This was quite annoying. Although, there was a little compassion that Hailee felt for Giana, it was just that as soon as she remembered that the woman would look for Ramon when she woke up, of course she pushed away that feeling, stepping on it hard so that it couldn't be felt anymore.
Leave it alone, it was none of her business, she had another matter to handle...
"These city streets are really annoying," Candice grumbled. These were the first words she said as soon as she sat on the chair opposite Hailee without permission. No 'hello' or 'how are you?' or 'how have you been so far after a few years of not seeing each other?'
Well, Hailee could understand this, because after all, this attitude was very typical of Candice.
"Would you like something to drink?" Hailee asked Candice when the girl had sat down and placed her bag on the table. The expression on her face was one of a frowning, not liking the atmosphere in the cafe.
"I want coffee," Candice said, but more to herself, she then raised her hand to call the waitress and ordered the coffee she liked; espresso.
Hailee didn't really understand why there were people who like this type of coffee…
"So tell me what's the reason you want to meet me? And how did you get my number?" Very typical of Candice, asking straight to the point.
Well, being with Ramon, Hailee got used to this way of speaking.
"I got your number from Ian," Hailee replied calmly as she sipped her smoothie.
"Oh, him." Candice remembered Ian. "But, I haven't been in contact with him for a long time."
"You could say Ian has a lot of connections," Hailee replied with a nonchalant shrug. "And I asked you to meet me to offer cooperation."
Having a clear understanding of Candice's interaction patterns, Hailee also didn't want to spend a lot of time making small talk, thus she got straight to the point.
"Cooperation?" Candice frowned and crossed her arms while leaning against the back of the chair, showing a defensive attitude, but also observing the other person. "I know that there is something important that we will talk about when we meet, but I didn't expect that you would offer to cooperate."
Hailee and Candice didn't talk much on the phone and it could be said that Hailee was the one who insisted on meeting this girl, lucky that Candice was willing to come, because the office where she worked was only a few buildings away from this cafe.
"I want you to design a jewelry set for my company," Hailee said and just at that moment, the espresso that Candice ordered was delivered by one of the waitresses.
The aroma of the coffee which was quite pungent and strong immediately pierced Hailee's sense of smell and made her wrinkle her nose and squint her eyes. Her stomach churned. It was almost the same feeling she had when she had to be hospitalized because her stomach ulcers flared up.
"I don't design anymore," Candice said in a tone that sounded very stiff. "I work as a financial manager." There was a tinge of fury behind her words when Candice informed her of her current status.
"But, in college you..." Hailee frowned, both surprised and also because of the strong smell of coffee. She wanted to get rid of the drink or throw it away.
"I did not finish my studies and chose to run the family company. Now I am taking business management courses. So, my time can be said to be very limited. You are lucky I was bored in that stuffy office and met you here for some fresh air." Candice cut Hailee's words into a long and detailed explanation. She seemed really bored to the point of being annoyed at having to be cooped up in a closed room, which wasn't her style at all.
Hailee didn't know this. Oh, she should have followed Ramon's way of solving problems, namely; find out down to the most detailed information about the people she need to meet and work with.
Tsk, Ramon should have shared this wisdom with Hailee too.
However, other than that, Hailee could still see Candice's reluctance to run the family business. Since she didn't really like she was enjoying her life right now.
Maybe this could be a material consideration? Maybe Hailee could give it another shot? At least, she didn't come all the way just to see Candice without trying, did she?
In some part, Candice reminded Hailee of herself, which she was not really willing to run her family company.
"But, I guess you still can't let go of your passion." It was a statement and was spoken so convincingly by Hailee that for a moment, a longing look flashed across Candice's eyes. Her longing to put her brilliant ideas into a design. Her dream for a long time.
Candice was an artist with a natural talent, of course taking a job that was not her dream was a very difficult thing and the past year had been a very long time. Candice felt like she was in a place that didn't belong to her.
"I have not designed anything in a long time," Candice said in a somber voice. "If that's your sole purpose of seeing me, I can't seem to help." Candice's voice sounded a little bit sarcastic. She then added bitterness to her life by sipping her bitter espresso.
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