His expression, paired with that sly curve at the corner of his mouth, looked particularly devious, as if he were planning something mischievous. Could he be plotting to mess with her again?
Her intuition, as always, was spot-on!
When Claire entered the sales department, clutching a thick stack of documents that Ran Tao had given her, her colleague, Sarah, was already waiting by her desk.
"Congrats, Claire," Sarah blurted out as soon as she saw her.
Claire raised an eyebrow in surprise, confused. "What are you congratulating me for?"
"You love shopping at Brighton Plaza, don't you? You're always talking about how lucky I am to be assigned to the Left An Cosmetics counter there," Sarah said, taking the documents from Claire's arms and setting them on the desk.
Claire nodded, but now she was even more puzzled.
"What does my love for shopping at Brighton Plaza have to do with anything?" she asked, bewildered.
"It's got everything to do with it! I'm congratulating you because you finally got what you've always wanted. You'll be spending your days at Brighton Plaza just like me—on the clock," Sarah teased, giving her a playful sideways glance.
Claire's eyes widened in shock.
"You're saying… I've been assigned to the Left An Cosmetics counter at Brighton Plaza?"
"Exactly! I've been waiting for you. We need to head over soon—the counter opens in a bit," Sarah said, pulling her toward the door.
"But how did this happen?" Claire muttered, still in disbelief. She'd only been in the sales department for two weeks. Besides, liking to shop at Brighton Plaza and being assigned to the Left An counter were two completely different things! She had no sales experience and knew nothing about cosmetics. Assigning her to the counter felt like the company was setting her up to fail—like some kind of cruel joke.
Suddenly, the image of Lucas's smirking face flashed through her mind.
*Of course! No wonder he was smiling so wickedly earlier! I thought it was strange how he'd let go of me so easily. Turns out he was plotting this all along!*
*And to think I was starting to fall for him… Even got all flustered in front of him! What a fool I've been!*
*Ugh, I'd have to be an idiot to like that man now!*
"Claire, who's the idiot you're talking about?" Sarah asked, tilting her head curiously as she continued to hold onto Claire's arm.
Claire jolted, realizing that she had accidentally spoken her last thought out loud. *Damn it! This is all his fault!*
"Which man are you cursing out? Must be someone pretty awful to get you so worked up," Sarah said in her usual cool tone.
*Wait, did I say that out loud too?*
"Oh, it's nothing," Claire quickly backtracked, not wanting to admit what was really on her mind. Even though Sarah was the colleague she was closest to at work—practically her best friend—everyone knew that Sarah had a reputation for being a bit of a gossip. Claire needed to change the subject fast.
"By the way, how many Left An counters are there at Brighton Plaza?" she asked, steering the conversation in a different direction.
"Two. One's managed by our sales department, and the other belongs to the creative team."
"But isn't the creative team supposed to focus on developing and improving new and existing cosmetics? Why would they have a counter at the mall?" Claire asked, genuinely curious.
Sarah rolled her eyes and playfully knocked her on the head. "Don't be so clueless! Of course, it's to monitor the market trends and gather consumer feedback on Left An products. It's not just Brighton Plaza; Left An has counters in various other department stores, too."
*How was I supposed to know that?* Claire thought, pouting slightly. She was still a novice when it came to cosmetics.
In the end, everything circled back to one person—Lucas.
Sighing inwardly, Claire let Sarah pull her into the bustling, lively atmosphere of Brighton Plaza, preparing herself for whatever else lay ahead.