Chapter 167
Niamh felt her cheeks flush with heat.
“Quentin, why don’t you take Sophia and Natalie out for some market research?”
“…Oh. Uh, sure…”
Quentin took a moment to process, but AMS was a high–end fashion house, and this batch of custom pocket watches for their VIP clients could be the key that finally opened the market for Niamh’s own brand, Nocturne Royal Jewels.
Niamh treated this opportunity with the utmost seriousness. Through Peter’s connections, she managed to reach FY, the secretive atelier behind the Grand Piano Collection’s intricate settings.
Just as AMS approved the samples Niamh submitted, Peter brought even more good news-
The organizers of the Luminous Divas Fashion Week were launching the inaugural Nova Jewelry Design Awards next month. The winner would earn a coveted spot at Luminous Divas Fashion Week.
Peter didn’t even bother to ask for Niamh’s opinion–he went ahead and entered her
name.
With endorsements from some of the world’s top ten jewelry brands, Niamh’s application bypassed the open auditions and landed her straight in the preliminary round.
Niamh was so grateful over the phone, she nearly showered Peter with thanks, promising him a celebratory dinner once things settled.
It was only a spot in the preliminaries, but Niamh was over the moon, as if shed already won the grand prize.
Unfortunately, her good mood didn’t last long.
Niamh’s studio wasn’t exactly bustling–just a small team.
Aside from Quentin, the other two employees were Sophia and Natalie.
They usually worked in a relaxed, cheerful atmosphere, laughing and chatting as they collaborated.
But just moments ago, the place had fallen into an uncanny silence.
Niamh never imagined, not in a million years, that Jonathan would show up at her office.
He arrived alone–no Prescott, no Marina in tow.
The last time Niamh had seen Jonathan was at Seabreeze Villa, after they’d slept
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together and she’d tossed him two hundred bucks as “payment.”
Since then, neither had reached out to the other.
She’d started to wonder if she’d bruised Jonathan’s ego–or maybe even pissed him off–with that little stunt.
Quentin, Sophia, and Natalie had no idea Niamh and Jonathan were actually married.
But they all knew Jonathan as the man behind T&R, their company’s biggest rival–the same T&R that backed Marina’s designs.
The air conditioning hadn’t changed, yet the moment Jonathan stepped inside, everyone felt a sudden chill.
He walked straight to Niamh’s desk, eyes fixed solely on her, as if no one else existed.
Niamh couldn’t tell why Jonathan was here.
If this was about the two hundred dollars, she thought, his reaction time was a little too slow.
“Can I help you with something?” Niamh asked, her tone all business.
Jonathan gave a cold, sardonic smile. “I missed you… Is that a good enough reason?”
Niamh’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Her three employees looked equally stunned, instantly lowering their heads and pretending to work–though every one of them was sneaking glances at the spectacle unfolding in front of them.
“Did you take the wrong meds this morning?” Niamh shot back.
“Did you swallow a stick of dynamite?” Jonathan retorted.
If Jonathan’s first line had made Sophia and the others suspect something was going on between him and Niamh, the way they were bickering now made them question everything.
“I heard you made it into the preliminaries for the Nova Jewelry Design Awards,”
Jonathan said.
“That’s right.”
“Withdraw.”
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Jonathan’s tone was exactly the same as the last time he’d told her not to start her own studio.
“Mr. Thomas, you’re an investor in T&R, not Nocturne Royal Jewels. I don’t see any reason why I should take orders from you,” Niamh replied coolly.
Jonathan smiled, almost amused by her defiance. “You sound a lot braver on your own turf…”
Then, without warning, he leaned down and whispered right in her ear, “Funny, you weren’t nearly this bold in bed the other night.”
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he caught on and quickly ushered Sophia and Natalie out of the office.
With everyone else gone, Niamh finally relaxed. She didn’t have to worry about anyone catching on to her relationship with Jonathan–or seeing how red her face had gotten.
“Jonathan, what are you really doing here today?” she demanded.
“I already told you. Drop out of the competition.”
His tone left no room for discussion. It was an order, plain and simple.
Niamh almost laughed. After all the work she’d put in for this precious opportunity, was she really supposed to just quit because Jonathan said so?
Looking up at him, she saw nothing but fierce resistance reflected in her dark eyes.
“Dropping out is for your own good,” Jonathan continued. “Because you’re not going to win.”
The last time Jonathan had said something like this, it was when Marina had opened her own studio.
“Don’t tell me Marina’s entering the Nova Jewelry Design Awards too?”
“That’s right.”
Jonathan’s answer was both expected and somehow still shocking.
“But didn’t Marina already get Chairman Grant’s letter of introduction? Didn’t she qualify for Luminous Divas Fashion Week?”
Niamh’s question was met with a low, dismissive chuckle.
Jonathan’s laugh was mocking, as if he thought she was hopelessly naïve.
“Marina isn’t like you. Your goal is just some little fashion week. Marina’s aiming to make T&R the top jewelry brand in the world.”
He painted Marina’s ambitions in vibrant strokes, but to Niamh, it just sounded
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ridiculous. Even FY wouldn’t claim they could become number one globally.
Still, with the Thomas Group backing her, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
Winning the design competition would certainly add a glowing achievement to Marina’s resume.
“If she’s in, then I have even more reason not to quit,” Niamh muttered, mostly to herself.
“So, how many times are you going to lose to Marina before you finally give up?” Jonathan pressed.
Niamh had no answer. In her memory, it seemed like she’d always lost to Marina.
She’d lost Jonathan to her. Lost Devon’s recommendation to her. Lost the
commission for Liam Grant’s anniversary gift, too.
Niamh’s face went pale. Jonathan, however, just smiled, lips curling with amusement.
“Niamh, a little self–awareness goes a long way.”
He left it at that, and Niamh felt her humiliation peak.
Just then, Jonathan’s phone rang–not a business call, but Marina.
“Jonathan, I’ve got a dinner tonight. Come with me?” came Marina’s voice.
“Of course,” he replied without hesitation.
“But you’ll have to shield me from all the drinks again. I almost feel sorry for you…”
“It’s fine. That’s what I’m here for.”
Listening to Jonathan dote on Marina over the phone, Niamh couldn’t help but think of the time she had to drink herself sick just to win the AMS contract for her company. She’d ended up in the hospital, nearly with a perforated ulcer. The person who picked her up and took her home was Lana.
Where was Jonathan then? Most likely out with Marina.
Niamh realized that Jonathan only seemed to remember her when it him–when he needed to satisfy his own desires.
ed
A chill ran through her. She let out a deep sigh just as Jonathan finished his call.
He was looking at her, his gaze lingering on her eyes,
