Chapter 309: Deserve The Best

Avery smiles—everyone thinks their lover is the best person in the world. But the way Rebecca talks about her boyfriend is especially sweet. As she sketches, her mind wanders, and she thinks of Evan. With a pang, she realizes she used to talk about him the way Rebecca is talking about her boyfriend. 

"Avery, are you doing anything tonight?" Rebecca asks, breaking the silence.

"I'm not sure yet," she answers.

"Can I take you out for dinner?" Rebecca asks.

"That's generous of you," she says, trying to keep her answer vaguely.

Rebecca blushes, and Avery feels guilty. Under normal circumstances, she'd love to have dinner with Rebecca, but she was hoping to have dinner with Emily. She still wants to meet Emily's father and ask him questions about her mother.

"I'm sorry, am I too pushy?" Rebecca asks. "Trust me, and I'm not normally like this. It's just because I'm new here and everything in this country feels a bit strange. From the moment I met you, I felt like we had a connection, and I was hoping we could be friends. But I should have been more considerate—after all, you're pregnant, and you must be very busy."

"No, I'm sorry for being so standoffish," Avery says. "It's just that—"

The door flies open and slams into the wall. Crystal stands in the doorway, flanked by half a dozen employees. Avery looks Crystal up and down; she's wearing a stylish white suit, and her curly brunette hair falls loose down her back. She flashes a wicked smile at Avery and marches into the room.

"Look, Miss Stone, Avery has your sketchbook," a young intern shouts.

Crystal snatches the book off the table and flips through it. She closes it and glares at Avery.

"Miss Peters, do you care to explain why you have my sketchbook?" Crystal asks.

"I had no idea it was yours," Avery says. "It was in a pile with other sketchbooks and pens—I thought it was blank."

"Sure you did," Crystal says with a sniff. "Miss Peters, I know you're new to our office, but surely you know better than to take other people's things. If you need a sketchbook, we have plenty of brand new ones you could use."

"I swear, I didn't know it belonged to you," Avery says. "Besides, why would you leave your sketchbook just lying around the office?"

"It wasn't just lying around the office," Crystal says. "It was with other sketchbooks filled with incomplete designs. My intern here was supposed to scan and file them all, and she told me she couldn't find my book."

"I swear, I thought it was blank," Avery says. "I even opened it and checked the first few pages. There's nothing in there, Crystal."

"Yeah, right," Crystal says, tossing her the book. "Take another look, and this time check it properly."

Avery opens the book and flips past her own sketches and notes. The creamy white pages in the middle are all blank, but the last few pages are dark with ink. Avery glances at the designs—each sketch shows a different type of cufflink. She snaps the book shut and turns to Crystal.

"Believe it or not, I really didn't know this was your book," she says calmly. "Who starts drawing on the last page? Anyway, if you wanted to show Miss Arlington your designs, all you had to do was ask me."

Crystal flushes and tries to grab the book from Avery, but Avery dodges her. She's sure that Crystal left her book in the pile outside on purpose. She knows that Crystal would do anything to get her designs seen by an important client like Rebecca. 

Crystal turns to the designers behind her and asks, "Do any of you believe, Avery?"

They all shake their heads and glared at Avery. Avery looks between them and recognizes them as members of Crystal's team. They all gave her a hard time on her first day, and they're all completely loyal to Crystal. Crystal glares at the intern and clears her throat, and the young woman steps forward. 

"I know I'm new here, but this seems unfair," the intern says, looking at Crystal for approval. "We all worked hard to get here, but Avery didn't. She doesn't have a degree in jewelry design, and she doesn't even have any work experience. Everyone else has studied and worked for years—they're some of the best designers in the country. It seems to me that maybe Avery wanted to steal Miss Stone's ideas and pretend they were her own."

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Crystal glances back at her flunkies, and they all rush to agree with the intern. They whisper behind their hands and nudge each other while glaring at Avery. Finally, a man steps forward and puts his hand on his hip.

"I saw Crystal's cufflink designs, and I have to say, they're lovely," the man says. "I don't think anyone could outdo her, least of all some nobody who didn't even earn her place here. If I were a client, I'd want Crystal to be my designer. After all, she's had years of experience. She's our top designer."

Rebecca stands and says, "Miss Stone, I'm sure there's been some sort of misunderstanding. I trust Avery. I've already seen her designs, and I love them—that's why I asked her in the first place."

"How do you know she really drew them?" the intern asks.

"Yeah, maybe she hired someone to draw them for her," the man says.

"I'm just trying to protect the company," Crystal says with a sniff. "I respect Ms. Johnson, but I have no idea what she thought when she hired an inexperienced nobody."

"I respect you both as designers," Rebecca says. "I don't want to cause any problems here, so why don't we have a competition? You can both make designs for the cufflinks, and I can show the sketches to my boyfriend. I'll let him choose the design he prefers."

Crystal flashes a charming smile at Rebecca, and Avery scowls down at the floor. She was really looking forward to working with Rebecca, and she doesn't want to lose the opportunity. She knows that Rebecca is paying an incredibly high commission for the design, and she's sure Crystal is only doing this for the money.

I just have to design something more meaningful than Crystal, Avery thinks. It shouldn't be too hard; Crystal is a fine designer, but her work is cold and emotionless. She doesn't know how to tell a story, least of all such a tender love story. I just hope Rebecca's boyfriend has some understanding of jewelry.

"Whatever Rebecca wants is fine with me," Avery says.

Crystal casts one last despising glance at Avery, "I just hope Miss Peters can come up with something original. I wouldn't want our client's boyfriend to think there's only one good designer at D.O."

"Thanks for your concern, but I'm not worried," Avery says. "One glance at your designs instantly reminded me of Kay O'Brien's work last season. If anyone should worry about originality, it's you. I wouldn't want our client's boyfriend to think that D.O. designers steal their ideas from others."

Crystal's face goes bright red, and she balls her hands into fists. Her flunkies stare open-mouthed at Avery—they've clearly never heard anyone challenge their boss.

"That's a strong accusation," Crystal says. "But my designs are copyrighted. If you don't believe me, you can check the records."

Avery shrugs and passes Crystal her sketchbook. Crystal takes it and marches out of the room. Her flunkies swarm around her, congratulating her. Avery sighs and sits down, rubbing her temples with both hands.

"I'm sorry, Avery," Rebecca says. "I hope you don't mind. I still mean to choose your design, but I didn't want to create problems in the office. Besides, once they see your ideas for the cufflinks, they might understand why Sophie chose you. If you beat Crystal fair and square, they'll have to give you the respect you deserve."

"I don't mind," Avery says. "I know you have good intentions." 

"Great," Rebecca says. "So now that I've done a favor for you, will you do one for me?"

"Of course," Avery says.

"Will you have dinner with me tonight?" Rebecca asks. "I'm not used to eating without my family, and I have to admit I can feel a bit lonely sometimes."

"What about your boyfriend?" Avery asks.

Rebecca sighs and says, "He's very busy with work. He picked me up at the airport when I arrived a few days ago, but I haven't seen him since then."

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