Free Web NovelChapter 72: Chapter 72: Let Georgia Be a Designer in Your Company? (1)
"It’s me."
Before Georgia Thorne could finish, a voice she knew all too well came from the other end of the line.
Elliot Sheridan had a pleasant voice—deep and magnetic, with the unique, charismatic charm of a mature man.
The name "Elliot Sheridan" was enough to make Georgia Thorne nearly throw her phone away.
It felt scalding hot in her palm. She opened her mouth but had no idea what to say.
She wasn’t even sure what to call him.
Elliot Sheridan? Mr. Sheridan? President Sheridan?
It seemed any of those names would make Elliot Sheridan angry.
The one thing Georgia Thorne could never predict was his volatile temper.
After a long pause, Georgia Thorne asked in a dry, hoarse voice, "Where’s Selena?"
"What, have you got nothing to say to me? After all, we’ve shared a bed for so many nights!" Elliot Sheridan’s low voice was thick with temptation.
That last sentence, tinged with a unique intimacy, rolled off his tongue, and Georgia’s heart immediately began to pound traitorously.
"E-Elliot Sheridan, please put Selena on the phone!"
Faced with Elliot Sheridan, Georgia Thorne was so nervous she couldn’t even speak coherently.
Her heart was racing, and even pressing a hand to her chest couldn’t calm it down.
’Elliot Sheridan, has he lost his mind?!’
"Georgia, they were right to call you a heartless, ungrateful brat. All this time and not a single call for me!" On the other end of the line, Elliot Sheridan stood before a window, one hand in his pants pocket, gazing down at the entire city from high above.
The Sheridan Group building was located in the very heart of Portmire. From its top floor, the city’s glittering prosperity spread out below.
Georgia Thorne fell silent. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
’This man always loved to tease her with his words.’
Even over the phone, Elliot Sheridan’s words made Georgia Thorne’s face flush with embarrassment.
"What, nothing to say? A guilty conscience?" Elliot Sheridan chuckled, his bright laughter echoing in Georgia Thorne’s ear.
’It wasn’t guilt. She was just afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would slip back into their old, coquettish ways.’
It was just like their phone calls in the past. Elliot Sheridan liked her to cook for him, so she would always call him from the grocery store.
When Elliot Sheridan was in a good mood, he wasn’t picky; he’d eat whatever she made. But when he was in a bad mood—especially when he hadn’t been... satisfied in certain respects—he’d get fussy about his food.
They would go back and forth on the phone, her suggesting one thing after another, and Elliot Sheridan rejecting them all.
’They say it only takes twenty-one days to form a habit, but breaking one can take a year, or even a lifetime.’
Georgia Thorne clutched her phone, not daring to speak. The line remained open, the call connected.
They listened to each other’s breathing, soft and faint.
For a fleeting moment, just the silent call was enough to lift her spirits considerably.
Her frayed nerves were just beginning to settle when the sound of approaching high heels from outside shattered the moment.
"Someone’s coming!"
Without even a goodbye, she frantically hung up.
Elliot Sheridan gripped his phone, his brow tightening instinctively.
’Is she that afraid of people finding out?’
’It’s not like I’m some shameful secret!’ freewebnøvel.coɱ
The first time he’d driven to her university, it had been the same thing.
She didn’t want any of the other students to see, so she’d made him park at an intersection far from campus.
He didn’t really mind, except that he could always see Georgia Thorne running toward him from a distance, always in a rush.
Even in the bone-chilling winter wind, she’d arrive with her face flushed red from running.
Selena Sheridan returned. "Uncle, why do you have my phone?"
She hurried over, checking to see if Elliot Sheridan had been snooping through it.
Elliot Sheridan glanced at her. "I didn’t see anything private. It’s locked with a password."
It wouldn’t have been hard to guess her password, anyway. It was either her birthday or her boyfriend’s.
Selena Sheridan gave him a skeptical look and unlocked the phone with her fingerprint. "Then what were you doing with it?"
’Her uncle was a very sharp man. What if he figured out she used Jean’s birthday as the password?’
Selena Sheridan had to be on guard around her uncle. Her phone contained important things that no one could see.
"I answered a call for you."
"Who? Was it Jean?"
"It was Georgia Thorne."
Elliot Sheridan sat back down in his chair and looked at the documents on his desk.
"Georgia? I’ve called her several times, but she never picked up. I wonder what she’s been so busy with." Selena Sheridan checked her call log and saw that the most recent call was indeed from Georgia Thorne.
She put her phone away, cupped her face in her hands, and leaned over the desk. "Uncle, can I ask you for a favor?"
Elliot Sheridan looked up at his niece. She was blinking rapidly, batting her eyelashes at him.
Whenever Selena Sheridan wanted a favor, she’d start speaking in a wheedling tone and show off her big, doe-eyed look.
"What is it? Just spit it out."
"You have to promise me first, then I’ll tell you."
Elliot Sheridan glanced down at the designer watch on his wrist. "Selena Sheridan, don’t try to bargain with me. Or you won’t get any chance at all."
Selena Sheridan pouted. ’Her uncle was great in every way, except he could be so impersonal.’
"Uncle, it’s about Georgia! Her actual degree is in design, but she’s forced to work in sales just to get by. It’s so hard for a girl in that field, always running around. What if she runs into a difficult client? She could get taken advantage of, have to swallow her grievances without being able to complain to her company, and..."
Selena Sheridan did her best to paint as pitiful a picture of Georgia Thorne as she could.
Before she could finish, Elliot Sheridan cut her off with a gesture. "Stop. Get to the point."
"The point is, sales is a tough job for a woman. Uncle, can’t you let her join your company as a designer?"
’It’s always better to have someone you know looking out for you. Georgia must be having a terrible time all alone at that company.’
"No."
"Why not?!" Selena Sheridan shot upright, protesting indignantly.
"First, this company has very strict requirements for its designers. You don’t get hired without an innovative portfolio. Second, if everyone came to me asking to let someone in through the back door, what would be left of my company? A pack of freeloaders waiting for a handout? Third, if she’s truly capable, she should get into this company on her own merits."
Selena Sheridan was speechless.
’After that whole speech, it was clear there was no hope for Georgia!’
Still unwilling to give up, she walked around the desk to Elliot Sheridan’s side. "Uncle, my dearest uncle... Georgia is my one and only best friend. You can’t even help me with this tiny little favor?"
She made a "tiny" gesture with her fingers as she pleaded with him.
"If you have this much time to spend wheedling me, you’d be better off spending it on Justin Sullivan." Elliot Sheridan completely dismissed her.
Selena was rendered speechless again.
’She knew she couldn’t expect to hear anything nice from her uncle on this topic.’
"Uncle, why do you have a problem with Jean? What did he ever do to offend you?" Selena Sheridan demanded, sticking up for her boyfriend.
"Grandma and Grandpa, and Mom and Dad all love Jean! They all say wonderful things about him. You’re the only one, Uncle. With just a few words, you can leave him completely humiliated!"
Another time, Justin Sullivan had been invited to the Sheridan Family home by James Sheridan, and Elliot Sheridan happened to be there.
Justin Sullivan had just returned to the country and, due to his father’s poor health, had been rushed into the family business to get up to speed on its operations.
Everyone was praising Justin Sullivan as young and promising, but Elliot Sheridan would occasionally throw in a dissenting remark or two.
The fact that Elliot Sheridan would contradict them at all came as a surprise to everyone.
Elliot Sheridan doted on his niece, so it was only natural that he would have high standards for her future husband.
That was what everyone thought, so no matter how upset Selena Sheridan was on her boyfriend’s behalf, she didn’t dare voice her complaints.
