Chapter 13 " Mind if I ask why ? " Cecilia hadn't expected this to be Simon's idea of payment . Simon took a slow breath , his eyes serious . " I like the vitality in your piece . And with time , that second piece will only be worth more . I know what I'm doing . " He held Cecilia's eyes . " Are you going to turn me down , Ms. Jordan ? " Cecilia thought for a moment , then shook her head with a smile . " Mr. Hall , I can't really say no to your offer . Thing is , I'm the one asking you a favor here , but somehow your idea puts me in charge . " There are tons of famous designers in Kingsford . I'm still nobody . Even if I make a second piece , who's to say it'll be worth anything ? Honestly , getting to design something for the Hall Family ? That would be lucky for me . " Simon wasn't surprised by how sharp Cecilia was . " Ms. Jordan , I genuinely like your work . This is a win - win . " " Alright then . " Cecilia agreed . " We'll work out the details for my second piece later, Mr. Hall . " Just then , there was a knock on the door . Simon's secretary came in , holding a tray with coffee and pastries . " Mr. Hall , " she said , " Dr. Finch is here ." Cecilia sat on the sofa as the doctor , Mark Finch , checked her arm . " The bruising is from a soft tissue injury . No bones are broken . " Mark explained , his manner serious and careful , " Remember to use the spray every day . No heavy lifting for a few days . If it's not better in a week , go to the hospital ." Mark knew Simon was worried about Cecilia and took extra care . " Okay , thanks , Dr. Finch . " Cecilia felt relieved too . She turned to Simon and shook his hand . " Pleasure doing business with you , Mr. Hall ." " The pleasure's mine . " Simon's smile was warm , reaching all the way to his eyes , ***** Jewelry Exhibition was heading into the final stretch of its promotion push . Cecilia and her team tackled every single detail with real care . She double - checked everything herself , making sure nothing slipped through the cracks . Even though the planning for this exhibition had the craziest tight schedule , it was now running smoother than any other project . David had been taking it all in . Cecilia's work was that impressive , and he truly hated the thought of losing her . He couldn't help himself and tried again to keep her , " Cecilia , are you sure about leaving Project Division ? We can talk about what you need . Anything . " " No. " Cecilia's voice was firm . " I've made up my mind about leaving . This is my last job here . " She glanced at her phone . A reminder stared back - just seven days left . 1/4 12:45 Tue , Aug 12 94 % D X - +15 Chapter 13 Gavin hadn't seen Cecilia since the elevator accident . These past couple of days , he'd been buried in work , getting the proposal ready for the Hall Family deal . The workload was crazy . He couldn't shake this feeling - like that heavy , sticky heat before a storm . It left him restless and out of sorts . Everything bothered him . Stella was back from the hospital . Her leg injury wasn't serious at all , and she couldn't keep faking it . " Mr. Foster , " Stella said , putting on her best concerned and supportive act , " I know I'm not the strongest yet , but I'm working hard . I really want to help take some of the load off your shoulders ." Gavin looked at Stella . For a split second , his mind flashed back to images of Cecilia always at his side whenever a new project kicked off . But he quickly shook his head to clear it . " Alright , Stella . You can give me a hand then . " Gavin was fighting hard against the unfamiliar feeling inside , determined to prove he didn't need Cecilia . He wasn't about to come out on the losing end in this cold war . " Mr. Foster , I won't let you down . " Stella was full of confidence . But in less than two days , she was completely defeated by the mountain of files and documents piled high on her desk . In the end , Frank was the one who had to do all the work . By now , even Gavin had to admit that Stella wasn't going to be much help . Just then , David came in with some documents . " Mr. Foster ," he said , " Jewelry Exhibition is confirmed to open this Friday at 10 am ." Gavin paused what he was doing . He didn't know why it suddenly made him feel off balance to see everything running so smoothly with the exhibition . Gavin thought , ' Cecilia should be here right now , handling things like she always did . Why would she selfishly run off to manage some project she thinks is more important instead ? ' Gavin stared down at the documents , his anger rising in his eyes . Standing there , David felt torn inside . ' Does Mr. Foster even know that after the exhibition , Cecilia won't be with the company anymore ? ' he wondered , ' If Mr. Foster personally asked her to stay , he'd definitely be able to keep her . Seizing his last chance , David blurted out , " Mr. Foster , after the exhibition , Ms. Jordan is going to- " I don't want to hear anything about her . " Gavin snapped , cutting him off sharply . " Job's done ? Fine . Don't come running to me bragging about it . I don't have time for this ." He finished signing the documents and tossed them back across the desk . " What she's up to doesn't matter to me . " " Yes , Mr. Foster . " David took back whatever else he was going to say . ' I overstepped ! he thought , ' Mr. Foster clearly doesn't care that Cecilia is leaving . ***** 2/4 Chapter 13 田 94 % X +15 It was the last night before the exhibition . Up on the 17th floor , Project Division was holding the final meeting . " You've all worked incredibly hard these past weeks . Get some proper rest tonight . " Cecilia said , " After the exhibition finish successfully tomorrow , I won't be coming back to the company . It's truly been a pleasure working with you all ." After the meeting ended , Cecilia let her team head out first . Cecilia also had an exhibition invitation . It was addressed to herself - not " Cecilia Jordan from Project Division ," but " Cecilia Jordan , Designer ." At ten o'clock that night , Cecilia wrapped up her final handover and packed up her things . She headed downstairs . At that exact moment , Gavin was pulling out of the garage in his car . He just happened to catch sight of Cecilia - standing alone at the entrance , her back to him . He stopped dead . Sitting there in his car , he watched her from a distance , without a word . ' Working this late ?' he thought , lighting a cigarette , ' Is the show really that important to her ? Did it matter more than I did ? ' Gavin didn't know why , but watching Cecilia stand there , an unsettling feeling started bugging him . A jolt shot through Gavin . He got out of the car immediately . But after just two steps , he stopped . A bitter laugh escaped him . ' What am I panicking about ? ' Gavin asked himself , ' Cecilia isn't going anywhere . She's always been right where I can see her . Always has been . Always will be . She's heading home tonight , and she'll be back tomorrow . I can see her whenever I want . His conviction was rock solid . Cecilia had never once faltered - not in the past , and certainly not in the future . The next second , he ditched the cigarette , climbed back into his car , and drove straight off . As the ride - hail car pulled up , Cecilia stood at the gate , looking back one last time . She'd given three years of her life to this place . Now , both her career and her heart were closing the chapter here . A new life was waiting now . The next day was opening day of Jewelry Exhibition . Gavin didn't show up . Instead , he took Stella with him to Hall Group . The Hall Family was the real top dog in Kingsford's industry scene . Even though Simon Hall was back in the country , he was swamped . A lot of stuff at the company fell to the vice - president , Leo Hudson . In the conference room , Gavin was about to present the resort project proposal to the Hall Family . The most important documents for today were the ones Stella had put together , but she hadn't finished preparing them the night before and couldn't find the key information . Right in front of everyone , she panicked and knocked the files over , sending papers flying all over the floor . The conference room went dead silent . Gavin had never felt so humiliated . " Mr. Foster , since your secretary wasn't ready with the materials , let's call it a day for now . " Leo said , his patience clearly 3/4 12:45 Tue , Aug 12 Chapter 13 X +15 running thin as he rose to his feet . " My apologies . " Gavin said , a deep sense of defeat washing over him . It felt like all that effort had just gone down the drain . As he was leaving , Leo turned to say , " We've worked with you before, Mr. Foster . You never slipped up like this in the past . I see now … since there's a new secretary around . " Hearing that , it suddenly clicked for Gavin . He remembered back when Cecilia was by his side . Not only did Cecilia handle Gavin's personal life smoothly , but at the company , she was an even sharper helper than Frank , always having Gavin's back and tackling any problem that came his way . But now because Cecilia was gone , everything had gone off the rails for Gavin . He'd been a mess himself , all over the place . Gavin strode out of the room . " Mr. Foster , wait for me ! " Stella called out urgently , still scrambling to gather the scattered documents . But Gavin didn't even break stride . Right then and there , he called Frank . " Transfer Cecilia back to Secretary Division . " he ordered , " I need her back . " On the other end of the line , Frank informed Gavin respectfully , " Mr. Foster , Ms. Jordan has already left the company . Yesterday was her last day ." Gavin was stunned . His eyes 4/4 widened in shock , and he froze right there on the spot .