Mesmerized and Attached

Chapter 7 An Acquaintance

Stella's POV:

At night.

Sheila, for once, wasn't caught up with other plans and came back for dinner.

"Mia asked you to sell two apartments in half a month. She's practically kicking you out. What are you going to do, Stella?"

After a few bites, I put down my fork and said, "If there is really no other choice, I'll just quit and find another job."

Sheila suggested, "Now I've got a few clients. How about I pass two to you to follow up?"

I shook my head. The company had rules that sales consultants could not be switched midway unless the customer requested.

I had just changed the price without permission, and if I had taken Sheila's clients, the result would not have been just a slap.

Just like what James warned me, "Listen, I don't care what you have in mind. But now, you are in my company, so you'd better behave yourself. If you keep messing up, no one can protect you!"

Lying in bed at night, I was deeply troubled by the idea of having to sell two apartments in half a month. I couldn't help but think of the meeting with James in the park today. He wanted to check the bruise on my face, sipped my milkshake, grabbed my hand, and stared at me.... Did he really think we were that close? What did his kind yet flirtatious gestures mean?

"No one can protect you..." Mia didn't fire me. Was James the one who protected me from getting fired?

How could that be?!

I slapped myself hard to snap out of it.

I didn't sleep well last night. In the morning, I almost used up half a box of Sheila's eyeshadow to cover up the dark circles under my eyes.

As soon as I entered the sales center, the top consultant, Andrea Harvey, strode towards me, tossing a stack of folders into my arms, commanding arrogantly, "Make copies of these. I need them in ten minutes."

Without arguing, I picked up the documents and turned to call out to the assistant at the counter, "Missy, these documents need copying."

Missy quickly responded and hurried over to take these documents.

With her delicate and pretty fingers, Andrea reached out, holding onto the papers in my hands, staring directly at me, word by word, "I told you to make copies. Don't you understand me?"

I stared back at her for a long while without moving. She was clearly doing this on purpose.

I didn't know when I had offended her, or if she was just like those bullies in prison, picking on any newcomer she didn't like.

Missy sensed the tension between us and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Andrea, you need these in ten minutes, right? I'll go find more copiers and get it done right away!"

Andrea raised an eyebrow impatiently. "Missy, you should know by now, I hate subordinates who butter me up for no reason. Are you tired of working there?"

In a panic, Missy instantly withdrew her hands.

I didn't want to drag Missy into this mess. Holding the documents tightly, I glanced at Andrea coldly and walked towards the copying room.

A colleague came over and whispered to me, "Andrea is Ms. Darcy's right-hand woman."

Then it dawned on me that this was Mia's way of subtly pushing me out.

More than half an hour later, I took the copied documents back to the sales department to find Andrea.

Missy stopped me and said, "Stella, Andrea's showing a client the model home in District 2. You can find her there."

So I had to carry these two thick bundles of documents to District 2.

Arriving at the model home, just as I was about to open the door, I heard Andrea's coquettish voice. "Mr. Cooper, if you still don't like this one, then there is no place in San Francisco that could satisfy you. If you still have doubts, treat me like your girlfriend, and let's test this bay window together right now."

"You naughty girl. Is this how you earned the title of Top Consultant?" The man laughed frivolously.

Andrea said temptingly, "Oh, of course not. I only said this because we're close enough. Besides, we're not really taking this seriously. I just want you to try it out. If you buy this and still can't make your girlfriend happy, you'll blame it on me, right? Why don't you give it a shot?"

"I might as well try you, you little slut!"

Andrea purred, "Mr. Cooper, I thought we were just checking out the view from the bay window. What are you doing? Someone might walk in any minute. How about you sign this contract for me first? Then I'll go lock the door, and we can continue..."

"There is no hurry to sign the contract. Let me get a feel first."

"Mr. Cooper, you just love keeping me on edge, don't you?"

"You've been hooking up with lots of men lately, huh?"

"Oh... Mr. Cooper... Easy there..."

The increasingly licentious sounds inside made me instinctively recall the day James had me pinned down on his office desk. It felt even more degrading and disgusting now. I tossed the documents on the European-style sofa in the living room and turned to make my escape.

In my haste, I banged my knee against the corner of the hallway cabinet.

Suddenly, the moans in the bedroom stopped.

The bedroom door swung open, revealing a man in an unbuttoned black shirt, exposing a large portion of his toned chest as he stepped out.

The man's annoyance and frustration turned into astonishment when he saw my face. "Stella?"

It was Elliott Cooper. I didn't expect to run into an acquaintance here, nor did I expect it to happen so soon.

I stood frozen in place, forgetting how to react for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" Elliott walked towards me.

He was about ten years older than me. His family ran hotels, and his father used to cooperate with my father in business. And Elliott had come to my family's banquets several times.

"Mr. Cooper, you know my colleague?" Andrea had already straightened her clothes and walked out, looking at us and asking wonderingly.

"Your colleague?" Elliott's gaze fell on my uniform, then he smirked knowingly. "Stella, are you selling houses here?"

I didn't appreciate his look, so I gave a curt nod and turned to Andrea. "These are the copies. You guys carry on. I have to go."

"Wait, Stella. We haven't seen each other for years. Why don't we catch up a little? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Elliott strode over and blocked the door.