Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
“Oh, I see. Mia’s a renowned designer, though. How did you get her to agree to join us? Don’t tell me you used your good looks and charisma to win her over.”
Felix looked helpless. “Don’t say things like that, Wilhelmina.”
Mia understood the situation now. Her sixth sense told her that Wilhelmina had a crush on Felix.
“Come to my office, Mia,” Felix said.
Mia nodded. She didn’t say anything else.
Wilhelmina watched as they went to Felix’s office. Then, she pulled out her phone to make a call, sounding sycophantic as she said, “Hi, is this Ms. Barrett? This is Wilhelmina Jones. Do you still remember me? We exchanged numbers at the awards ceremony last night.”
“You’re that second-place winner, aren’t you? What is this about?”
Shelly had just woken up. She’d thought Wilhelmina was Zoe but had turned out to be wrong. Surprisingly enough, Mia was actually Zoe.
This had put Shelly in such a bad mood that she hadn’t even had fun when partying last night. How could someone as plain and dull as Mia be Zoe?
Wilhelmina didn’t get mad at Shelly’s haughty tone. “Are you familiar with Mia Bowen, Ms. Barrett?” Shelly perked up at the mention of Mia. “What are you trying to say?”
Shelly was still full of pent-up frustration. She hadn’t had anywhere to vent it. To make matters worse, Laura had been singing Mia’s praises. It had irritated her to no end.
Wilhelmina said pointedly, “I saw her at a small studio there. It looked like she was there for an interview.”
Shelly sat up in bed, all traces of drowsiness gone. “I need more details. Give me the address, too.”
Wilhelmina gave her a quick rundown. After that, she turned to see Mia follow Felix out of his office. Felix announced, “We have a new member joining us today, everyone. Please give Mia a warm welcome!”
Wilhelmina smirked. Mia had stolen her trophy and was even thinking of stealing the man she liked. How could she let Mia off the hook?
Mia officially started work the following day. She wanted to earn some money before she started her classes.
The receptionist approached her. “Mia, there’s a client asking for you.”
“Me?” Mia found this odd. It was her first day of work. Why would a client be looking for her?
She walked over to the visitor’s waiting area to see two women seated on the couch-Sharon and Shelly. Her expression faltered. “What are you two doing here?”
Shelly eyed her. “To get an interior designer to handle the renovations for our home, of course. Timothy needs to renovate his marital home; he’s getting rid of all the old stuff.”
Sharon chimed in, “Exactly. My son’s marrying a young woman from an affluent family, so it’s only right for him to have the house done up properly. That way, he won’t put the family name to shame. This time, we have to throw a grand wedding. We can’t sweep things under the rug like we did in the past.”
Mia took a deep breath. “I can’t accept this deal. You should look for someone else.”
Sharon and Shelly were obviously doing this on purpose. She didn’t want to be at their beck and call.
“What, are you gonna turn down clients that are serving themselves up on a silver platter?” Shelly crossed her legs. “Didn’t you put in so much effort for that competition to score deals from wealthy people like us? I’ll lodge a complaint against you if you dare turn us away.”
She’d even brought Sharon with her to teach Mia a lesson.
Sharon pulled out a check. “Go ahead and fill in whatever amount you want as compensation. You might come from a regular family, but your taste isn’t too bad.”
Mia didn’t accept the check. Sharon raised an eyebrow at this. “Why are you allowing this to bother you when I don’t mind? You’d be a fool to turn down the opportunity to make money. Go ahead and take the check. This deal alone will be enough to keep you going for at least half a year.”
In the end, Mia smiled and accepted the check. She filled in a number before handing the check back to Sharon. She said coldly, “As long as you’re willing to pay this amount, I’ll accept the deal.”
“At least you know what’s good for you. Aunt Sharon won’t be petty with you.” Shelly took the check. When she saw the number of zeroes written there, her eyes bulged. “100 million dollars? Rob a bank, why don’t you?”
Mia smiled faintly. “I’m being transparent with my pricing.”
“Being paid 100 thousand dollars is as high as a dumb interior designer like you can go. How dare you demand 100 million dollars? How greedy can you be? Let’s go, Shelly!” Sharon shot to her feet.
Shelly got up as well. She said smugly, “It doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do, Mia. You could win all the competitions in the world, but you’d still be working for others. You’re not like us-we were born with silver spoons in our mouths. You’ll never catch up with us, no matter how hard you work.”
Mia retorted, “Indeed, I can’t compare to you in terms of wealth. But you’re no match for me in terms of being a proper human being.”
This pissed Sharon off. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re so rude!”
Shelly said, “What would an orphan like her know about manners, Aunt Sharon? Think about how her half- dead uncle’s lying in the hospital. Who knows when he’ll die? How could he possibly have the time to teach. her anything about manners?”
Mia grabbed a glass of water from the table and splashed it all over Shelly. “Shut up!”
Mia was fine with people insulting her, but she wouldn’t allow anyone to say anything against James and
Patricia.
Shelly shrieked, “Have you lost your mind, Mia? I’m sure as hell gonna lodge a complaint against you!”
At this moment, Felix came over after hearing the commotion. Shelly immediately screeched, “Are you the boss? I want to lodge a complaint against this bitch!”
Mia put the glass down and looked at Felix. “I’m sorry about this, Felix. I don’t think I’m a good fit for your studio.”
She couldn’t get Felix and his studio in trouble.
“Hold it. You’re not the one who should go.” Felix looked at Shelly and Sharon coldly. “I’m gonna have to ask you two to leave. This isn’t the place for you wealthy people. We work hard for every penny that we earn, and we do it with our consciences clear. We don’t need your money.”
Mia didn’t expect Felix to stand up for her. Shelly and Sharon were so pissed that they screeched for a while longer before storming off.
Wilhelmina furrowed her brows when she saw this. She, too, hadn’t expected Felix to stand up for Mia. She hated this!
After Shelly and Sharon left, Mia turned to Felix. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s not a big deal. They were obviously here to pick on you. Stop worrying about it and focus on your work,” Felix said.
Mia nodded. Since Felix had so much faith in her, she had to give it her all.
Shelly and Sharon changed out of their damp clothes when they got home. After that, Sharon called Timothy to complain about Mia. “You should’ve seen how Mia acted, Timothy!
“We went to her studio to give her some work to do, but she demanded we pay her 100 million dollars before splashing water all over us. She’s such a rude, wild woman!”
Timothy frowned. “Which studio did you go to?”
“Some nondescript studio at the creative industry center. You have to avenge me, Timothy! I can’t believe Mia had the nerve to treat me like that! All she did was win a dumb competition; does she think she can act so obnoxiously because of that?”
Timothy didn’t hear the other things that Sharon said. After hanging up, he said to Heath, “Get another interior designer to handle the renovations for my home.”
“I’ll get on it right away, sir.” Heath wasn’t surprised in the least. They’d already gone through several designers at this point.
Timothy said, “Hold on. I want you to switch to a studio located at the creative industry center.”
“You’ve never trusted these small studios, Mr. Barrett,” Heath said.
“Cut the crap and do as I say.” Timothy tugged his tie loose. Ever since Mia had left and Kaleb had changed the furnishings at home, nothing had seemed right to Timothy. He’d switched designer after designer, but none of them had been able to meet his expectations.
Now, he had to admit that Mia knew a thing or two about interior design.
When Mia returned home that night, she saw that Bob and Mary were there to cause trouble again. Bob’s leg was still in a cast, though. He’d obviously yet to fully recover.
Mary was screeching at Patricia in the living room. “Give us the money! Mia’s family must’ve paid you handsomely, but we’re the ones who adopted her. What right do you have to take the money?”
Mia walked in. “Let’s not talk about whether Aunt Patricia actually received any money. Even if she did, I’d burn it all rather than let you have it.”
She went to the kitchen and grabbed a kettle of water that Patricia had just boiled. Then, she strode back to the living room. “Are you leaving or not? If you’re not going anywhere, how about I help you take a hot shower?”
Mary blanched at the sight of the kettle. She and Bob scurried out of the house, clamoring as they went.” You’re an imbecile and an ingrate, Mia! Just wait!”
After chasing Mary and Bob away, Mia looked at Patricia. “Everything’s okay now, Aunt Patricia. I’ll always be here for you.”
Patricia wiped her tears. “You’ve always been a good child, Mia. You’re obedient and grateful to those who treat you well.”
Mia consoled Patricia. When she went to work the following day, she received an online order that specifically requested her to handle the designs.
Mia checked the address. It was familiar. Wasn’t this the marital home she’d lived in for three years?
A hint of mockery flashed in Mia’s eyes as she looked at the order. She’d furnished every inch of the marital home with her heart, and a certain someone had disregarded it like it meant nothing. Now, they even wanted her to design a new home for her ex-husband and his first love!
They’d crossed the line with this!
It looked like they wouldn’t let her off the hook; they were constantly trying to provoke her. Since backing down wouldn’t resolve the problem, Mia would probably be better off facing them directly.
As long as they weren’t afraid of the consequences, what would she have to fear?
Mia’s eyes flashed coldly. She called the number indicated in the order. Heath’s voice rang out awkwardly on the other end of the line. “Ahem. Mrs. Barrett.”
“You don’t have to call me that now that we’ve signed the divorce papers. I’ll cut to the chase-you guys are the ones behind that online order, right?”
Heath nodded. “Yes.”
“I’ll accept it, but I have a condition. I want to be paid tenfold,” Mia said.
“I’ll have to check with Mr. Barrett on this, Mrs. Barrett.” Heath hurried into Timothy’s office after hanging up. Mr. Barrett, Mrs. Barrett just contacted me on the order. She said that she’ll only accept the deal if she’s paid tenfold.”
Timothy stopped writing. “Tenfold? She wants a million dollars?”
She hadn’t changed one bit. She had the nerve to demand a fee of one million dollars!