My Child and I Married a Billionaire

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Never Trust a Beautiful Woman

Stratton allocated space to each company based on its business volume. After everyone confirmed their designated spots on-site and signed the necessary paperwork, York began purchasing raw construction materials and bringing in workers.

Cecelia Archer was a young woman, after all, and all the running around was exhausting. York decided to leave her on-site to supervise the work.

Cecelia put on a sun hat that hid her face, leaving only her eyes visible, and slipped on a pair of sun-blocking ice silk sleeves before getting to work at the site.

A little after three in the afternoon, Ryan held a black umbrella as he accompanied Damien Vaughn, who was being led by Stratton’s former boss, Mr. Jordan, on a tour to inspect the progress.

The moment he entered the site, he spotted the oddly attired Cecelia Archer. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

’It was strange. He’d only known her for a few days and they’d only interacted a handful of times. She was so completely covered up, yet he had recognized her in a single glance.’

Her lithe, slender figure stood out remarkably among the crowd of brawny, sweating men.

Damien Vaughn couldn’t help but frown as he watched her bustling figure, hurrying back and forth.

’Didn’t I just hand her the Wellspring Electric account yesterday? Why isn’t she busy liaising with them instead of running around here?’

’A salesperson with a medical background supervising a construction site... Her company is far too reckless with its personnel assignments!’

Ryan noticed President Vaughn’s pace slowing, his eyes fixed on something in the distance. Following his boss’s gaze, he too instantly recognized Cecelia Archer.

’This woman... why does she look so familiar? Isn’t that Miss Archer? What is she...’

Seeing that President Vaughn also looked puzzled by her presence, Ryan, ever the savvy assistant, quickly sent a message to his contact at Wellspring Electric.

He quickly got to the bottom of it.

He couldn’t say anything in front of Mr. Jordan, so he had to find an excuse to interrupt the man’s presentation.

"Mr. Jordan, the conditions here are so harsh, and President Vaughn has taken the trouble to visit personally. Why haven’t you prepared any refreshments?"

At his words, Mr. Jordan slapped his forehead and stopped in his tracks.

"Silly me! I’m getting old and muddled! Thank you for the reminder, Ryan. Everything is ready, I just forgot to have it brought over! President Vaughn, please wait a moment. My apologies, I’ll have someone bring drinks over right away."

As Mr. Jordan hurried away, Ryan reported what he’d found to Damien Vaughn.

"President Vaughn, the boss at Miss Archer’s company is a real piece of work. He actually steals credit from his employees. The people at Wellspring Electric said he was the one who met with them this morning, along with that woman, Vivian Mason. Miss Archer wasn’t there at all."

’So the deal he’d personally gift-wrapped for Cecelia had ended up in someone else’s hands?’

’Is she an idiot?’

’Ever since he’d met her, it seemed she was either being bullied or about to be bullied! She even let a deal that was in the bag get stolen from her!’

For reasons he couldn’t quite pinpoint, Damien Vaughn was thoroughly annoyed.

"Has the contract been signed?"

Ryan replied, "Not yet. The process isn’t complete. But if all goes well, it should be signed tomorrow."

"Then make something unexpected happen," Damien Vaughn said, his eyes turning cold.

’A trash company like that, with such trash leadership, is completely unworthy of partnering with the Vaughn Group!’

Ryan quickly sent a message back to his contact at Wellspring.

After sending the message, he looked over and saw Cecelia Archer helping a truck driver unload rebar. A complicated feeling washed over him as he watched her frail frame do the work of an ox.

"Miss Archer is too much of a pushover. She just does whatever she’s told... If you ask me, there’s no reason to stay at a company like this."

Damien Vaughn recalled reminding Cecelia in Corvane that she’d never get anywhere by sticking with a bunch of trashy colleagues.

’But not only does she refuse to leave, she lets everyone walk all over her. If she likes degrading herself this much, then no one can help her.’

After setting down the rebar, the cut on the sole of her foot began to throb again. Cecelia Archer wiped the sweat from her brow with her arm, limped over to an empty patch of ground, and sat down to take off her shoe...

Watching her treat her own body so carelessly, Damien Vaughn’s inexplicable irritation grew even stronger, and he let out a cold snort.

"If she had a functioning brain, would she have done something so stupid she got expelled from her university?"

Ryan knew what he was referring to. frёeωebɳovel.com

When they had arrived the previous night, they’d overheard her former classmates saying Cecelia Archer had been expelled from the university for theft. They also claimed she had a child and didn’t even know who the father was...

To be honest, Ryan couldn’t reconcile the morally corrupt, promiscuous Cecelia Archer everyone described with the one he knew.

’He hadn’t known her long, but every time he saw her, she was resiliently trying to make a life for herself. She never complained, got discouraged, or showed any sign of low self-esteem. And she had never seemed to want anything from President Vaughn.’

’She was clearly a strong, beautiful, hardworking, and sweet person!’

"I just don’t think Miss Archer seems like the kind of person who would steal. And you can’t necessarily trust what those people said."

Damien Vaughn countered, "If she didn’t do it, then why did she fall silent the moment it was brought up? She reacted fiercely to everything else Claire Clark said."

He pulled his gaze away from Cecelia Archer and continued walking, his expression unreadable.

"You can’t judge a person by their looks. The more beautiful the woman, the better the liar. Didn’t you know that, Ryan?"

Vivian Mason was furious. Wellspring Electric had said her company’s products weren’t good enough and failed to meet the standards for a partnership. All that effort had been for nothing, and she had lost face in the process.

She returned to the office, planning to take her anger out on Cecelia Archer, only to find she wasn’t there.

Seeing Vivian Mason fuming with nowhere to vent her frustration, the manager quietly sent Cecelia a message.

"Just stay put for now. Don’t come back to the office. The partnership deal fell through, and both Vivian and the boss are looking for someone to blame."

’The deal fell through?’

Cecelia suddenly realized she’d celebrated too soon.

’It was just a lead from a male model. How naive of her to think it was a sure thing.’

Suddenly, she wasn’t angry about it anymore.

It was also a form of indirect revenge against Vivian Mason, which made her quite happy to stay on the construction site.

The other suppliers gradually sent their own people and materials to begin construction. With more than twenty companies working simultaneously, the site was bustling every day. Despite the unbearable summer heat, she found it all rather fun.

By the sixth day of work, their company’s warehouse was beginning to take shape.

That day, she was leaning against a corner of the warehouse’s exterior wall, taking a water break, when a man suddenly appeared, anxiously pacing back and forth in front of her as he talked on the phone.

"I’ve already gone to invite Mr. Lee three times. Even King Alistair’s three visits to the thatched cottage weren’t more persistent than this, right? But the man just refuses to see me. I’m at my wit’s end."

"The man doesn’t care about money. He’s one of those old-school intellectuals who values his reputation more than anything. I’d love to entice him with money, but I can’t even get the chance, you see..."

"I know other companies are also scrambling to contact him, but... Yes, yes, I understand, President Vaughn. I’ll figure something else out. But could you please give me a little more time? Two days really isn’t enough, President Vaughn. President Vaughn?"

Cecelia Archer watched as the man was hung up on mid-plea, a pitiful expression on his face.

’Huh, isn’t that Mr. Jordan? The boss of Stratton who personally signed her contract not too long ago?’

’Even a big-shot boss like him has problems that give him a headache?’