Chapter 204
Randell hurried to smooth things over and turned to Lyman. “Lyman, your wife’s really… quite something.”
He couldn’t exactly compliment Effie’s looks-if Lyman thought he was eyeing his friend’s wife, that’d be a disaster.
He added quickly, “I know the basic rule-never mess with a friend’s wife. You can trust me on that.”
Lyman rolled his eyes. “You talk too much. Come on, let’s play a round.”
Randell’s mouth twitched. Looked like he was about to lose big this time.
Sure enough, out on the golf course, Lyman nailed a hole-in-one. Randell ended up footing the bill while the whole crowd cheered.
Lyman grinned at him. “Thanks for covering us, Mr. Hoffman.”
Randell’s smile was more of a grimace. “Don’t… mention it.”
When Effie walked into the design department, she caught Nelly sauntering out of the manager’s office, looking absurdly pleased with herself.
Nelly spotted Effie, lifted her chin, and said, “Effie, Mr. Butler wants to see you.”
Effie just raised an eyebrow and didn’t go in right away. She headed to her desk first, dropped off her bag, and only then looked up.
Shirley poked her head out from behind her monitor and whispered, “Effie, you missed it—Nelly went into the office in tears, then marched right over to the manager. I couldn’t hear everything, but I definitely heard her say your name.” Shirley looked worried. “I’m afraid they’re plotting something against you.” Effie shrugged. “It’s fine. I haven’t done anything wrong, so I’m not worried.” Shirley made the sign of the cross, murmuring, “Dear Lord, please protect Effie.” Effie couldn’t help but laugh as Shirley dipped her fingers in her water glass and flicked droplets at her, claiming it would ward off bad luck.
“When did you get so superstitious?” Effie chuckled.
Shirley winked. “Hey, you never know. At the end of science, there’s always a little bit of magic.”
Effie smiled, shook her head, and made her way to the manager’s office.
She knocked. “Mr. Butler?”
“Come in.”
Once inside, Irving Butler handed her a file. “Effie, here’s a new project. I’d like you to take it on.”
Effie didn’t agree right away. She took the file and started reading.
Wait a minute—wasn’t this the project Nelly was working on before?
The Hoffman Group-powerful and notoriously demanding when it came to their partners.
Of course, Etheridge & Co. had a strong reputation for jewelry design, but if even Nelly couldn’t land the deal, maybe this project wasn’t the golden opportunity it was rumored to be. Maybe it was more of a poisoned chalice.
Effie’s silence made Mr. Butler think she was intimidated. He tried to reassure her. “Effie, this project is important for Etheridge’s reputation. I’m counting on you to give it your all.”
Effie looked up. “Mr. Butler, if I remember correctly, wasn’t Nelly in charge of this project?”
Irving Butler’s gaze flickered.
He couldn’t deny it. Yes, it was true.
Originally, Nelly was handling the Hoffman account. She’d assumed that because Randell Hoffman and Lyman were childhood friends, the deal would be a shoo-in for Etheridge. She’d rushed into it, unprepared.
It backfired. Randell had ripped into her, saying that if this was Etheridge’s standard, there was no point in working together.
Nelly had even tried flirting her way back into his good graces, but Randell- despite his wild reputation-wasn’t interested in anyone who threw herself at him so blatantly. Especially not someone who came on that strong from the get-go.
With no other options, Nelly had begged Randell for another chance, then quietly told him she was just the liaison, and the real project lead was another colleague. And that’s how this tricky, thankless project landed on Effie’s desk.
“Effie, will you take it?”