Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 199 - 197: Good News
"I washed in the guest bathroom."
"...Then go outside and reflect."
"Then let me kiss you first..."
...
The old saying is true, couples argue at the bedside and make up at the foot of the bed.
But Simon Forrester wasn’t so lucky. Last night, just as he was making up with Sienna Thornton, she unexpectedly got her period, staining the sheets with blood. Although she didn’t pass out due to her fear of blood, she was so uneasy that she felt weak.
At this moment, Director Forrester showed his indispensable role in Lawyer Thornton’s life by massaging her philtrum, heating milk, changing the sheets, and washing the sheets...
After doing all this, he held the scared, pale-faced Lawyer Thornton in his arms and smiled gracefully, "See, I told you I shouldn’t go out tonight. A woman still needs a man to take care of her!"
Sienna was too exhausted to argue with him, so she rolled out of his arms and went back to sleep in her spot.
"Turn off the light."
"Oh, okay."
The room went dark instantly, and he quietly snuggled up behind her, holding her, and asked softly, "Sleeping?"
"If you have something to say, just say it."
He then mentioned the matter of refusing the Sinclair Family’s proposal through Elder Forrester and assured her there would never be another Nina Sinclair and that no female subordinates from the office would accompany him on business trips in the future.
Only then did Sienna feel somewhat satisfied and allowed him to hold her as she drifted off to sleep.
This phase passed amidst the circumstances. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
-
In mid-October, Rochelle Linwood officially started her job as Sienna Thornton’s assistant, and she switched her form of address from "Lawyer Thornton" to "Mr. Thornton."
On the first day at work, after familiarizing themselves with the environment, they began discussing how to discreetly get their hands on a contract tightly safeguarded by Steven Chapman.
Rochelle suggested that Sienna propose a two-day, one-night team-building outing for the Legal Department over the weekend, giving her a chance to get close to colleagues from the contracts team.
Sienna agreed and brought it up with Steven, who was quite pleased with her wanting to spend money on food and fun even though she had just joined two weeks ago, and readily signed the approval.
When Sienna mentioned this to Simon at home, he insisted on tagging along, arguing that he couldn’t leave her to spend the night away.
Letting Simon tag along wouldn’t be a problem operation-wise, but it might disturb the hearts of the female staff in the Legal Department.
Imagine the tall, handsome, and single heir of the group going hiking with them; would the girls in the Legal Department still focus on hiking?
Ultimately, they reached a compromise; Sienna would attend the team-building event, Simon wouldn’t follow, but Sienna would return home to sleep and go back in the morning.
This wasn’t a bad compromise, considering Sienna didn’t enjoy staying out overnight, and Crimson Hills was less than an hour’s drive from where they lived.
After the team-building excursion, Rochelle indeed forged a bond with a female colleague from the contracts team. During the hike, the colleague twisted her ankle, and Rochelle carried her down the mountain, drove her to the hospital, handled all the paperwork, and after that, drove her home, taking care of her overnight and through the weekend.
The two developed a deep camaraderie, frequently commuting to work together, sharing lunches, and eventually going shopping and watching movies together, as if they had known each other forever.
On the other hand, Sienna had compiled a list of Forrester Group’s products facing trade barriers in the M. Republic. For some of which, she had instructed their lawyers in the M. Republic to file for "no injury" claims with the International Trade Commission;
While for another group that had previously achieved unsatisfactory results when suing the International Trade Court in the M. Republic, she planned to unite with other exporters offering similar products, to submit applications to the Ministry of Commerce, who would in turn petition the World Trade Organization, or even pursue litigation.
These matters couldn’t be resolved overnight, taking years, perhaps three to five. But she couldn’t stay at Forrester Group for that long, planning to shift her focus back to litigation after Steven leaves.
During this period, she often worked until dawn due to the time difference with the M. Republic, sleeping for a few hours and then heading to work at Forrester Group at noon. This effort finally paid off in early November.
The government of the M. Republic, after conducting an investigation, lifted the recent anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed on Forrester Group’s products.
Upon receiving this news, Simon immediately reported to the board. Old Master Forrester was delighted, secretly telling Simon that Sienna was a great asset and advised him to cherish her, assuring him that with her around, Forrester Group’s export products would no longer be hit with various unfair taxes by foreigners.
November tenth was Forrester Group’s payday. Sienna received an SMS notifying her that her bank account was credited with over 190,000 yuan.
She calculated that, after deductions for personal income tax and social insurance, and including all the various allowances, her pre-tax annual salary should be 2.4 million yuan, just 100,000 less than Steven Chapman’s.
Fearing that Steven would be unhappy if he found out, she quickly mentioned it to Simon, who assured her that the salary was suggested by Bianca Fordham.
Since Steven had always been Bianca’s advisor, it was likely that this amount had his consent as well. Sienna was relieved, understanding that if Steven decided to make things difficult due to jealousy, it would cause her a lot of trouble.
With one good thing following another, Sienna felt that the dark cloud hovering over her was finally dispersing.
Having been unemployed for months, receiving a salary lifted Sienna’s spirits significantly, so she treated Simon to a meal that evening, repaid the 40,000 yuan she borrowed from him earlier, and scheduled a meeting with the landlord over the weekend to renew the lease.
On the way back, Sienna was too tired to talk, her irregular schedule and poor mental state over the recent period made her want to sleep as soon as she hit the bed or sat in the car at night.
Just as they were nearing home, Simon suddenly received a call, exchanged a few words, then handed the phone to her, "My grandpa wants to have a word with you; do you want to take it?"
Sienna, barely awake, took the phone and answered, "Hi?"
On the other end, Old Master Forrester’s voice boomed, "Thornton, tomorrow is Jules’ birthday. I’m planning on celebrating it at the old house. You and Jules should come together."
