Chapter 390: Mrs. Sloan, Is There a Reward?

Chapter 390: Chapter 390: Mrs. Sloan, Is There a Reward?

But Claire Yeats was unwilling to use Estelle Lockwood’s surname. She hated everything about Estelle, naturally including her name. So she subconsciously gritted her teeth and said, "I... My surname is Yeats..."

"Look at me, asking such a stupid question." The assistant smiled, surprisingly without any suspicion. "You’re from the Yeats Family. If your surname isn’t Yeats, what else could it be?

"Miss Yeats, here’s the situation. Although our Mr. Lynch isn’t in Crestfall, he values this collaboration highly. Regarding Mr. Silas Lockwood’s artworks, Mr. Lynch intends to first produce a batch of co-branded cosmetic packaging. Therefore, we need to hire a designer. However, Mr. Lynch has high standards, and most well-known designers are currently fully booked. I wonder if Miss Yeats has any suitable candidates in mind..."

Claire smiled coyly. "You might not know this yet, but I’m also a designer."

"Oh?" The assistant feigned a spark of interest in his eyes. "May I ask what works Miss Yeats has produced?"

Claire replied shyly, "It was just for fun, nothing worth mentioning, but I did win the championship at the XW Design Competition three years ago."

"What?! You’re that Chinese champion! Miss Yeats, you truly live up to being the person in charge handpicked by Mr. Lynch! We’ll leave the design to you as well!"

The assistant was extremely excited and rattled on, "Our Mr. Lynch said that due to your special status, he promised someone he would take good care of you. But since you are still young, Mr. Lynch fears that some might look down on you. Therefore, at the opening ceremony of the collaboration, Mr. Lynch will present you with a jade token.

"That jade token is Mr. Lynch’s personal token. Usually, seeing the token is like seeing Mr. Lynch himself.

"Mr. Lynch wants to give you his own jade token. From now on, the entire Aethel Group will follow your orders. You will be the second master of Aethel!

"However, Mr. Lynch can’t return just yet, and he still needs the jade token for now. It might be a week before he can bring the jade token to Crestfall. When the time comes, I’ll contact Miss Yeats and deliver the token to you."

Claire’s eyes widened sharply. "What?!"

Mr. Lynch’s jade token? The second master of Aethel? Estelle?! Why did Estelle deserve this?! Wasn’t she just Silas Lockwood’s daughter? Why did she have such good luck...

Wait, right now, that person was her. Mr. Lynch wasn’t in Crestfall. This assistant thought she was the person in charge, the one Mr. Lynch wanted to "take care" of.

Claire’s eyes darted around. "Since Mr. Lynch isn’t coming to Crestfall... how will this jade token be delivered?"

The assistant smiled. "Don’t worry about that. We have a dedicated courier. The jade token will be delivered directly to my hands, and then I will pass it on to you. You can use it at the opening ceremony to prove your relationship with Mr. Lynch. After that, the Aethel branch in Crestfall will be yours as well."

Claire trembled all over with excitement. Knowing that Mr. Lynch was not in Crestfall, and no one else knew who was really who between her and Estelle, now that this assistant thought she was the person in charge and was going to give her the jade token... could she just keep up the charade forever?

"Miss Yeats, what do you think?" The assistant’s smile carried a hint of beguilement, like a soul-snatching demon luring Claire toward the abyss.

If Claire had thought about it carefully, she would have found the loopholes. The fact that she and Estelle swapped identities would be exposed sooner or later. Even if Aethel had truly made a mistake, they would realize it eventually. When that time came, Claire would face even greater wrath. But Claire was too desperate to beat Estelle. She couldn’t even wait to secure the collaboration, get the jade token, become the second master of Aethel, and rise above Estelle.

So she hastily agreed, yet had to feign modesty, giving her entire demeanor a twisted appearance. "Okay... Of course, that’s fine. I will take full responsibility for both the collaboration and the design."

"That’s great. Could Miss Yeats please save my phone number? I’ll deliver the jade token to you in a week."

"Okay, no problem..."

Claire’s heart raced. Throughout the entire exchange, she didn’t notice that the assistant’s gaze was growing colder and colder.

"By the way, if I may ask..." Claire smiled coyly. "Is there only one jade token?"

"Of course. This jade token will be yours from now on. When the people of Aethel see the token, it’s as if they’re seeing Mr. Lynch himself. You can give us orders as you please. Furthermore, whoever possesses the jade token from now on will be the person in charge of the collaboration. You can rest assured on that point."

Claire’s heart suddenly pounded like a drum. The person with the jade token was the person in charge. Since the jade token would be with her, what about Estelle? Estelle didn’t have the jade token, so who in the Aethel Group would submit to her? When the time came, the entirety of Aethel would stand on her side, and Estelle’s backer, Mr. Lynch, wasn’t even in Crestfall...

Claire left in high spirits.

Nathaniel Sloan, who had enjoyed the entire spectacle, flatly instructed the assistant, "Raise the stakes."

A week later, when Claire came to collect the jade token, the assistant complained seemingly unintentionally.

"Miss Yeats, you’re finally here. Earlier, there was a woman—I don’t know who she was—who opened her mouth and claimed she was the actual person in charge of the collaboration. She heard that the person in charge gets a jade token, and she insisted on asking me for it... How could I possibly give it to her? That jade token was clearly meant for you, as per Mr. Lynch’s instructions."

Claire’s heart skipped a beat. That person must have been Estelle! Did Estelle hear about this from somewhere and come to Aethel alone to demand the jade token? Terrified that the assistant might notice something amiss, Claire asked with a dry voice, "You... You didn’t believe her, did you?"

"Of course not. I know you’re the person in charge. Besides, that woman’s surname was Lockwood, not Yeats. That made it even more impossible for me to give it to her. After all, Mr. Lynch said this is a collaboration with the Yeats Family."

Every word the assistant spoke was meticulously designed to mislead Claire. Sure enough, Claire immediately assumed that the assistant believed the person in charge must have the surname Yeats because it was a collaboration with the Yeats Family.

Thinking of this, she relaxed. "That’s good. Some people just don’t know how to make up a better excuse when they try to scam someone."

The assistant smiled meaningfully. "Exactly. Clearly not the person in charge, but she put on quite a convincing act in front of me."

Claire didn’t catch the assistant’s sarcastic undertone at all and laughed along. "Yes, so shameless."

The assistant agreed, "Indeed, so shameless."

It was just that Claire’s "so shameless" was aimed at Estelle, while who exactly the assistant’s "so shameless" was aimed at...

The assistant merely smiled and reported the news to Nathaniel.

After leaving, Claire looked at the jade token in her hand, a plan taking shape in her mind. Estelle didn’t have the jade token, so she couldn’t become the person in charge. Therefore... Imagining the beautiful scenes of her future, Claire couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Elsewhere, Estelle clapped her hands. "Claire really has a strong mentality. Even with all that, she didn’t let the cat out of the bag."

Nathaniel smiled casually. "The mission has been completed according to your requests. Mrs. Sloan, is there a reward?"

Estelle raised an eyebrow, her red lips parting slightly as her gaze fell on his lips. "A reward?"