Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 237

Figuring she had some free time anyway, Emma sent Carter a quick text and headed to the exhibition gallery herself.

To her surprise, the first people she ran into at the gallery were Phoebe and Gillian.

"Emma, what are you doing here?"

Emma ignored Gillian entirely, turning instead to the gallery staff. "Where is your boss?"

"That would be me."

Gillian lifted her chin, staring down at Emma with absolute contempt.

"Don't tell me you were hoping to rent this place?"

Emma let out a dry laugh. "We turned down contracts from internationally renowned painters. Do you really think I'd rent from you?"

As she spoke, a man walked out from the back office. The assistant quickly leaned in and whispered, "That's the former gallery owner who signed our lease."

"I'm here for the art exhibition."

The owner looked deeply uncomfortable. "We will fully compensate you for the breach of contract fee. I truly cannot rent out the gallery anymore. I've already sold the property."

"Emma, are you trying to suck up to that famous painter? Well, your little scheme is ruined. I will personally negotiate the gallery space with her. You have zero chance now."

Emma raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

"I think you're the ones with zero chance."

Gillian looked at her like she was a joke, mocking her openly. "Are you seriously trying to imply you have connections to the painter? I suppose since you dabble in art yourself, it makes sense that you'd rack your brain trying to curry favor with the elites."

"Emma, this gallery is extremely important to me. I really can't let you use it as a networking favor..."

Phoebe lowered her eyes guiltily. Gillian had bought the gallery specifically for her to use. When Dori, the superstar designer, returned to the country next week, Phoebe planned to showcase her portfolio here.

Gillian had promised that having her own private gallery would force the top designers to take her seriously.

Word on the street was that the painter had an incredibly tight relationship with Dori. In multiple interviews, Dori had explicitly stated that her design inspirations largely came from this mysterious painter. Some of Dori's most globally viral haute couture pieces even had the painter's direct creative input.

Emma didn't bother wasting her breath. Her assistant stepped up to explain seamlessly. "We booked a twelve-day exclusive reservation paid in full. Since you are breaching the contract at the final hour, we are legally entitled to demand a penalty not exceeding thirty percent of the total paid amount. The half-million I just quoted is exactly twenty-nine percent."

"You have ten minutes to wire the penalty fee into my account. Otherwise, the art exhibition proceeds as planned, and you will be held entirely liable for any financial damages caused by your interference."

Without waiting for Gillian to respond, Emma turned on her heel and walked away.

The assistant stepped forward and handed over a business card. "If you decide to pay the penalty fee, you can add my contact info, and I will provide the routing number."

"Emma..."

Phoebe wanted to try and smooth things over, but Gillian grabbed her arm.

"It's just half a million dollars. I'll pay it."

There was no panic in Gillian's eyes, only smug satisfaction.

"Emma has no idea what securing that painter actually means."