Chapter 143: Chapter 143: Dropping Both Gold and Gear
"They were only here for the endorsement deal anyway. Of course they left when they didn’t get it."
"Ugh, I’m having a hard time accepting a newcomer as the new face too, but weren’t Selene Haw and Elara Vaughn being a little too petty? They just left without a word. No class at all."
"I agree. The endorsement is supposed to be open to any girl who’s used M2L. Why should it always be them...?"
The venue was a cacophony of endless arguments.
Claire Sinclair’s protests were completely drowned out by the commotion.
Just as she was feeling frustrated, Henry Hartwell popped up out of nowhere. His eyes were fixed on the black suit she was wearing as he asked nonchalantly, "Claire Sinclair, you’ve hit the jackpot. Successfully landed a multi-million-dollar endorsement. Any thoughts?"
Claire snapped, "I never said I would accept it!"
"Nice suit. Whose is it?" Henry Hartwell abruptly changed the subject.
Claire instinctively tightened her grip on the suit jacket. She thought of the man watching her from the shadows, and she wished she could go find him right then and there to get her out of this mess.
However, she couldn’t do that.
"A friend’s."
"It seems your friend works at Quincy Manor. And holds a rather high position, hmm."
Claire raised an eyebrow. "Teacher Hartwell, how could you tell?"
"The dress you’re wearing and this jacket were obviously made by the same person. Her designs are incredibly distinctive, unparalleled in the entire country, so they’re very easy to recognize."
At his words, a flicker of panic went through Claire. "Is it really that obvious? I thought the clothes were pretty ordinary."
’If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean lots of people can tell this suit jacket belongs to Adrian Quincy?’
No!
Henry Hartwell said, "It’s not that easy. It’s mainly because I know the designer. I’ve interviewed her before."
’Oh, so that’s why. He scared me for a second!’
Claire breathed a sigh of relief.
’Wait a minute... then he must have realized the suit belongs to Adrian Quincy!’
Before she could say anything, Henry Hartwell added, just as she’d feared, "A piece from Quincy Manor, and their strongest defensive one at that. Looks like you had a good haul tonight—you got a gold drop and an equipment drop. A limitless future awaits."
’The gold was the multi-million-dollar endorsement deal, and the equipment was this suit jacket.’
’Leave it to a writer to come up with such a slick metaphor...’
’Too bad she wasn’t having any of it.’
Claire met Henry Hartwell’s gaze and pleaded, "Teacher Hartwell, I don’t want to be some spokesperson."
"I think it’s a great opportunity. First, you get the money. Second, you get to slap all those gold-diggers in the face. Third, you’ll boost the confidence of ordinary girls everywhere. Fourth, you can use the money for so many things. And fifth, if you don’t accept this contract, you might run into even bigger trouble later. All in all, there’s no downside for you."
"..."
’Are all journalists this intimidating? He just reeled off a whole analysis so casually.’
Not only could Claire not find a reason to refute him, she even felt that refusing would be an unforgivable offense.
’It was the classic feeling of knowing you’ve been set up, but still having to help them count the money.’
"Teacher Hartwell, what kind of trouble will there be if I don’t accept?"
"Can’t you see? Ethan Kingsley has his eyes on you now."
Claire’s heart tightened. She instinctively looked up at the radiant man on stage and said irritably, "A playboy like him? I hope he spontaneously combusts."
"Rich people don’t spontaneously combust that easily, Claire. The war has already begun. Retreating isn’t the best solution. He’s giving you the endorsement, so take it. I’d like to see if his money can win against our pens."
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There’s some ’Future Power Goddess’ event or whatever on QQ Reading, and I stupidly signed up for it. It’s basically self-inflicted humiliation, but I’m shamelessly asking for your support now. It’s embarrassing for an author without a dedicated fanbase to join something like this, so I must have been out of my mind. If you’re not reading this book on QQ Reading, feel free to ignore this part...
