Sophia had to find an excuse to reply to her mother.
"I just arrived at a new company, and I need to spend more time to get familiar with the work and
environment.Moreover, I am new in the company, though it's time to get off of work; if my superior
doesn't leave yet, then I can't leave too"
Maria also understood that her daughter was between a rock and a hard place in the job.
"Well, then, I will help you reschedule it for another day.Make sure you come home straight after work
that day"
Sophia tried to stifle a smile at her mother's antics.
"Sure, mom.” After hanging up the phone, Fiona rubbed her heart over her chest.
"Your mother doesn't know anything, right? Why does she keep calling you to know what you were
doing when you didn't come home after work?"
Fiona paused for a moment to think before she continued, "But then again, are you really going to go
along with your mother's arrangements for a blind date and completely forget that god awful ex-
husband of yours?"
The expression on Sophia's face didn't change much.
"He's a person that I should have forgotten a long time ago.Besides, you said that he was awful.Why
would I still be thinking about him?"
"Yes, that's right!" Fiona agreed wholeheartedly.
But Sophia knew that despite what she said, it was not that easy to do.
Unknowing to the two women, two men were sitting beside their coffee table not too far from them.
One of them was so attractive that everyone would pay attention to him even if they had just passed by
him.
Even those who had seen many handsome men would also be attracted to him.His appearance
couldn't help but make everyone sigh at the unfairness of God.His facial features were sharp and
chiseled.He was inexplicably handsome.He tightly pursed his lips as he sat there in brooding
silence.He gave off a sense of a professional businessman.
"President Evans, this contract..." The other man wiped the sweat from his brow in nervousness.
Patrick merely smiled and did not say anything.
The man knew that Patrick was an expert in psychological negotiation, so he would not readily reveal
his thoughts.He could only tentatively ask questions.
"We will meet again next week for an auspicious meeting” Patrick suddenly announced.
He abruptly stood up and closed the button of his suit.
Hoping not to come off as rude, he promptly ended their meeting and walked out of the coffee shop.
It was not until Patrick was far away that the man still seated at the table came back to his senses and
scratched his head anxiously.
‘'That man was tough to deal with; the man who just talked to Patrick thought to himself.It was tough to
negotiate a contract with Patrick” he had to be cautious every minute because he couldn't afford to
offend Patrick easily.
The man felt annoyed.
When would he be able to sign this contract? He remembered that the atmosphere was excellent at the
beginning of their meeting.
Why did it seem like he had suddenly become cold when the two women at the table next to them had
left? Was he perhaps imagining things? When she returned to their rented apartment in the evening,
Sophia barged into the room and immediately collapsed on the bed.
She thought that today might be the most miserable day in her life.
Not only was she scolded by her superior, but she was also evidently ignored by her ex-husband.
Just thinking about it made her feel hurt.
Suddenly, the sound of knocking interrupted Sophia's thoughts.
Someone was knocking on the door outside the room.
"Sweetie, are you asleep?" her mother, Maria, asked from outside the door.
"Not yet.Come in, Mom" Sophia said, forcing back the tears in her eyes.
Maria pushed open the door with a glass of lemonade in her hands.
"The summer heat is becoming unbearable nowadays.Drink some iced lemonade to cool off."
Sophia gave her mom a gentle smile and took the glass from her hands.
Her mother settled down at the foot of her bed, and then she took out two lists and placed them on
Sophia's lap.
"This is the bill given by Emma's teacher.She said that it was the fee for the second half of the
year.Also, I need to buy medication for my heart.Do you have enough?"
Sophia calculated that it was barely enough, but she did not have the heart to tell her mother the truth.
"Yes, I have enough.I found a part-time job this weekend"
Maria nodded, though she could not help but nag, "I told you to find aman quickly.You keep dragging
things out.At this point, you will be exhausted from raising your own family.You just have to hang
on.Hurry up and drink the lemonade, and then you should go to bed early"
Her mother did not seem to notice her sad disposition.She was just glad to see her mother in
somewhat high spirits, so she didn't bother explaining.
Sophia nodded and said, "Got it"
Five years ago, Fiona had rushed her to the hospital just in time before she almost had a miscarriage.
Fortunately, the child was saved.Her mother had opposed her being together with Patrick in the
beginning.
After learning that her cousin liked him, her objection towards their relationship was more persistent.
Since Sophia was a child, her mother had favored her older cousin more than her.So her mother had
strongly urged her to abort the child.
At that time, she was weak because of her pregnancy.
But for the sake of the child, she knelt in front of her mother almost every day.She begged her to let her
keep the child.She had just gone through a divorce, but she did not care about anything else except the
child in her womb.
After begging for days, Maria had finally agreed to her request, but she asked Sophia not to have
anything to do with that man.
Sophia promised her mother that she would listen to whatever she said as long as she could keep the
child.Her mother did not break her promise and helped her keep the child using her connections with
other people.
However, her mother was worried about her day and night despite having a severe heart problem
herself.
When Sophia thought back to that night, she felt like her mother was the one who felt the most guilt.
During the past few nights, Sophia kept having nightmares, and she almost had no energy to work
during the day.
While at work, she also felt uneasy.She was not worried about Lianna taking revenge on her because
of her mistake on that day.She understood that Lianna was a thoroughly professional woman.
Although she was picky about her subordinates, it was not to the extent that she could not distinguish
between work and private.
She was apprehensive about whether the contract had been smoothly carried out or not and whether it
would have any setbacks because of her intrusion.
As the saying goes, bad news traveled fast.
Her colleagues in the evaluation department often gossiped, betting on when she would be sent back
and whether she would lose her job because of this.
Anyway, it was just to watch the show, and it was not a big deal.
Initially, she planned to finish the evaluation case while keeping a low profile and then leaving quickly.
But she didn't expect that there would be so much inconvenience in the middle of her temporary
employment.
The whole situation made Sophia's head throb with a terrible headache.
Rumors began to spread like wildfire, but the truth couldn't have been farther from it.
Fortunately, there was no sign of action from the upper management, making her feel at ease.
Sophia swore that she needed to be more careful in everything and not be as reckless as before.
Later that day, Sophia had just finished the morning meeting when she received a call from Samuel.
"Sophia, you have been in Evans Group for almost a week.You should be familiar with the content of
the evaluation case, right? I will come over in a while, and you will personally explain the evaluation
case for us.I also heard the news that Mr.Evans will also attend.
This news shows that he still values our company's evaluation case very much, so you must perform
well.
Sophia was overcome with cold nerves.
She was caught in a situation where she was unprepared.
It would be the first time for her to present an evaluation case alone after returning to the country.
It was inevitable for her to feel nervous.
After preparing the necessary documents that she needed, Sophia rushed to the conference room
without stopping.
Since she was the main speaker, she reviewed her materials from beginning to end to avoid any
blunders in the presentation process brought by her nervousness.
The people participating in the meeting came at the appointed time.
Sophia clenched her fists as she tried her best to calm herself down.
Samuel and Lianna came in almost at the same time, nodding at each other.
As the time for Sophia to start her presentation was getting closer, her heart was also beating faster.
Maybe it was because she had a good hearing, or she might have been familiar with the sound, but
she heard Patrick's distinctive footsteps as he approached the conference room.
A moment later, he pushed the door open and came in.
The people within the room stood up to greet him respectfully.
Patrick came into the meeting room on time.
Sophia didn't know if it was intentional or not, but he picked the seat opposite her and sat down.She
could see him as soon as she looked up.
After Patrick sat down, everyone also sat down one after another.
Lianna announced, "We can start now.”
Sophia nodded and began her presentation.
"Hello everyone, I am Sophia, an employee of the data evaluation department.The evaluation case I
will present today is about the value of the food development field in the media market.."
Half an hour later, Sophia successfully finished her presentation.
She turned back to address the people in the room with a graceful smile.
"Thank you for listening.That ends my report on the evaluation.If there are points that need further
improvement, I would highly appreciate suggestions."
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