Chapter 111 Her Helplessness
Alison had just three days left. For the past two days, she’d been dragging herself to work like a zombie, unable to taste her food, and completely clueless about a solution. Among everyone she knew, Aidan was the only one with money.
After work, Claire called out to her, "Alison, what's up? You seem out of it."
"Oh, it's nothing," Alison mumbled, not even turning her head.
Claire pressed on, "Stephen's coming to the office tomorrow to check on that villa. I was swamped today and couldn't look into it, plus the CEO's out. I remember you handled this case. Can you help me with Stephen tomorrow?"
Alison thought to herself, Stephen seemed important. Jack had even gone to the hospital to tell him that he and Aidan would be returning to the old house to dine with the chairman and Stephen.
"Sure, I'll take care of it tomorrow," Alison agreed. Work might help calm her down; otherwise, her mind would be consumed by that number: $1.2 million.
Waking up with dark circles under her eyes, Alison sighed at her reflection in the mirror. Today was the last day. If she couldn't come up with the money, she was done for.
Thinking about meeting Stephen, she forced herself to perk up and applied heavy makeup to cover the dark circles.
At work, Claire was busy and quickly handed over the task of dealing with Stephen to Alison.
Time was tight, and the meeting was in the VIP room—a place she really didn't want to go.
Walking towards the VIP room, Alison thought she had forgotten about it, but memories of the wonderful time she had spent there with Jack involuntarily surfaced in her mind. That memory was so beautiful it felt like a dream, as if it had never really happened, yet it was deeply etched in her heart, impossible to forget.
As she stood at the door, she saw Jack accompanying an elderly foreign woman towards the VIP room, and her heart began to race. Why did it have to be him? But then she thought of the $1.2 million, a sum she couldn't figure out how to raise. She didn't know if Jack would be willing to lend it to a woman he didn't even like.
"Jack, when will the construction on the villa start?" the elderly woman asked.
"Next month, I believe," Jack replied.
"Oh, that's soon. Let's confirm the model and the plans. If everything's fine, we can start the construction," the woman said.
Alison's eyes were fixed on Jack and Stephen, but Jack acted as if he didn't see her, not even glancing her way. She braced herself and stepped forward to greet them, as it was her job.
"Hi there," she said in a clear, pleasant voice, catching Stephen's attention.
"Hello," Stephen greeted her warmly, showing no sign of displeasure. Jack, however, took a long time before finally looking at her, asking indifferently, "You're handling this reception?"
Alison felt a bit uneasy but steadied herself and replied, "Yes."
"Alright, let's go in," Jack said gracefully, gesturing for Stephen to enter the VIP room first.
Inside, Stephen praised Jack's design and expressed regret that he wouldn't return to YD. Jack responded that he had completely left YD three years ago, as per the chairman's wishes. Stephen brought up past events, saying she didn't believe Jack had hired someone to do it and pressed him for the truth.
"Hmph, whether I did it or not, what difference does it make? I'm never coming back. If it weren't for you personally asking the chairman to have me design this villa, I wouldn't have set foot in YD again. Once this project is done, my task is complete."
"Jack, you're as stubborn as ever, just like before. Let's not talk about the past. Miss, could you brief us on the villa's preparations?"
Finally, they got down to business. Alison detailed every aspect of the villa's preparations, and Stephen listened intently, giving Alison a sense of accomplishment. After all, she had spent a lot of time reviewing these documents.
Everything went smoothly. When the briefing was over, Stephen smiled at Alison and said, "Miss Fairchild, you have excellent communication skills. Are you the manager of the planning department?"
Alison felt a bit embarrassed and answered softly, "I'm the CEO's secretary."
"Oh, so you're Aidan's secretary. Then you don't have to manage a specific department, right?"
"Yes, that's correct," Alison didn't understand why Stephen was asking.
"Good, when Aidan returns, I'll have him put you in charge of this project. That way, I'll feel assured."
"No, I..." Alison wanted to refuse but was cut off by Stephen.
"What? You don't want to?"
"No... it's not that."
"Good, since it's not that, I'll take it as you're willing." Stephen was a seasoned negotiator, and with just a few words, he had Alison tied to the villa project.
Alison smiled, "Sorry, I have to follow the company's arrangements." This was her way of politely declining. Right now, she just wanted to avoid trouble and stay out of the spotlight.
Stephen didn't mind Alison's polite refusal. He smiled and said, "It's a pity you're just a secretary. We'll discuss it further when Aidan returns. Jack, let's go."
Jack gathered the documents on the table, stood up, and invited Stephen, "Let's go have a cup of coffee." With that, he was ready to leave.
Alison's eyes followed Jack closely. She had made up her mind to call out to him. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to save Jackson and Erin.
But when she opened her mouth, no words came out.
From start to finish, Jack had been cold to her. He probably still thought she was responsible for Aimée's child's situation.
How could she make him believe her?
Alison sighed softly, a sigh that seemed to linger in the air. Stephen turned back and smiled at her, "Miss Fairchild, why don't you join us?"
But just as she was about to speak, Jack said, "Alison, don't you have other work to do?"
"Oh, yes," she replied stiffly, sounding very awkward. In the blink of an eye, Jack had already escorted Stephen out of the VIP room.