The competition came to an end, and they even won an award. Harper finally felt relieved.
The tension of the past few days had exhausted her mentally and physically. Now, she just wanted to go home and sleep comfortably
Patrick was also in a good mood. He booked a flight back to the city for the evening. They all took a taxi back to the hotel to pack their bags.
Before returning to their rooms, Patrick suddenly said, "Dr. Lucas and Dr. Smith also stay here. Since we are leaving, should we inform them?"
Harper paused for a moment and lowered her gaze.
"No need," she said before entering the room, letting out a sigh behind the door.
Their relationship must have progressed significantly in these past few days. Harper thought it was better not to complicate things.
With plenty of time to spare, Harper and Aria took a break and got a call from Patrick before heading downstairs to the airport.
The plane landed just after ten o'clock.
Once home, Harper sent a text to the other two, letting them know she had arrived. Then she laid down on the huge couch.
Her phone received several messages in a row, all from Mia.
Mia: [Harper, I'm so nervous! I feel like it's my first wedding all over again.]
Mia: [Please don't forget tomorrow! I'll be heartbroken if I don't see you.]
Harper looked at the messages, a slight smile appearing on her lips.
She could imagine how happy Mia must be in her wedding dress.
She replied with a hugging emoji.
Harper: [Of course, I won't forget! Rest early, and you will look beautiful tomorrow!]
It had been on her mind. That was why Harper had told Patrick ahead of time that she was going to come back right after the competition today, and had also taken tomorrow off.
She just didn't know if Joseph would make it back in time.
The next morning,
Brian arrived at the company. As he walked toward his office, Ethan handed him a document. "This is the list of winners from the design competition in Bagores. Our company's newcomer won first place."
Brian glanced at it but didn't reach out to take it.
Ethan instantly understood his meaning and took the document back. He held it in his hands and continued, "I heard this newcomer performed very well and has great potential."
Brian didn't pay much attention, nodded, and asked about something else, "Is the gift for Ms.Miller's wedding banquet ready?"
Ethan nodded. "Mr. Lewis, don't worry. Everything is arranged."
Their company was about to embark on a major project with The Lucas, which was the biggest project since Brian took over T-Shine.
As the chairman of the collaborating party's wedding banquet, Brian was invited to attend, so he naturally took it seriously.
With one hand in his pocket, Brian was about to enter his office when the conversation of a few secretaries nearby caught his attention.
"The results of the Bagores competition were quite unexpected."
"Our company has high standards for admission. If she didn't have the ability, she wouldn't have been able to join our company, so it makes sense she ranked first in the competition."
"That's true. Harper is young, but she is truly talented in design."
Brian, who had already turned the doorknob, suddenly froze, letting his hand return to its original position.
His eyes darkened, showing a hint of surprise. He turned to the person speaking behind him. "Who did you just mention?"
The secretary who was whispering immediately straightened up and lowered her head, obviously quite frightened. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lewis. We won't talk about it anymore."
Brian took a few disoriented steps forward, staring at her with trembling breath. "I'm asking you, who did you just mention?"
The secretary wore a pained expression. "Harper!"
Ethan, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped.
Harper? He turned in shock to look at Brian.
Ethan had only been responsible for passing on the list of participants and winners, so he hadn't seen it.
Brian walked over to Ethan in big strides, snatched the list from his hand, and started flipping through it.
The first page was the personal profile of the first-prize winner of the competition.
The familiar and bright smile in the photo, though separated by time, was still recognizable to Brian.
It was Harper, whom Brian had missed all this time!
Brian reached out his hand, gently rubbing the name on the paper. His brows furrowed, and his eyes filled with suppressed emotions.
She had grown a lot since they last saw each other, with a touch of maturity in her eyes and face.
She was no longer the little girl who used to follow him around all day calling him brother.
Had she been by his side all this time?
And he hadn't noticed at all.
Brian closed the folder in his hand, closing his eyes briefly. After suppressing the regret and excitement in his heart, he glanced at Ethan.
Ethan immediately understood and quickly called the HR department to inquire about the situation.
After searching for so long, Ethan had finally found the person Mr.Lewis was looking for, and she was right beside him!
But he hadn't noticed at all.
Ethan, with a complex feeling, spoke up, "Has Harper from the design department returned from her business trip?"
The person on the other end of the phone responded quickly, "She's back, but she took a day off today and will only come to work tomorrow."
"She took a day off?" Ethan couldn't help but look toward his boss, who didn't look good.
"Give me her contact information."
Ethan hung up the phone and then handed Brian the number he had written down. "Mr. Lewis, here is Harper's phone number."
Brian silently took out his phone and dialed the number.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off."
Ethan also didn't expect this result.
After finally finding the person, they couldn't even contact her. It was easy to imagine how upset Mr. Lewis must be feeling.
Seeing Brian put away his phone and prepare to leave, Ethan quickly reached out to stop him. "Mr. Lewis, Henry's wedding banquet is about to start, and we are almost late. Where are you going now?"
Brian frowned and glanced at him. "Move aside!"