Chapter 82 A Seven-Colored Rose as a Gift
After the assistant came out of the study, he had a document in his hand. He handed it to Lance and left directly.
Lance passed the document to Aria. She looked up at him with some confusion, "What's this?"
Lance kept her guessing, "Take a look and you'll know."
Aria hesitated for a moment, took the document, and opened it under Lance's watchful gaze.
After seeing what was in the document, Aria looked at Lance in surprise, "What do you mean by this?"
"My friend's estate also needs a garden renovation. He asked me to find someone. I'm giving this project to your studio to work on together, but you still need to be personally in charge."
Lance paused and continued, "His garden is much bigger than mine, and the payment is pretty good. Will you consider it?"
Aria's eyes flickered slightly, her delicate eyebrows raised, "Didn't you say you weren't satisfied with my studio's work? Why are you helping me get a new project?"
Lance cleared his throat lightly, "For now, I don't really know anyone else who does this kind of work, so I'll reluctantly give it to you. After all, some of your ideas are pretty fresh."
Aria just found it amusing. It seemed he had been satisfied with some of her proposals all along, just too stubborn to admit it.
However, Aria didn't refuse and gladly accepted the project.
After all, no one turns away money that comes to their door, right?
"Then thank you, Mr. Gray."
Lance raised his eyebrows slightly, "No need to thank me. For my friend's project, I'll be checking it strictly. Just don't embarrass me."
Aria said confidently, "Don't worry, I won't let you down."
After signing the project Lance introduced, Aria became even busier, leaving early and coming home late almost every day. Arthur hadn't seen her for several days.
This left him gloomy for days. Even when he went to the company, he didn't give anyone a pleasant look. Even Sophie could sense something was wrong with him.
"Arthur, is something wrong? You seem to be in a bad mood lately?"
Arthur met Sophie's concerned gaze, his eyes darkening slightly, and said slowly, "It's nothing, just some business matters."
Arthur casually made up an excuse and didn't say much more to Sophie.
Sophie could clearly hear the dismissiveness in Arthur's words. She was at the company, and she knew better than anyone whether there were any problems with the company. Arthur's strange behavior could only be related to Aria.
Thinking of Aria, a flash of malice crossed Sophie's eyes. Wasn't she supposed to be divorcing Arthur? Why was she still haunting him like this!
Could it be...
A guess flashed through Sophie's mind. Could Arthur have found out about Aria's pregnancy?
Once this thought emerged, Sophie could no longer think calmly. If this was true, what would she do?
No!
She absolutely couldn't let Aria succeed. She had to think of a way to shift Arthur's attention away from Aria.
"What's wrong?"
Arthur noticed Sophie's distraction, his brows furrowing slightly, somewhat puzzled.
Sophie snapped back to reality at the sound and met Arthur's eyes, gently shaking her head, "Nothing, I was just thinking about how to help you with your worries."
Arthur's heart softened, feeling somewhat guilty, "I've made you worry."
Sophie smiled gently, "Arthur, this is what I should do."
--
Compared to the harmonious scene in the office, things weren't so harmonious on Aria and Lance's side.
The two were arguing again over the placement of a potted plant. Lance brought up his points one by one, and Aria countered each of those points with her own ideas.
The two went back and forth, neither giving in.
"Lance, this is why I want to place it this way. Do you understand now?"
Aria stated her reasons, her eyes fixed tightly on Lance, her chest rising and falling slightly, clearly quite upset.
Lance casually handed Aria a bottle of water and chuckled, "Yeah, I understand."
Seeing Lance laughing, Aria's delicate brows furrowed, "What are you laughing at?"
Had she argued him silly?
"Nothing, I was just thinking that even if Arthur really abandons you, you definitely won't starve. You won't suffer any losses at all."
Lance looked at Aria seriously as he spoke.
Aria's mouth twitched, and she glanced at Lance somewhat speechlessly, "I really can't count on you to say anything nice."
"I'm complimenting you on being capable."
Aria wouldn't accept it, "Thanks for the compliment, but no need."
"You've worked hard during this time. This is for you."
Lance took out something that looked like a box from a nearby decorative pot and handed it to Aria. Aria didn't take it immediately, but instead looked at Lance with some confusion.
"What is this again?"
This box couldn't contain another document, could it?
"Rainbow rose seeds."
This time Lance didn't make Aria guess, but directly told her what was in the box.
Aria's eyes flashed with surprise, and more so with delight and disbelief.
Rainbow roses?
That was an extinct variety. How could he still get the seeds?
"My friend gave it to me. I guessed you'd like it."
Lance seemed to see through Aria's confusion and explained.
"So you're planning to give me these seeds?"
"Don't like them? If you don't like them, forget it."
Lance cleared his throat and pretended to take the box back.
Seeing this, Aria quickly reached out and took the box, "There's no taking back something you've given. Thanks. I'll recalculate the fee for your project."
Lance smiled and teased, "Looks like Boss Hall is quite generous."
Aria just smiled without responding. Lance's gift today really touched her heart. She wasn't the rigid type. Some things couldn't be measured by price, just like these rainbow rose seeds.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and their interaction no longer had that confrontational edge.
After leaving the estate, Aria went straight back to the villa. The first thing she did after getting home was to plant the rainbow rose seeds in the back garden.
Arthur had just returned home when he saw Aria busy at work, her movements very careful, as if she were caring for some treasure.
His brows furrowed slightly, "What are you doing?"
Aria paused at the sound and met Arthur's deep eyes, calmly saying, "Planting flowers."
Arthur was momentarily speechless, a dark gleam flashing in his eyes. He walked to her side and silently watched her busy movements, timely handing her tools when she needed them. The two didn't talk during the process, but their cooperation was quite coordinated.
After Aria finished everything and was about to stand up, she felt a bit uncomfortable from squatting for so long. She almost fell when she stood up, but fortunately Arthur was quick to catch her, asking with concern, "Are you okay? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"