Chapter 7

Sarah glanced at the submissions. They were collected online under nicknames, and the one Calvin was interested in was called "Heart."

"This designer's worked with us before," Sarah said, closing the submission and turning to her assistant. "Mr. Scott likes Heart's designs. We should reach out for a deeper collaboration."

Calvin nodded. Heart's design stood out to him.

After reviewing countless submissions, all featuring the typical red and green color schemes to highlight the Christmas theme with Santa Claus or Christmas trees, Heart's choice of beige and brown tones was refreshing.

The design featured a fitted mermaid skirt that reached the ankles, with sleigh tracks painted on the back and reindeer elements for decoration—unique and elegant.

Calvin had studied fashion design in college and had high standards for design. The last time a piece had impressed him this much was at a graduation exhibition years ago.

He had seen Patricia's work and was struck by her bold and avant-garde style.

"Patricia is quite famous. She won awards in every competition she entered during college and graduated as an outstanding student," his friends had praised.

"Many companies are vying to recruit her, but she accepted an offer from the Church Group with a high salary. So envious!"

Patricia's name was well-known at MetroStyle Academy of Fashion.

Calvin had kept an eye on Patricia since then. After taking over the modeling agency, he had occasional business dealings with the Church Group and eventually learned that Patricia never joined them.

Returning to the present, Calvin's fingers lingered on the sketch. He asked, "Can we create a sample based on this design and get it ready quickly?"

"No problem."

Calvin smiled and shook hands with Sarah. "Looking forward to working together."

Sarah smiled back.

As soon as Calvin left, the assistant rushed into Sarah's office.

"Sarah, should I contact this Heart now?"

Sarah paused while organizing her files and looked up. "Do we need to? Heart is already one of our employees."

"What?" The assistant was confused.

Seeing the assistant's bewildered expression, Sarah smirked and pulled out a folder from a nearby drawer.

Inside was a design identical to Heart's submission, but with the submitter's information attached.

The submitter's name was clearly written: [Irene.]

"I mentioned earlier that Heart has a long-term project-based collaboration with our company. Do we need to look for her?"

The assistant understood immediately but was concerned. "Wouldn't it be bad if people found out?"

"Pay her a good amount for her pen name and ideas. It's worth it."

Sarah tapped her fingers lightly on the folder, not seeing any issue with it.

Recently, Irene had been the subject of online gossip, labeled as a scheming woman and criticized harshly.

Sarah was quite pleased to see Irene's downfall.

Not long after, Irene contacted her, wanting to use the company's competition to improve her image, implying she wanted Sarah to use her influence.

Sarah initially didn't want to agree, but then she considered that Irene and Charles had grown up together, and Charles's mother treated Irene like her own daughter.

If she could leverage this connection to gain favor with the financial moguls of Luminous City, the Church Group's stock would surely soar.

These competitions often had predetermined winners anyway. Irene didn't want to design herself but chose to buy out a submission from the participants.

She immediately liked Heart's work and was willing to pay a high price.

Sarah didn't have to spend any money, just act as the intermediary, which she was happy to do.

Suddenly, her phone lit up with a message from Irene.

[Sarah, remember your promise! Love you!]

The next second, a large buyout fee was transferred to Sarah's account.

Sarah's eyes darkened as she turned off the screen and told her assistant, "Prepare the winner's list and notify the operations team to announce the results as planned. As for Heart, contact her privately."

The assistant nodded in understanding.

Meanwhile, Charles had been home less frequently lately, and Patricia had gotten used to it.

However, Emily constantly pestered her to call Charles and ask when he would return.

Patricia was surprised by how attached Emily was to Charles. She remembered that in her previous life, Emily wasn't this clingy and didn't insist on finding Charles.

'Are Charles and Emily really that close?' Patricia wondered.

"Mrs. Anderson, I noticed you were in pain during your last period. I read online that chicken soup is good for menstrual cramps. Drink it for a while, and you'll feel better!"

Ellie said, offering a bowl of specially made chicken soup to Patricia.

Patricia sat cross-legged on the couch, scrolling through her iPad. "Just leave it there. I'll have it when it cools down."

"Mr. Anderson didn't say if he'd be back tonight. Should I prepare his dinner?"

Patricia was about to say no when she heard the sound of shoes on the floor.

Charles walked in, looking tired from his day.

"Patricia," he said, frowning at her casual posture. "I need to talk to you."

Patricia gave him a curious look.

She followed him to the study.

Charles spoke as he removed his suit jacket. "Emily is old enough for school. I've had Paul select a few preschools. Take a look and see if any are suitable."

He handed her the documents, and Patricia reviewed them carefully.

In her previous life, Emily's enrollment was decided by Missy, who chose the same preschool as Thea's son, Jett Anderson.

Emily ended up in a mixed-age class, supposedly to be cared for, but she was bullied by Jett and other kids.

Patricia tossed that preschool's information into the trash. "This one is no good. The management is chaotic."

Charles raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

Patricia replied seriously, "Emily's education is important. Of course, I did my research."

She selected a few preschools she was satisfied with. "These look good, but I'm not sure about the environment."

"Preschools have open days. We can take Emily to visit and experience them."

Patricia nodded.

"By the way, I visited the old manor," Charles said, unbuttoning his cuffs. "I told Grandpa about Emily. He asked about changing her last name."

Patricia was taken aback. She had almost forgotten about that.

In her previous life, she and Emily were brought back to the Anderson family but didn't change Emily's name immediately.

Missy disliked them, and it wasn't until Emily was five that Charles took her to change her name.

Why was it happening so early this time? Patricia wondered if William had suggested it in the past, and Charles had refused.

Seeing her lost in thought, Charles cleared his throat and called her. "Patricia."

Patricia snapped back to reality and looked at him.

Charles assumed she was reluctant to have their daughter take his last name. He looked at her deeply and said, "Emily is part of the Anderson family now. Changing her name is inevitable."

Patricia agreed with Charles but was puzzled by his sudden change.

"Think it over and let me know."