Chapter 221


    “Which means this Mr. Smith should be from out of town,” Joyce said as she scratched her chin


    thoughtfully.


    Natalie merely shrugged. “Who cares where he is from. It’s got nothing to do with us anyway. Let’s go.”


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    “Yes, let’s go find that b*tch Jasmine,” Joyce said as she helped Natalie to her feet.


    As they passed the first row of seats, a man dressed as a bodyguard came up to them and stopped


    them in their tracks. “May I know if the two of you are in charge of Studio Nouveau?”


    “And you are?” Joyce stepped up protectively to shield Natalie behind her as she regarded the man


    with wariness.


    The man continued with a straight face. “I work for Mr. Smith. I’ve been sent to extend an invitation for


    you to meet with him.”


    “Meet with us?” Joyce and Natalie exchanged looks.


    Natalie furrowed. “May I ask what is the purpose of this meeting?”


    “To discuss matters concerning the bidding exercise. This way please,dies.” The man’s gesture and


    bodynguage suggested that declining was not an option.


    Joyce looked worriedly at Natalie. “What now, Nat? Should we go, or should we not?”


    Her friend lowered her eyes and paused. “We’ll go. It doesn’t look like he is giving us a choice.”


    “But what if this Mr. Smith means to do us harm?” Joyce said as she hugged her arms.


    Natalieughed, “This is a public ce. I doubt he would be so bold as to try anything here.”


    “You may be right about that. Let’s go then,” Joyce reluctantly agreed and assisted Natalie as they


    followed the bodyguard up to the second floor.


    When they entered the private room, Natalie saw a young man seated on the couch. He was average-


    looking, dressed in an ordinary suit, and was unremarkable in every way imaginable. How could


    someone so distinctively average be the Mr. Smith that won the bidding exercise?


    The young man smiled as he got to his feet. It was as though he had read Natalie’s thoughts.


    “Greetings, I’m Mr. Smith’s secretary. You may call me Plumlee.”


    “Secretary?” Joyce blustered as she pointed at him. “So you are not Mr. Smith?”


    “Mr. Smith had to leave on short notice, so he had tasked me to receive you,” Plumlee replied.


    Natalie nodded. “I see. In that case, may we know why were we brought here?”


    “There’s no hurry. Please have a seat.” He replied as he pointed to the couch across from him.


    Joyce went on to assist Natalie over to the couch.


    The secretary went on to exin as he poured them some tea. “This is our situation. We are from out


    of town and are unknowns in J City. It was through sheer luck that we managed to clinch the project.


    This is why we are seeking a partner that could help us design and produce the pieces for the winter


    fashion show.”


    “Oh that’s great. Let me tell you something, our Nat...”


    Joyce wanted to put Natalie’s name forward but was stopped by Natalie herself.


    “You may be right about that. Let’s go then,” Joyce reluctantly agreed and assisted Natalie as they


    followed the bodyguard up to the second floor.


    “My apologies, my friend here is a little excitable.” Natalie smiled.


    Plumlee waved off her concern. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”


    She loosened her hold on Joyce before she asked, “I don’t have a problem coborating, but I’m


    interested to know why we were chosen. We are a new studio without much credentials. You saw for


    yourself that we were out in the very first round of bidding. In any case, you should have better options


    for partnership with than ourselves in J City.”


    It points to reason that one should look to established firms and studios, as newer onesck both


    credibility and reliability.


    For this mysterious Mr. Smith to pass on all of thosepanies ande to them directly made her


    question his motives.


    Plumlee had picked up on her doubts, and that only served to pile on his own pressure.


    It was no wonder that Ss had reminded him to tread very carefully around this very discerning Ms.


    Smith prior to his departure, so as to avoid giving the game away.


    The secretary drew a deep breath and raised his cup of tea to his lips. He recollected himself before


    replying. “The reason why we chose Studio Nouveau is because of Ms. Smith. My boss is very


    impressed with the Project Rebirth designs for Thompson Group. We would like to have something


    simr which could enable us to gain a foothold in J City.”