Chapter 62 On What Grounds?
Samuel had long gotten used to Amelia's cold demeanor and followed her without a care.
The corners of his mouth had been curved upward from the moment he saw Amelia, and stayed that way the whole time.
He had completely forgotten that he'd just warned himself to show more restraint around Amelia.
The two of them, one in front and one behind, quickly entered the inner venue surrounded by a group of black-suited bodyguards.
After the initial shock, everyone snapped back to their senses.
The surprise on the men's faces faded, replaced by displeasure.
They weren't ordinary people either - some even had project collaborations with the Crawford Group - but when had they ever received a personal greeting from Samuel?
Yet this Amelia wasn't the least bit grateful or nervous. Instead, she acted all high and mighty, as if Samuel meant nothing to her.
If this were in the past, fine - the Richardson family was considered top-tier wealthy after all.
But now that the Richardson Group had gone bankrupt, the entire Richardson family wasn't even qualified to be their servants. What gave this country bumpkin Amelia the right?
The women's faces also clearly showed displeasure.
Especially the young girls.
The moment Samuel appeared, they'd been attracted to him and immediately saw him as their dream man.
But now, this lowly Amelia whom they looked down on dared to act so superior?
What gave her the right?
Just then, security at the entrance began checking tickets for entry.
Today's charity exhibition was very grand, and the tickets - or rather, invitations - were extremely limited.
Originally, when they got their invitations, they'd all been excited before setting out.
But seeing someone of Amelia's status being personally escorted in by Samuel, they suddenly felt their invitations weren't so precious anymore.
However, some were more calculating.
They were thinking that once inside, they'd definitely need to butter up Amelia.
Samuel wouldn't personally come out to greet someone of humble status for no reason - there must be something behind it.
Winning over Amelia might mean winning over Samuel.
Looking down on Amelia and pretending to flatter her on the surface were two different things.
Meanwhile, Amelia had already entered the inner venue.
The inner area of Luminance Art Gallery was divided into three sections - the entrance was the reception area with a large sign-in board.
Further in was the main exhibition area.
On both sides of the main exhibition area, the left was the conference area, and the right was the lounge and dining area.
With Samuel leading her, Amelia could skip the sign-in area and go straight to the main exhibition area.
Looking at the paintings displayed using levitation technology, Amelia's eyelids lifted slightly.
The levitation technology was something she had suggested to the director of Luminance Art Gallery back then, but at the time it was just a concept - she hadn't expected it to actually be realized.
Samuel thought she was interested in the displayed paintings and suggested, "Should I give you a tour? The pieces for today's charity auction are all internationally renowned masterworks."
Amelia felt the people in the inner venue all turning to look at them. Her brow furrowed slightly as she said, "No need. You go do what you need to do. I'll just look around on my own."
Samuel did have other things to attend to. The exhibition was about to start, and there was still a lot of preparation work to do.
So he said, "Alright then. I'll come find you when it officially begins."
With that, he instructed Jeremy, "You stay with Amelia."
"Yes!" Jeremy nodded in acknowledgment.
York couldn't help but cast an envious look his way.
Following Samuel meant actual work, but following Amelia just meant casually showing her around - easy and relaxing.
Samuel was playing favorites with Jeremy!
Though Samuel probably felt he was better-looking than Jeremy, which is why he felt comfortable letting Jeremy accompany Amelia.
With this thought, York's mood improved again.
Jeremy had no idea what York was thinking. With a serious expression, he made a "please" gesture to Amelia.
Amelia nodded slightly and slowly walked toward the main exhibition area.
Samuel stared at Amelia's retreating figure for several seconds before York's reminder finally made him pull his gaze away and attend to business.
Among those attending today's exhibition were quite a few people from political circles.
This included the newly appointed mayor Marlon Rojas, who'd only been in office a few days.
The previous mayor had been taken away for investigation for certain reasons, and Quinton's arrest was also closely related to that former mayor.
"I've already made contact with this Marlon. He's not hard to get along with. It's just..." York hesitated.
"Just what?"
"He's asked me several times whether you have anyone you're interested in. I've dodged the question each time."
Samuel understood.
"Perfect timing then. I'll answer him myself."
...
Over at the main exhibition area.
Amelia stopped in front of a painting.
This painting wasn't by just anyone - it was by her student, Geraldo.
"Does Ms. Richardson like Mr. McGinnis's painting?" Jeremy asked, studying Amelia's expression.
Amelia shrugged and said, "I don't like it!"
As soon as she said this, the people standing in front of the artwork admiring it immediately looked her way.
In the crowd happened to be Niamh Armstrong, the woman Yasmin had brought in.
She already had a bias against Amelia because of Yasmin, and coupled with the incident at The Richardson Manor a couple days ago when Amelia refused to tell her Samuel's preferences, she couldn't help but speak up.
"Mr. McGinnis is a legendary figure in Phoenicia's oil painting world. If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense just because you're from the countryside."
Jeremy beside her frowned and was about to step forward to reprimand her when Amelia stopped him in time, gently shaking her head at him. "Forget it."
However, while Amelia was willing to let it go, Niamh wasn't about to drop it so easily.
Seeing Amelia turn to leave, she rushed forward in a few quick steps and blocked Amelia's path.
"Stop right there! You insult Mr. McGinnis and think you can just walk away?"
Amelia finally looked directly at Niamh.
She had a good memory - one glance was enough to recognize that this woman was the same Niamh who'd said at the welcome banquet that she was just someone from the countryside hoping to climb up by latching onto men.
"It's you," she said.
Niamh snorted coldly and said, "You insult Mr. McGinnis and think you can just walk away? You must apologize to Mr. McGinnis! Everyone, don't you agree?"
The people standing in front of the artwork all happened to be admirers of Geraldo's paintings.
So when Niamh spoke up, everyone echoed her.
"That's right! Apologize, you must apologize!"
"You don't know anything and dare to talk nonsense here? Do you know that Mr. McGinnis is here today? If Mr. McGinnis finds out and gets upset, we won't let you off!"
She looked expressionlessly at the group in front of her and said, "I only said I don't like his painting. When did I insult him?"
Niamh said sternly, "You should know Mr. McGinnis is here today. With him present, you still say in front of everyone that you don't like his painting - isn't that an insult?"
What a talent for twisting words.
Amelia wasn't angry, just amused.
"This painting of his really isn't good. What's wrong with me saying I don't like it?"
"Not good? I think you clearly don't understand anything and are just talking nonsense!"
"I'm just telling the truth."
"Then tell us - what do you think isn't good about it?"
Country people have very limited understanding of art.
She didn't believe Amelia could actually come up with a real reason.