Chapter 329 - 316: Still Don’t Want to Let Go (Part 2)

But that didn’t mean it was all for nothing. The news that Yulia Upton had been accused of plagiarizing Georgia Thorne was dug up by reporters, proving the design concept was Georgia’s.

The real thief was Yulia Upton. As for how she stole it, reporters were still digging deeper.

Georgia Thorne only gave the news a cursory glance before throwing herself back into her work.

The studio was opened in her own name; Erin Irving was merely an investor.

It was her own studio, so Georgia Thorne handled everything herself, never delegating. The busy work left her no time to worry about other things.

Georgia Thorne checked out several locations. After inspecting them in person, she finally chose a small, elegant place.

The office space was on the second floor, above a flower shop. You could smell the flowers from downstairs when you opened the window, creating a wonderful atmosphere. Plus, it was in a residential area, so it wasn’t too noisy.

It was the perfect place to focus on work.

After Georgia Thorne chose the location, she called Erin Irving, the man behind the money, to come and see it. And he actually came.

But Erin Irving’s opinion was vastly different from hers. He frowned, looking around the small space. "Isn’t this a bit too small? You don’t have to be so frugal for my sake. I plan on making all this money back from you in the future!"

He smiled, the corners of his lips curling up playfully. He seemed to be in a very good mood.

Georgia Thorne pretended not to understand his double entendre and said seriously, "A big boss like you, President Irving, certainly couldn’t settle for this. But for me, it’s more than enough!"

It was about a hundred square meters in total, with four rooms to work in. That was plenty big.

In Erin Irving’s mind, Georgia Thorne had always seemed like a rabbit. But unlike other docile bunnies, this one in front of him liked to bare her teeth and claws—and she especially liked to bite.

Once the location was chosen, the renovations began.

The renovations were another huge undertaking, and Georgia Thorne personally oversaw everything from start to finish.

One day, she was at the studio discussing cabinet designs with the construction crew when she got a call from Seth Shields.

Ever since she had resigned from the company, she hadn’t contacted anyone from there except for Vivian Sawyer.

To be honest, Seth Shields’s call startled Georgia Thorne, and his question was even more surprising.

The company had allowed her to resign to save face, and now Seth Shields was actually asking if she was willing to come back and continue working with him.

Georgia Thorne refused. There was no turning back for her now.

When Seth Shields heard she was opening her own studio, he was surprised for a moment, then asked when it would officially open, promising he would definitely visit.

They were still busy with renovations, so the grand opening would probably be at least another month away.

After hanging up, Georgia Thorne went back to discussing the renovation with the worker. "I want to have more storage space. Can we design it with lots of dividers? Oh, and the kind that can be pulled out, to hold things."

Georgia Thorne spent the whole afternoon at the work site. A glance at the time told her it was already past five.

She looked at the sky outside. Spring had truly arrived; the sun was still out.

Georgia Thorne grabbed her bag, said a hasty goodbye, and headed out.

Sharon Ennis had called that morning to say it was Mr. Sheridan’s birthday and that she should come back for it.

Although Georgia Thorne’s relationship with Elliot Sheridan wasn’t as close as before, they weren’t divorced yet. Marriage still bound them together.

Six o’clock. ’I hope I can still make it.’

Georgia Thorne hailed a cab to the Sheridan Estate. On the way, she got a call from Naomi Shaw. "Georgia, hey, are you coming back for dinner tonight? I..."

"I won’t be back. I have something on tonight. I’ve gotta go, bye!"

It was just a small birthday celebration for Mr. Sheridan. James Sheridan disliked extravagance, so it was just a family dinner with no outside guests invited.

"Mom, Dad, I’m home!"

"You’re back. Go say hello to Grandpa and Grandma first." James Sheridan glanced toward the two elders sitting in the living room.

Georgia Thorne nodded and walked into the living room. Sitting with Mr. and Miss Sheridan was Aidan Sheridan.

"Hello, Grandpa, Grandma... Hello," Georgia Thorne said, greeting Mr. and Miss Sheridan cheerfully before her gaze moved to Aidan Sheridan, her voice faltering slightly.

Aidan Sheridan’s attitude was different from usual. He responded kindly, as if he were a completely different person.

’Perhaps he needs to make a different impression in front of Mr. and Miss Sheridan.’

"Why is the back of your outfit so dirty?" Sharon Ennis asked, walking over and patting her on the back.

Georgia Thorne twisted her head to look at her back. "Is it? I must have gotten it dirty at the construction site. I’ll go upstairs and change."

"Hurry up. Come down for dinner as soon as you’re changed," Sharon Ennis said, patting her shoulder encouragingly.

She had lived at the Sheridan Estate for a while before, so she still had some clothes here.

After spending the whole day at the renovation site, she was covered in dust, so she decided to take a hot shower.

The shower felt wonderful. But as she went to change, she realized she had left her clothes on the bed and forgotten to bring them into the bathroom.

She peeked toward the door. ’There shouldn’t be anyone out there.’

She grabbed a loose-fitting men’s pajama top, slipped it on, and dashed out to get her clothes.

The moment she opened the door, she was startled by someone who had appeared right outside. Elliot Sheridan was just pushing the door open to come in.

Georgia Thorne had planned to make it a quick trip, but she rushed out and ran right into him. Startled, she jumped back, her foot slipped, and she nearly fell backward.

Luckily, Elliot Sheridan was quick enough to grab Georgia Thorne’s wrist, pulling her forcefully into his arms. "Are you okay?"

Georgia Thorne thought she was about to take a nasty fall and squeezed her eyes shut.

But after a few seconds, the expected pain never came. Instead, she heard Elliot Sheridan’s voice from above her. She opened her eyes and shook her head. "I’m fine!"

At that moment, Georgia Thorne was wearing Elliot Sheridan’s shirt, and underneath it, she was wearing nothing at all.

She was bent over, held in Elliot Sheridan’s arms with one hand, in a very uncomfortable position. She was about to tell him he could let her go, but when she looked up, she met his gaze and found him staring intently.

Following his line of sight down to her own body, she saw that the wide collar of the shirt offered a clear view of what was underneath.

Her face instantly burned as if pricked by needles. She straightened up, wriggled out of Elliot Sheridan’s embrace—no longer afraid of falling—and with a WHOOSH, dove back into the bathroom, slamming the door hard behind her.

Georgia Thorne was hiding out of pure embarrassment. She leaned back against the door, her heart pounding wildly. ’I can’t face anyone now.’

Elliot Sheridan stood outside the door, chuckling at Georgia Thorne’s seamless escape. The sound of his laughter reached inside, and Georgia, squatting on the floor, covered her burning ears. ’This is killing me.’

Elliot Sheridan knew she was upstairs, but he hadn’t expected her to be taking a shower. Her damp hair wasn’t completely dry, and it hung naturally over her shoulders, soaking the shirt.

When he had caught Georgia Thorne, he’d been able to see things he shouldn’t have through the overly wide collar of her shirt.

He walked to the bed, tossed his suit jacket aside, picked up the clothes lying there, and walked toward the bathroom door.

He curled his index finger and knocked three times on the door. "It’s me."

Georgia Thorne didn’t know why she was so flustered. She scrambled to her feet and asked in a small voice, "What is it?"

’I wonder if he saw anything. The collar is so wide, he must have seen something, right? I’m going to lose my mind!’

"I brought your clothes. Open the door," Elliot Sheridan replied succinctly.

Georgia Thorne was speechless.

’He definitely saw! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought me my clothes!’

Georgia Thorne didn’t say anything. The man outside spoke again, "If you don’t want them, I’m taking them back!"

’You...’ Georgia Thorne was so angry she was speechless. ’Of course I want them!’

She opened the door a crack, stuck her hand out, and said in a muffled voice, "Just give me the clothes!"

Elliot Sheridan had no intention of being a scoundrel with Georgia Thorne. If he really wanted to, a single door wouldn’t have stopped him.

He placed the clothes in her hand. The second Georgia Thorne’s hand retracted, she slammed the door shut and locked it, only then feeling relieved.

Georgia Thorne quickly changed and started drying her hair with the blow-dryer.

Over the ROARING of the blow-dryer, she thought she heard a knock. She turned it off, and the knocking came again.

"Open up!"

"What is it now?"

Georgia Thorne put down the blow-dryer and went to open the door. Elliot Sheridan had already changed out of his shirt and trousers, now wearing cotton loungewear instead.

However, his upper body was bare. The toned muscles of his waist were completely lean, accentuated by a handsome V-line. He had always kept himself in great shape.

The heat that had just left her face came rushing back. Her throat went dry, and she couldn’t speak. ’What is he trying to do?!’

"Um..."

After a long pause, Georgia Thorne finally spoke, only to be cut off by him. "Give me the shirt you were just wearing."

"Huh?" Georgia Thorne turned around. The shirt was in the laundry basket. "I already wore that one. You should get a clean one!"

The shirt was off-white, a good match for the pants he was wearing.

"All my other clothes were sent to be laundered. They haven’t been brought back yet," Elliot Sheridan explained as he moved past her, pulled the shirt from the laundry basket, and slipped it on.

The shirt was quite damp, especially the large wet patch on the shoulder.

Georgia Thorne grabbed his sleeve. "You should dry the shirt first. It’s all wet!"

Elliot Sheridan glanced down at his shoulder, then his gaze moved lower to the hand on his sleeve. He grunted in acknowledgement.

Elliot Sheridan was quite tall, so Georgia Thorne had to stand on her tiptoes to aim the blow-dryer at his shoulder.

She grew a little tired, her wrist aching from holding the dryer up so high. It was a struggle.

After finally finishing his back, she moved to stand in front of him. She grabbed his lapel with one hand and craned her neck to look up at him.