Autumn frowned, pondering what nonsense the kid was spouting this time.
Jason was shamelessly grinning, and quipped) “Full service tonight. Let’s settle it all in one go.”
Estre chuckled dismissively, “Sure, if you think you can handle it.”
Their shameless banter left Kristin and Autumn exchanging embarrassed nces, feeling awkward
beyond words. Estre and Jason had turned their cheeks crimson with their talk, yet those two acted
as if it was nothing at all.
Autumn gave Estre another poke in the waist. “Estre, did I raise you to talk like this?”
Estre furrowed her brows, turning to Autumn. “Mom, if you keep poking my sides, I’ll never be able to
have kids.”
“God forbid!” Autumn spat out the words thrice, dismissing the jinx.
Kristín, caught between amusement and dismay, quickly tried to smooth things over, “Look, since the
kids have agreed to make a go of it, let’s leave them to it and head back.”
Autumn nodded in agreement with Kristin, and the two women made their exit.
Once they had gone, Estre gathered herself and headed straight for the Dorvold Group
headquarters.
In the chairman’s office, Cole was on the phone. Estre pulled up a chair and took a seat across from
him. After Cole hung up, he looked up at her. “Aren’t you working today? Don’t you have thew firm to
attend to?”
Estre, with her legs crossed, probed, “Mom mentioned you were troubled by somepany issue
involving the Lamont family.”
Cole sighed, “You don’t need to worry about thepany. You and Jason just focus on building a good
life and having a baby.”
Estre was insistent. “I’ll live well and the baby wille, but thepany is equally important.”
Sensing her determined stance, Cole exhaled slowly, “Digital Springs is our most critical project for the
latter half of the year. We had a solid grasp on it, but somehow, the Lamont family got a hold of our
project proposal and undercut us by almost ten percent. The higher-ups are reconsidering.”
“Ten percent less?” Estre scoffed. “The Lamont family not interested in making a profit anymore?”
Cole replied, “They’re just trying to best us, to win the project and put Dorvold Group under
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pressure. It’s a government contract, and the quoted price is not high. If we go any lower, we’d be
shooting ourselves in the foot, which might be exactly what they want.””
He took a breath, “If we lose the project, Dorvold Group could be relegated to the second tier, which will
affect us for years toe.”
After hearing him out, Estre said, “Send me the project proposal and the bid to my email. I want to
take a look.”
Estre had a background inw and had interned at thepany. She was familiar with proposals
and bid documents.
“Do you really have the time and energy for this? Can you manage with your own workload?” Cole
questioned.
Estre stood up confidently. “I can make time She was already heading for the door. “Just remember
to send me the files, Dad.”
“Will do,” Cole replied, rising to see her out.
After leaving Dorvold Group, Estre didn’t return to thew firm but headed to the Urban nning
Bureau. She wanted to get a firsthand look at the development in Digital Springs. “Estre, what brings
you here today?” greeted Wes with a smile.
“Hey, Wes! You are here today!” Estre replied with a grin. “Just checking out the city’s future
developments. I want to see where it’s more suitable to buy a house.”
Although Estre only took on divorce cases, inheritance cases, and some minor cases, it was
because of these cases that she met influential people. After all, ordinary people rarely went through
legal procedures when they divorce.
“Wes, if you know of any good spots, I might just buy a block,” she joked.
Wesughed, “Come on, let’s chat in my office. I’ll show you some promising developments.”
After their meeting, Estre had gleaned some useful information from their conversation. As she
hummed to herself, ready to leave the nning office, someone called her name. She looked up to see
Erin.
“Erin! Here on business too?”
Erin, with his hands in his pockets, replied with a smile, “Give up on divorce cases to help out at your
dad’spany?”
Estre quipped back, “Thanks to your family, I’m about to switch careers.”
Erin leaned in close and whispered, “You’ve got guts, challenging the Lamont family on your own.”
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Erin was the picture of elegance – like an idyllic prince. His smile was a visual treat Estre faced him,
“Pa deserves every bit of my generosity.”
With a gentle gaze, Erin replied, “Taking out your frustrations with Jason on Pa?”
Estreughed it off, “She’s not that important”
Returning to the topic, Erin offered, “Are you here to help your dad find out what he needs to know?
Spend an evening with me then. If you can make it worthwhile, the Lamont family might just back off
from Digital Springs. And who knows, you might even take over as our legal counsel.”
With that seemingly harmless smile, Erin was the epitome of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Estre turned
her face, barely masking her irritation before Erin’s whisper tickled her ear, “Jason’s hardly ever home,
huh? Must be tough, ying the lonely housewife.”
She fixed him with a steely gaze. “You think you can just waltz in and wear Jason’s shoes? And his
wedding ring?”
“Yeah,” Erin said. His lips curled into a smile, which was warm and deceivingly gentle. “If Jason hadn’t
been so quick, Pa might be your sister-inw by now.”
Estre saw right through him. Erih was just toying with her, trying to one-up Jason in some petty game
of egos. Men like him, she thought, they had got no room in their hearts. for anything but their own
reflection and their ambitions.
With a yful tug at his tie, Estre leaned in. Her breath was warm against his ear. “Well,” she
murmured, “I sure hope you can make my hight worthwhile.”
Erin’s hands snaked around Estre’s waist, sneaking in a little thrill before fishing out a key card from
his pocket and pressing it into her palm. “I’ll be waiting.”
Estre nced at the card, then back at Erin with a teasing promise in her eyes. “Then it’s a date.”
Erin adjusted his tie, with a hint of eagerness betraying his cool facade.
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