Chapter 6 That Girl Looks A Lot Like You
1181 Words
I responded calmly, "Of course. My assistant follows the games closely and has shared some athlete stories with me."
"Well, she probably doesn't know that Elliott's career nearly got wrecked by a woman." Hall fixed his gaze on me as if trying to catch a flicker of reaction in my expression.
Too bad I didn't care at all about Elliott's past. "Pity I'm not a fan of his, so I won't be mourning his choices with you."
With that, I laid out the documents in front of him, gesturing for him to take a look.
But Hall didn't budge, still watching me. "He's Sarah's younger brother."
"Is he? They don't really look alike," I replied, barely concealing my disinterest.
"They're half-siblings, same father but different mothers, and they've been close since childhood. When Elliott was in college, he fell for a girl. Not long into the relationship, she deceived him, used his credit card to go abroad, maxed it out, and then vanished," Hall explained, his tone reproachful.
"That's really unfortunate for him," I replied, pushing the documents closer to him. "But this should have nothing to do with the procurement documents."
Reluctantly, Hall finally picked up the papers, scanning them as he continued. "Since then, Elliott has been obsessively searching for that girl, neglecting his football training, leading to losses and a long slump. Sarah also suffered from insomnia for a whole year because of it."
"No wonder you brought it up. You must be concerned about Sarah. But she doesn't seem like someone who'd be easily affected," I replied, placing the pen closer to him, eager to end this pointless exchange.
'I hate stories that stigmatize victims. Besides, I don't think Elliott cares about me that much.'
Hall suddenly looked up, seriously asking, "Do you have any sisters who look like you?"
I immediately understood his point and replied naturally, "I'm an only child. My parents didn't like having too many kids."
"That girl looks a lot like you."
"This is getting interesting. Do you have a photo of her?" I tilted my head, feigning curiosity.
Any information about me had been meticulously erased by Eugene. They wouldn't be able to find anything on me.
I just wanted to tell him that there was no proof I was Avery and that he could stop talking nonsense.
Hall offered a perfunctory smile, picking up his phone and saying "Jack, come in."
A man in his thirties entered the room.
The overpowering scent of cologne hit me as he stepped closer, his face twisted in a proud sneer beneath a sparse mustache.
"Hall, I've been waiting forever," Jack remarked excitedly, casting a sideways glance at me. "So, you're Walt and his team's boss? I'd expected more style."
I was puzzled about what Hall meant and a bit annoyed. "We haven't finished talking about our business."
"There's no need for that," Hall stated matter-of-factly,
"Jack will be taking over your work on Nirvana Project from this point forward."
'What the hell? So sudden?
Looks like he has long decided to replace me. As expected of one of Sarah's lackeys, whoever Sarah targets, he follows suit!'
"I refuse! No one knows my team better than me."
"A manager lacking competence leads their team astray," Hall declared confidently.
"Has the Brightline Group team ever strayed?"
"I know you have some support from overseas, but in Quekory Group, you're on your own. I can't let you influence the perfumers' judgment," Hall said, signing the documents and
handed it to Jack.
"Any perfumer in this company has more experience than you do, Jolene. They can manage just fine without you," Hall stated.
I scoffed. "A real perfumer wouldn't douse themselves in cologne during work. It messes with scent accuracy, basic professional ethics. How do you plan to run this project without that?"
"Don't think knowing a little theory makes you a genius. I've done more lab work than you can imagine." Jack
waved the documents mockingly. "You probably can't even name half the ingredients here."
'Trying to undermine my abilities with such low methods? I'll make sure he pays for his smugness,' I seethed.
"How about we compete? We select a perfume at random and use our smell to identify the ingredients. The person who identifies the most ingredients wins," I proposed to Jack.
Jack sneered, "This childish game, I played it ten years ago. If you lose, get out of Quekory Group immediately!"
"If I win, you will be forbidden from interfering with my team and anything related to it, and you'll also have to publicly apologize to me!"
This project was crucial to me. I wanted to bring Sarah down from her high pedestal. I wanted to deal her a crushing blow in the field she was most proud of and within the brand Hall had built for her.
*****
Half an hour later, Jack and I arrived at the warehouse where the ingredients were stored. Hall had something urgent to attend to, so he would be coming later.
The warehouse manager was named Benny. He looked at Jack and asked with disdain, "She's the one you're competing with? She looks so foolish!"
Jack laughed loudly. "I'll make her regret it soon. She'll be crying and begging me to let her go!"
'What a boring man.'
I glanced at the time and walked into the warehouse, holding a perfume bottle.
Jack quickly followed. "Jolene, it's not too late to regret now."
"Are you afraid of losing to me?" I asked on purpose.
"I would never lose to an incompetent woman like you!" Jack walked over to a nearby shelf and took out an ingredient.
He was more familiar with the warehouse than I was, which gave him an advantage, but I didn't think I would lose.
I quickly moved between the shelves, and before I knew it, I had already picked several ingredients.
When Jack realized I was faster than him, his expression darkened, and his voice turned into a low, demonic whisper. "Jolene, you're going to regret this."
I didn't care about his words at all and continued to seriously search for the ingredients.
Suddenly,
a loud crash came from behind me.
Shelves were toppling over.
Feeling something was off,
I bolted toward the exit, but Jack had already slammed the warehouse doors, locking me in.
"Jack! What are you doing?" I yelled, "Do you have to resort to such shameless tactics just because you can't beat me?"
"Jolene, ever since I found out you had hurt Sarah, I've wanted you gone from this world. Sarah is my idol! A despicable, shameless woman like you shouldn't defile her!" Jack shouted angrily, locking the door. "And you don't deserve to defeat me!"
It had never crossed my mind that he could be one of Sarah's admirers too.
"Jack, let me out now, and I won't press charges." I calmly negotiated.
"You will turn to ashes, and no one will know that I did it." Jack sneered.
A burning sensation hit me from behind. I realized Jack had set the warehouse on fire!
'This lunatic!'
- Writer
