Filed to story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel >>
After Anastasia entered her office, Grace carried her cup of coffee to her. “You’re going to meet with a client today, Miss Tillman! Do you need any materials to be prepared?”
Recalling immediately that she would have to meet Leah today, Anastasia went to her cabinet to
pull out a few documents and set them on the desk.
“Do you need me to go with you, Miss Tillman?” Grace asked.
With a smile, Anastasia shook her head. “There’s no need. Let me understand the situation first.
I’ll bring you along next time.”
After all, Leah was only trying to make things difficult for her. If she had brought Grace along, Grace would only be bullied alongside her, so it was best she withstood this pressure alone!
Anastasia called Leah at around ten in the morning. At the other end of the line, Leah’s voice asked, “Why are you only looking for me now, Miss Tillman? Surely your work efficiency could be better than this!”
“My apologies. I’ll come right away. Where would you like to meet?”
“I’ll give you the address and you can come over!” Leah grumbled with deliberate impatience.
Not long after that, Anastasia received the address. After keying in the location on her device, she went downstairs to hail a cab and head to the destination.
While on the way there, she couldn’t help spacing out for a moment and thinking about Elliot. Images of him keeping her son company floated through her mind. When she was sending Jared to school that morning, he even asked her expectantly, “Will Mr. Presgrave come to our place for dinner tonight, Mommy?”
To placate her son, Anastasia simply responded, “Yes.”
Upon seeing her son happily skipping around at her answer, she found herself hoping that Elliot would be free to come over that evening.
Anastasia sighed. What is happening to me lately? Why are all my thoughts full of this man?
At this moment, the cab driver told her, “We’re here, miss.”
When she raised her head to glance out of the window, Anastasia saw the signboard of an atmospheric cafe, after which she paid the driver and alighted from the cab.
It wasn’t until she entered the lobby that she realized the cafe was on the top floor. She helplessly entered the elevator and rode all the way to the top floor. The cafe in question was the kind of coffeehouse which only the rich could afford. For someone like her, being able to drink Starbucks on a normal day was already considered a luxury.
An attendant went forward to inform Anastasia at this moment. “Miss Tillman? Miss Hart is waiting for you.”
“That’s me,” Anastasia acknowledged with a smile and a nod of her head.
“Please follow me.” The attendant gestured in invitation.
After stepping into the cafe, Anastasia saw Leah and another woman sitting at a table by the window and chatting at this moment. At a glance, it was obvious to Anastasia that the other woman was just as rich as Leah and dressed to denote equal status.
“Ah, the designer is here! Please sit! Bring the coffee,” Leah ordered the attendant.
The attendant immediately nodded. Anastasia had only just sat down when a cup of coffee was placed in front of her. Looking over at Leah, she responded, “Thank you for the coffee, Miss Hart.”
“You’re welcome. Let’s talk about design, then! I wish to commission an engagement jewelry for myself—something that befits my status. I hope you won’t let me down.”
“Please share your opinions with me. I have several styles for you to choose from.” Anastasia reached out to retrieve her documents.
“Hmph, I’m the client here. What I want is your design. What’s the point in having me choose?”
“I still have to know what you like for me to have a direction for the design.”
“What I like is something unique, beautiful, and suits my temperament. The rest is up to you. Besides, don’t you know how to research what I like? You can look me up!” Leah lazily reclined against her seat with an arrogant look on her face.
For a few moments, a dumbstruck Anastasia stared at Leah. Now, she finally understood that. Leah had no wish to give any direction or communicate any idea for the design. What Leah wanted was for her to come up with a design out of thin air that was satisfactory to Leah.
“I’m sorry, Miss Hart. I’m afraid I can’t take your commission. Please find another designer!” Anastasia had no wish to stay any longer. After all, there would be no earning Leah’s money no matter how much effort she wasted.
Right as Anastasia took her purse and was about to stand up, the woman next to Leah sneered. “What kind of attitude is this? Are all designers from Bourgeois like this? I’m certainly learning something new today.”
“Don’t you know that I’ve already signed a contract with your company, Anastasia Tillman? If you don’t design for me, I can sue your company for breach of contract. I hear they pay quite a bit for that! Three times the deposit! And I paid 1 million in deposit,” Leah said smugly behind Anastasia.
At that, Anastasia stopped in her tracks. Of course Leah wouldn’t make things so simple. As she turned back, she proposed, “If you’re willing to have a conversation with me, Miss Hart, we can
continue working together.”
“We are having a conversation!”
“I meant an earnest and sincere one,” she answered coldly.
“I’m your client, Anastasia. How can you speak with me in that tone? Aren’t you afraid I’ll file a complaint about you?” Leah questioned somewhat angrily.
Retaking her seat, Anastasia stared into Leah’s haughty eyes. “Of course you have the right to file a complaint about me. If there’s somewhere I’ve fallen short, you can file as you please; if you only wish to make things difficult for me, then let’s not waste each other’s time any longer.”
Leah smiled coldly. “Let me be plain, then. Leave Nigel or Bourgeois. Pick one.”
At that, Anastasia couldn’t help being amused. “I’m afraid you’re not the one with the ability to make me leave Bourgeois. My boss is the one.”
“Then, I’ll make it impossible for you to stay in the design world.” Leah sneered. “Don’t underestimate what I can do.”
“Anastasia Tillman, isn’t it?” the woman next to her asked smugly. “We only need to spread the world for the entire upper-class client base to keep from hiring you or ever buying your designs.”
However, Anastasia was not one to be easily scared. With a smile, she announced, “Breach of contract it is! I’ll have the bill settled for you once I get back to Bourgeois.”
“What are you showing off for, Anastasia Tillman? Do you even have the capital to do that? And one more thing before you leave-We’re going Dutch today, so you can pay for your own coffee!” Leah shouted at her.
The undeterred Anastasia stood up and walked toward the counter to ask the attendant, “How much does my coffee cost?”.
The waiter named the price with a smile. “That will be 5,888, thank you!”
Anastasia’s almond-shaped eyes widened when she heard the unbelievably expensive price tag that the cup of coffee had. “That’s unreasonably expensive!”
“The coffee was brewed with coffee beans of the finest quality, so it is definitely worth the price.”
Anastasia was rendered speechless. The coffee cost me a fortune although I have barely sipped it-I didn’t even manage to relish the taste. “Fine, just get me the bill. Pack the coffee too. Add some ice, sugar and cream please.” Then, she took out her card and handed it to a stunned waiter.
The waiter immediately asked his colleague to pack the drink. However, Anastasia’s action led Leah, who was sitting near the window, to scoff at her. “Anastasia, my apologies. I’ve forgotten that you are an ordinary white-collar employee. I reckon that this cup of coffee must have cost about half of your monthly salary!”
Anastasia wasn’t bothered to respond and she was unfazed by the unusual glances from the waiters around. When the waiter handed her the coffee, she took the coffee and left with her chest puffed out.