Everyone around us was quiet. They did not even dare to breathe loudly.
Camden was smug as he looked down at me. He was waiting for me to lose my temper.
However, I just silently stared at the proposal he destroyed.
Then, I looked up and smiled at him.
“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Smith. Be careful when you walk; the floor is slippery.”
After I said that, I picked up my flashdrive and left.
Camden’s smile froze. He probably did not expect such a response from me.
After I left the office building, I immediately went to a photocopy shop near the cafe to print the proposal.
Cloud Cafe was decently quiet.
When I reached, Aurelia was already there.
She was wearing a tailored suit and stared intently at the tea before her. She looked calm and collected.
When she saw that I had arrived, she looked up and glanced at me for a second.
“Mr. Anderson, please sit.”
She sounded warmer than she did in the call.
“Ms. Peter, I’m sorry for the fiasco yesterday,” I said.
Aurelia dismissed my apology with a nonchalant wave to indicate that she did not care.
“I have no comments about your company’s management style.”
She sounded calm. “I just want to know how I can trust a company who doesn’t respect their senior employees with my project.”
The question was sharp and direct.
I kept quiet for a while.
“Ms. Peter, you’re right. I’m not here to make excuses on behalf of my company or anyone else.”
I slid the new proposal to her.
“I’m here today as the project manager to present the proposal that I was working on for the past six months to you. This is my responsibility, and this is the level of respect I have for this project.”
I did not mention Camden, nor did I try to score any sympathy points. I only explained the proposal thoroughly and explained all the creativity and effort we had put on for this project.
Aurelia listened quietly and did not interrupt me.
After I finished presenting, she said slowly, “Theo.”
It was the first time she said my name.
“This is a great proposal. This is a lot better than what I had imagined.”
I felt relieved.
“However,” she said, “I’m working with a team, a company. Not just you.”
“I understand.” I nodded and put the proposal away before I prepared to leave.
“Let me reconsider the collaboration.”
When I stood up, she suddenly said that.
I was surprised by her change of mind.
When I returned to the office, everyone was looking at me with sympathy.
Camden immediately rushed over.
“How’s it? I bet you got rejected! As I said, you’re useless!”
I ignored him and walked to my desk.
He did not let it go. He started yelling.
“Why aren’t you talking? Are you mute? Pass me your resignation letter tomorrow. Don’t make me take this matter into my own hands!”
At the same time, my phone started ringing.
It was Aurelia’s assistant.
“Mr. Anderson, Ms. Peter asked me to inform you that she accepted the collaboration. However…
“She will only work with you as the only project manager. As for the details of the agreement, she will personally discuss it with you.”
The whole office suddenly became extremely quiet.
Camden’s face first paled, then darkened with rage.
