Chapter 55: Superiority
The moment the young man heard my question, he looked up, meeting my gaze.
As our eyes locked, I saw a flash of surprise in his beautiful charming eyes.
But it was gone in an instant. Then I heard him laugh and say, “Miss, are you a fan of Free Spirit too?”
I didn’t respond immediately. My gaze drifted to his left hand, its knuckles well–defined, and I asked in return, “Are you?”
“Well, sort of,” he replied casually, “But if Free Spirit knew he had a beautiful fan like you, he’d be thrilled.”
“I heard Free Spirit always paints with his
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ten hand” I said, deciding not to beat around the bush. I looked directly at the suspect in hont of me and added, “You also used your left hand when you stopped the falling goods earlier”
“So?”
I didn’t hesitate. “He has a small black mole on his thumb, just like yours.”
The young man froze for a moment, then let out a soft laugh. “Miss, you don’t actually think I’m Free Spirit, do you?”
“It’s a possibility.” I replied seriously, then asked, “Are you him?”
My serious tone seemed to catch him off guard. The young man finally dropped his nonchalant act and became more earnest. “Miss, Free Spirit has been active for ten
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Chapter 65 Superiority
years, and I’m only 22 this year. Considering his well–known status in the concept artist scene, that would mean I’ve been creating since I was twelve, with boundless creativity and inspiration, right?”
At 22, this didn’t match the rumors I’d heard
at all.
“Wow, so in your eyes, I’m this incredibly talented young man, huh?”
I studied his innocent, charming eyes and replied, “The public hasn’t made Free Spirit’s age clear.”
I paused for a moment before adding, “And you seem to know a lot about him.”
When we entered, I’d noticed the fans‘ excitement at meeting their idol, but this guy was far too calm, almost dismissively so.
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Chapter 53: Superiority
– Promen
“Well, I’m a die–hard fan of Free Spirit,” he explained patiently. “To be honest, Miss, I’ve even played games with Free Spirit before. The news about him being left–handed? That was me who leaked it.”
I was momentarily speechless. “So, the news was fake?”
He shrugged, not responding.
So, Kaitlyn, the sly fox, had been outplayed by this young man.
“Miss, are you angry?”
I wasn’t exactly angry, but the sudden. dampening of my hope didn’t feel great.
“This is my business card,” I said, politely handing it to the young man. “If you hear
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Chapter 55 Superiority
+5 Points
any news about Free Spirit, could you let me know as soon as possible?”
The young man took the card curiously, smiling as he said, “Charlene Grande, so you’re Charlene, huh?”
I wasn’t in the mood to linger and was about to stand up and leave when I heard him add, “By the way, Charlene, I’m Bradley Chavez. Maybe we’ll meet again sometime.”
Half an hour later, the fan meeting ended, and Kaitlyn and I walked out of the resort area, our expressions dejected.
When the subject of the left–handed detail came up, Kaitlyn was taken aback. “Looks like we’ll have to put in a little more effort if we want to meet Free Spirit himself.”
On our way back to the office, we bumped
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Chopter 55, Superiority
hot foints
into Davina, who was just about to leave for the day.
She leaned in curiously and asked, “Charlene, I heard you met Free Spirit this afternoon. How did it go? Did he agree to collaborate with us?”
It was like rubbing salt in the wound for me and Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn snapped, “We’re not like you, Davina, with someone like Mr. Lynton backing us, so you might be disappointed.”
Davina lowered her gaze and muttered, “Ms. Hayes, I didn’t mean anything by that.”
Kaitlyn flashed a faint smile but didn’t respond.
But then, we heard Davina speak up again.
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“But Ms. Hayes, you’re right. For the sake of the project, I could go to Letch and see if there’s a chance to meet Free Spirit in person.”
I froze for a moment, unsure of how to respond.
Kaitlyn, however, smiled, her lips curling slightly. “Sure, thank you in advance, Davina.”
Davina’s smile deepened, her dimples showing. “Ms. Hayes, you’re welcome.”
It was a charming smile, but there was a hint of superiority buried in it.
Kaitlyn noticed that too. Once Davina left, she muttered angrily, “She created the problem, and now she’s acting like the savior, stepping in after seeing us struggle. If she really manages to get Free Spirit, where does
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that leave us?”
“You always say it–nothing beats solid money over face–saving.”
Kaitlyn shot me a pointed look. “She thinks she can show me up, but she’s still a rookie.”
Moments later, I saw her grab her phone and speak into the receiver with a raised voice, clearly searching for Free Spirit’s whereabouts.
As the saying goes, don’t let your pride stand in the way of your goals. I thought about it for a moment before calling Gary, hoping to meet him again.
But he turned me down, citing a busy schedule.
I spent the whole evening mulling over it,
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Chapter 56 Superiority
then decided to show up uninvited at Gary’s art studio, gift in hand.
The secretary escorted me to the reception room, where I waited from 10:30 in the morning until noon. At twelve, she politely said, “Sorry, Ms. Grande, Mr. Wood is still busy. Would you like to head back for now?”
Since she had said it so plainly, I figured it was best to take the hint. But I still had to give the gift.
“Ms. Grande, you can take the gift back with you, the secretary said, her tone dismissive. “Mr. Wood, well, he has no shortage of such things.”
She pushed it casually, but didn’t have the right amount of force, causing the gift box to slip from my hands and fall with a loud thud onto my foot.
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I had chosen a high–end Italian–made coffee machine–heavy, solid, and definitely no lightweight. The impact stung more than I had expected.
The secretary shot me an awkward glance and said, “I told you we don’t accept it. Just take it back.”
Her tone was as dismissive as if I were begging for charity.
The sudden wave of frustration that welled up inside me was hard to suppress. I bent down silently to pick up the box when I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
“Charlene, what are you doing here?”
I looked up, confused, and saw Davina standing in front of Gary’s office,
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accompanied by Fletcher.
I hadn’t been to the office this morning, so running into Davina here was unexpected. But what was even more surprising was that Fletcher was with her.
The purpose was clear.
Even Gary, who had previously been distant towards me, was now standing beside them with a face full of flattery, his expression radiating respect for those in higher
positions, despite being Free Spirit’s top–tier
manager.
The image of the conversation I had with Davina before leaving work the previous evening suddenly flashed in my mind.
In just one night, Fletcher–the
ever–impassive Fletcher–had effortlessly led
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her straight to Gary. He had clearly backed
her to the hilt.
Quite a contrast to how I had just been unceremoniously shown the door from the
company.
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