Chapter 195 Adam's Apple
Robbie knocked and walked into the office, his expression slightly odd. "Chairwoman Penrose, the engineer has arrived."
Elizabeth had been staring at her computer screen and didn't notice Robbie's subtle expression.
She said, "Good, take him directly to the conference room and notify the heads of technology, product, design, sales, operations, and data to attend the meeting."
She secretly gave Timothy a mental thumbs up for sending someone over so quickly.
"Yes."
Robbie went out to notify the department heads, and they quickly made their way to the conference room after receiving the notice.
Elizabeth walked into the conference room and met the engineer Timothy had sent.
The Timothy before her wore a brown curly wig and black-framed glasses, along with a face mask. He pretended to extend his hand to shake Elizabeth's. "Ms. Penrose, hello."
Elizabeth, "Hello."
"I have a bit of a cold right now, so I'm wearing a mask to protect everyone."
"Okay."
Whatever makes you happy.
Their hands were still clasped.
Elizabeth tried to pull her hand away, but Timothy, wearing the brown curly wig, indecently rubbed his fingers against her wrist before letting go.
She looked at Timothy speechlessly.
Timothy's eyes behind the lenses carried a hint of amusement. "Ms. Penrose, pleased to meet you. Please call me Timo."
Elizabeth kept a straight face. "Timo, please have a seat."
There were other department heads in the conference room, so after exchanging just these few words, they began the meeting.
"To optimize the website and provide customers with a personalized experience, our shopping webpage needs upgrading. We need data-driven customer recommendations. Each department should present their requirements and suggestions so the tech department can upgrade the website. I've brought in a professional engineer to guide the tech team."
For matters like this, Elizabeth only needed to provide the general direction, and the departments would handle the rest.
She just needed to see the final results.
She had other things to attend to, so after listening to half an hour of discussion among the heads, she nodded.
She stood up, preparing to leave the conference room.
"You all continue the discussion. Timo, I'm counting on you."
Timothy watched Elizabeth's departing figure without a hint of reluctance and fell silent.
Such a brief time together.
Once Elizabeth left, the atmosphere in the conference room finally relaxed.
Timothy raised an eyebrow. It seemed that in this short time, Elizabeth had established quite a presence at the Sherman Group.
Elizabeth had a habit of drinking a cup of coffee in the morning to wake herself up.
Half an hour earlier, when she had left the chairman's office for the conference room, secretary Betty Garcia had taken Elizabeth's coffee cup to the pantry to wash it.
In the pantry, a cleaning lady was wiping down the counter. When she saw Betty come in, she smiled and said, "Betty, just leave the cup there. I'll wash it in a bit and bring it back to you."
"Okay, thanks."
Betty put down the cup and left the pantry.
The cleaning lady waited for Betty to leave, then glanced outside. No one around.
She opened the bag at her waist and pulled out a cup identical to the one on the counter.
She quickly wrapped Elizabeth's used coffee cup in a clear plastic bag and put it in her bag.
When Emma received the message that the cup had been obtained, she was painting. She got so excited that she accidentally added an extra stroke to the painting.
The painting was ruined, but she wasn't angry.
"Deliver it tonight."
She removed her Bluetooth earpiece and smiled.
She had originally planned to find a way to get Elizabeth's hair, but that was a bit difficult, so she changed tactics to getting a cup Elizabeth had drunk from.
This kind of thing was easy to arrange. With enough money, getting just a cup—naturally someone would be happy to do it.
Emma went to change her clothes.
She went to The Nightingale Mansion to find Freya.
When Freya was bored at home, she would arrange flowers and read. When she saw Emma arrive, she immediately had butler Beau make Emma a fresh juice.
"Godmother, I bought theater tickets. Let's go see it together later, okay?"
"What kind of theater?"
"A stage play."
Freya enjoyed theater, and she had nothing else to do today anyway. "I'll go change."
Emma sat in the living room and drank half a glass of juice while Freya, dressed in a long dress, came downstairs.
She put down her juice glass and exclaimed, "Godmother, I really think you look great in long dresses. Very elegant."
Freya smiled. "You always know what to say. Let's go."
"I'm telling the truth." Emma winked and smiled.
The stage play was being performed at an arts center.
After the play ended, just as they walked out of the theater, Emma rummaged through her bag. "Godmother, wait for me a moment. I need to get my phone."
When Emma went back to get her phone, she put the water bottle Freya had drunk from into a plastic bag and stuffed it in her bag to take away.
"Found my phone. Let's go."
At five in the afternoon, Elizabeth was going to meet Herschel.
She got in the car and saw Timothy was there too. She raised an eyebrow.
Timothy was writing code. He had removed the brown wig but still wore the black-framed glasses. His fingers stopped typing on the keyboard. "Elizabeth, what's for dinner?"
"I can't have dinner with you guys tonight. I have an appointment with Herschel to discuss business." Elizabeth put the brown wig back on Timothy's head, touching her chin. "Timo, if you go bald in the future, wearing a wig wouldn't be bad."
Timothy sighed helplessly. "Can't you just hope my hair stays thick forever?"
Elizabeth imagined Timothy bald. No, she really worried she wouldn't be able to get intimate with him.
She valued appearance.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Thinking that when you go bald, that'll be when I lose all affection for you."
Timothy fell silent.
Timothy was upset. He turned back to continue coding, not wanting to talk to Elizabeth.
He held it in for a few seconds, then opened his mouth to lecture her earnestly, "You can't just look at a man's face. You have to look at his abilities—like his ability to make money, his ability to care for his family, his ability in bed."
Elizabeth responded flatly, "Got it. Lesson learned."
Timothy fell silent again. He didn't feel like she'd learned anything.
Elizabeth arrived at the place where she was meeting Herschel.
Before getting out of the car, she leaned over in front of Timothy.
She licked and bit his Adam's apple through his slightly open collar.
Then she smiled and got out of the car.
Timothy raised his hand, his fingers touching his Adam's apple, and smiled silently.
Elizabeth had arranged to meet Herschel at a Western restaurant.
For people like them who weren't there purely to eat, they would book private rooms with good privacy.
Elizabeth arrived ten minutes early, but unexpectedly, Herschel had arrived even earlier.
A server pulled out her chair.
Elizabeth sat down.
"Mr. Nightingale, shall we order first?"
Having come straight from work, Elizabeth wasn't going to mistreat her stomach—she was hungry.
Herschel nodded, and they each ordered what they liked.
After they finished ordering, the server left.
Herschel picked up his teacup and took a few sips.
He noticed the ring on Elizabeth's ring finger.
Elizabeth noticed his gaze on her finger and raised an eyebrow, asking casually, "Mr. Nightingale, why did you suddenly change your mind about discussing cooperation?"
Herschel said, "It may not necessarily work out. The Nightingale Group's high-end luxury goods are only sold in physical stores."
This was just preliminary discussion. If Elizabeth could convince him, they could continue talking.
Elizabeth nodded. "I know that if high-end luxury goods are sold online, it affects their premium positioning, and it might lead to more counterfeit products appearing."
Herschel listened without interrupting her.
He had arranged to meet Elizabeth today mainly to get a sense of what kind of person she was.
Elizabeth was a woman who could make both Timothy and Jake fall for her—she was no simple woman.
A server knocked on the door.
They brought in the meals they had ordered.
Elizabeth planned to eat her fill first, then continue discussing the cooperation.
After she finished eating, she set down her knife and fork.
She wiped her red lips. "Mr. Nightingale, I brought a proposal. You can take it back to review, and if you're interested, you're welcome to come to the Sherman Group to discuss it."
Elizabeth sensed that Herschel's intention in inviting her this time wasn't just about business.
Although he appeared gentlemanly throughout, Elizabeth still detected that he was sizing her up.
"Mrs. Sherman."
He changed how he addressed her this time.
Herschel said in a steady, calm voice, "Five years ago, Timothy sent Emma to a psychiatric hospital because of you."