don’t you have a look at it yourself?”
She was wearing a formal suit with a low collar, so the vague view of her figure made him afraid to gaze straight at her when she leaned forward.
His pupils suddenly darkened as he looked away from her and focused on the proposal on his table. “Alright, I’ll take a look.”
While casually flipping through it, his eyes gradually brightened up as he skimmed through the content. The ideas inside were unconventional and utilized clever ways to achieve their goals. Not only that, there were also some views which he shared with her. After he finished, he looked at her and asked, “Is this the task Ava assigned to you?”
“Yeap.” She nodded with a smile.
He then notified his assistant to get Ava. When she arrived and saw Elspeth, she glared at her before asking carefully, “Mr. Winthrop, what’s the matter?”
Callum questioned her in a stern tone, “Is this the task you assigned to a newbie?”
Trembling, she replied, “Mr. Winthrop, I…”
“This is the most important proposal for this season, yet you assigned it to a newbie just to make things difficult for her? Ava, do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”
Though he was not one who lost his temper often, Ava, however, could feel the coldness in his voice today and became so terrified that she started shivering.
“I’ll deduct two months’ worth of your salary.”
As much as she was exasperated by that decision, she could not voice out anything but complained secretly. Truth be told, she wanted to slap the smirk off Elspeth’s face so badly.
After she left, Callum resumed his attention to Elspeth.
“Mr. Winthrop, you’re so impartial in giving out punishments and rewards.” She was not very satisfied with the results, but it was enough to teach Ava a lesson for the time being.
Looking at her giddy face, he was lost in his thoughts. Another surprise… Elspeth, you have not disappointed me thus far.