Claudia and Jair chatted for a bit, but it was all pretty surface-level stuff.
Even Laura was confused about what Jair was thinking.
If he didn't care about Claudia, why did he rush to order clothes from her?
But if he did care, he sure didn't show it while they were talking.
Finally, Laura said, "Don't freak out. Stay cool. Whatever he's up to, he'll spill the beans eventually."
Claudia went back to Hustalia, met up with Jair, and instantly figured out what he was after.
At that moment, Claudia was seriously asking Jair for his opinions and getting ready to take his measurements.
Then she saw Stuart walking over.
"Can we talk after you're done?" Stuart asked, sounding super humble.
Claudia put down her pen, looked at Stuart, then at Jair. "Is this why you ordered clothes from me?"
Jair felt a bit awkward under her intense gaze and had to say, "I'm sorry."
Before he could say more, Claudia started packing up her stuff.
She grabbed her notebook and simple measuring tools. She had planned to make a sample first and then take Jair's measurements again before finalizing the design.
But now, it seemed pointless.
"Claudia," Jair said, "don't leave. The order is legit, it's just..."
Claudia looked up at him. "You don't need to explain. Sorry, I can't make your clothes."
Jair wanted to say something, but seeing her eyes slightly red, he couldn't find the words.
Stuart, standing nearby, said, "It was my idea. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I had no choice. I'm sorry, I apologize."
"No need." Claudia stood up, slung her bag over her shoulder. "You came to me because of Josephine. I can't make decisions for her. You've got the wrong person."
"I don't need you to make decisions," Stuart said, "I just want to know more about her, to understand her better."
Claudia shook her head. "Sorry, I can't help you."
Seeing her about to leave, Stuart hurriedly said, "Back then, your family's bankruptcy had something to do with me. If you want, I can restore everything. You can still be the Howard Family's eldest daughter."
Claudia smiled. "In your minds, you think I'd betray a friend for money?"
She finished speaking and glanced at Jair. "So, in your eyes, I'm that kind of person."
With that, she really turned and left.
Jair didn't know why, but her glance made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
He glared at Stuart. "This is all your fault!"
Before Stuart could explain, Jair hurriedly chased after her.
"Claudia!"
He went out the door, chasing after Claudia, who didn't look back.
He caught up to her, wanting to grab her arm but felt it was inappropriate.
He said, "Claudia, listen to me. Stuart meant no harm, and neither did I."
"No need to explain." Claudia felt particularly useless. She wiped away her tears, her voice trembling. "It's okay."
Seeing her cry, Jair felt even more at a loss. "I really don't think you're that kind of person. I just..."
Claudia raised her hand to hail a cab, said nothing, and got in.
Jair pinched his brow, feeling extremely frustrated.
Stuart also came over. "Did she leave?"
Jair looked at him. "She cried. How do you think Josephine would feel if she knew you made her best friend cry?"
Stuart was floored. "What? She cried? What do we do now? Did you explain to her?"
"How could I explain?" Jair was super frustrated. "You're pursuing Josephine, but not only did you make zero progress, you also messed everything up!"
Stuart looked helpless. "I didn't mean to."
He looked like a lost puppy. "It's my first time trying to win someone over. I have no clue what I'm doing."
Jair sighed. "I'm done with you. It was nothing at first, but now it looks like I made Claudia cry. Find another way, and leave her alone."
With that, he patted Stuart's shoulder and walked off.
In his car, Jair thought for a moment and sent Claudia a message, sincerely apologizing.
But Claudia didn't reply.
He had no choice but to mention the clothes, but as soon as he sent it, a message popped up: [You are not friends with this person.]
Claudia had deleted him.
Jair felt a pang of sadness.
He sat in the car for a while and decided to call Josephine.
Josephine answered quickly, "Jair?"
"Josephine," Jair said with some difficulty, "I might need to apologize to you."
Josephine was puzzled. "What happened?"
Jair explained everything.
Josephine was both angry and heartbroken.
Naturally, she was mad at Stuart and heartbroken for Claudia.
"You guys," Josephine said, "how could you do this? Claudia is sensitive and tends to overthink. Doing this would definitely upset her."
"We didn't think it through," Jair said, "Please comfort her."
Josephine hung up and called Claudia.
Claudia answered, "Josephine?"
Josephine asked, "Claudia, where are you?"
"I'm in a cab, just met a client." Claudia smiled and asked, "What's up?"
"Did you cry?" Josephine asked directly, "What's wrong with your voice?"
"No," Claudia said, "Just a bit stuffy, maybe caught a cold."
Josephine could tell Claudia didn't want to talk about what happened.
Josephine thought for a moment and decided to pretend she didn't know.
But she reminded, "Claudia, be careful when meeting clients. If you run into someone like last time, don't hesitate to fight back. We have Liam, and if worse comes to worst, Steven can back you up."
Claudia said, "I don't want to trouble them."
Josephine replied, "Liam is not an outsider. Anyway, listen to me. If you get bullied again and I find out, I won't acknowledge you as my friend."
Claudia obediently said, "I understand."
Josephine hung up and sent Stuart a message.
Josephine: [Please don't bother my friend again.]
Stuart called immediately, but Josephine didn't answer. She rejected the call and put her phone aside to get busy.
Stuart had already sought help from Laura and Claudia, but to no avail.
Not only was it ineffective, but it also seemed to have ticked off Josephine.
Stuart felt he might have taken the wrong approach.
What he didn't know was that Rex was also planning to take his old approach.
Rex approached Laura.
He told Steven that if Laura could put in a good word for him with Josephine, he would give her a house or a car.
Laura told Steven, "Ask him if he can give me shares in his company."