When Avery went to work on Monday, she noticed her colleagues staring at her with a myriad of looks in their eyes, ranging from pity, sympathy, and contempt to delight. Some even gossiped behind her back. Only Cecelia wore an expression of concern and worry.
At long last, Cecelia snapped and furtively dragged Avery to a corner to ask her about the posts.
“Avery, no matter what the posts claimed, I think it was all slander. I understand you. You can't possibly be the person those posts alluded to. Don't take it to heart. Just do your work with peace of mind.”
Her statement touched Avery.
While everyone doubted me, there's still a colleague who trusts me unconditionally! She proceeded to reassure Cecelia that she was fine before inquiring about Nina.
“Nina isn't too great mentally. Her condition seems pretty serious, and she has turned taciturn,” Cecelia replied in slight puzzlement.
After all, Nina had been a vibrant and bubbly person in the past. No matter how sick she was, she was never as lifeless as she was at present.
Regret inundated Avery when she heard that. “This is all on me...”
Little did Cecelia know that Nina's condition had something to do with Avery.
Thus, she jokingly thumped Avery on the shoulder. “Don't go around blaming yourself! Everyone falls sick. What has it got to do with you? She'll be fine after resting for a few days. Don't worry. Her mother is taking care of her at home.”
“Are you done with the design draft yet, Avery?” Just as Avery's thoughts ran wild, Yulissa walked over.
She was wearing a deep V-neck wool sweater that had her snowy cleavage peeping out.
As she walked, the two rounded melons bounced as well, attracting much attention.
Avery looked at her in mystification. “What design draft?”
At the side, Cecelia spoke up for her. “Ms. Yantz, too many things have happened to her recently. She just returned from a leave of absence, so how about giving her some leeway to hand you the design draft in two days?”
“As an employee of Trident Group, Avery, you're really below par! Do you think this is your family's company that you can come and go as you please? Even if you had taken leave, I sent all the work I assigned you to your employee email. Couldn't you have spared some time to take a look at your inbox?” Yulissa groused in displeasure.
Avery said nothing, for she herself felt that it was her mistake.
Indeed, I hadn't had any time to take a look at my employee inbox these few days. Because I'd taken leave, I thought she wouldn't arrange any work for me. Unexpectedly, she did.
Anyhow, she wasn't the kind of employee to shirk her responsibility. She apologized at once. “I'm sorry, Ms. Yantz. I didn't check my employee email, so I didn't see the email you sent me.”
Immediately, Yulissa tore into her. “You're just too unprofessional, Avery! Don't you know that you still need to take the time to open your employee email and check for work even when you're out of the office? You're an assistant designer, yet you didn't check your email for several days?”
Again, Avery apologized. “I'm sorry. I'm in the wrong, and I promise not to repeat the same mistake in the future.”
“What's the use of saying sorry? The design draft has to be submitted before tomorrow, and the client has already rushed us several times. If the submission is delayed because of you, and the client pursues the matter, you'll be bearing full responsibility!” Yulissa barked with a dark expression on her face.
“Okay. I'll go about it right away.” Avery knew that the woman was picking fault with her.
However, she was also in the wrong since she didn't check her email during her spare time.
All that aside, it was a lesson for her not to repeat the same mistake again next time.
Subsequently, she opened her email. Sure enough, she saw the work email Yulissa sent her two days ago.
In truth, the company's regulations stipulated that employees didn't have to do any work while on leave. Alas, Yulissa didn't like Avery. Furthermore, she received a lot of benefits from Wisteria in exchange for her to make life difficult for Avery intentionally in hopes that the latter would resign voluntarily.
Due to the boons, she was glad to be used by Wisteria as a weapon to fire at Avery.
Cecelia took a glance at the contents of the work in Avery's email.
Glimpsing the client of the design, she frowned so deeply that it almost contorted her entire face. “Ms. Yantz actually assigned such a difficult design to you, Avery? We've got plenty of veteran designers. Why did she have to assign it to a rookie like you?”
“Is there a problem with this design?” Avery queried in curiosity.
“There isn't a problem with the design itself, but the client is a colossal headache. He's exceedingly fussy. Five to six renowned designers in the company had drawn a dozen design drafts for him, but they were all torn to shreds. Worse still, he even degraded their designs to the point that they weren't worth a dime. Last week, I submitted two design drafts as well, but they were rejected. I really can't figure out what kind of design he wants. He's really too picky! Think about it—designs by famous designers were all rejected. What's more, you're only a rookie...” Cecelia grumbled.
Avery fell silent, lost in thought.
Since Ms. Yantz handed this task to me, I'll try my best to complete it no matter how difficult it is!
“Excuse me, beauties. Who can help me brew a cup of coffee?” Suddenly, a pleasant and mesmerizing male voice sounded from outside. On the heels of that, Kendrick walked over in all his handsomeness.
At the sight of him, Yulissa thrust her chest out. A blush seemingly crawled onto her cheeks. “Good morning, Mr. Kendrick. I'll go and brew you a cup of coffee.”
Kendrick was the vice president of the company in name. Although he always seemed insouciant and seldom came to the office, many of the female employees in the company had feelings for him since he had some shares in Trident Group and was a son of the Moore family, in addition to his silver tongue that could have all women falling at his feet as well as his handsome and devilish appearance.
Cayden was overly aloof and unapproachable, rendering him unattainable. As such, most of the female employees dreamed of marrying Kendrick instead.
After all, it would still be pretty nice to be the wife of the second son of the Moore family.
One of those who fantasized about reaching beyond her station was Yulissa, the department head of the design department.
On the contrary, Avery merely swept a placid gaze over Kendrick. Then, she pored over the design requirements meticulously.
Regretfully, her silence didn't deter others from speaking to her. As soon as Kendrick spoke, he asked for her. “The beauty in a yellow coat, why don't you brew me a cup of coffee? I heard from Cayden that you're pretty good at brewing coffee.”
Avery was the only one wearing a yellow coat.
Therefore, she had no choice but to lift her head. Exasperation swamped her when she laid eyes on Kendrick, who pretended not to know her.
Yulissa, on the other hand, was seized by the urge to rip Avery's pretty face to shreds.
She has only joined the company for a short time, yet not only has she snagged Mr. Moore's attention, but even Mr. Kendrick specifically asked her to brew him coffee. Argh! How absurd!
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