Clarissa got up in bed, and she could feel her entire body sore.
She couldn’t help but mumbled and was a little grumpy about Matthew.
It’s not necessary to go all out even if he wants a child, isn’t it?
So, that’s what he meant when he asked me to ‘hang on’ in the beginning?
Clarissa’s face flushed red as she snarked about Matthew. Then, she took a few feeble steps and left the room.
It was only after having breakfast that she realized Damian had already left for school. Being alone does make one feel rather forlorn. Out of the blue, it occurred to her that she had not contacted any of her friends since three years ago. Ellie was occupied with her career and the expansion of her business, and she was getting busier and busier like a career woman. As with the others, they were busy with their respective work and life as well.
In that instance, she yearned to spend her time with a friend, to have fun together, eating and shopping around, only to come to the realization that she was actually leading a relaxed and contented life. The key to that was even though she was the owner of a studio, owing to the capabilities of Yael, she got to enjoy a lot of idle time.
At the thought of that, Clarissa felt that she had to reward Yael and the staff at her studio generously.
“That’ll be it,” Clarissa made up her mind and went to change immediately, after which she left heading to the studio.
They were having a meeting when Clarissa arrived at the studio. Along with the assortment of scrumptious snacks she brought was the good news that they would have a dinner gathering that evening. Everyone was delighted to hear that.
After the meeting, Clarissa sat in Yael’s office with her legs crossed and a wide grin on her face.
Seeing as such, Yael was forthright. “Since you’re so free now, let me tell you something.”
“What is it?”
Clarissa could feel a dangerous glint from Yael’s eyes, so she sat properly in an upright position, and gave her a flattering smile exactly like that of her son, Damian’s.
“Yael, what do you want to tell me?”
“It’s about time that we upscale our studio, don’t you think so?”
“Eh?” Clarissa was taken aback, but under Yael’s sharp gaze, she smiled meekly in an instance. “Well, umm, whatever you say, Yael. If you’ve decided to expand our business, sure! I give you the green light. Go ahead.”
After all, even though Clarissa was the owner of the studio, Yael was also a partner. Their share was a sixty-forty split.
“If our studio only manages you alone, we aren’t able to achieve higher accomplishments. We can get more authors to sign up with us now so that we’ll be able to sustain even if you run out of ideas and brilliance.”
Twitching her lips a little, Clarissa responded, “You’re right, Yael. We can have more authors.”
“Sure, enrolling people is simple, but there’s something else. I’m thinking about venturing into investment in films and television production.”
Investment in films and television production?
“Yael, do we have the money?”
“Of course we do, if you’d accept a lower earning.”
“Haha, alright, I’ll do with lower earnings then.”
Despite that, Yael disregarded her silly smile and continued, “We can have a fundraiser and attract investors…”
“I don’t know much about this, so it’s entirely up to you.”
“You should come with me to the private equity dinner then… To look for investors.”
“What?”
Clarissa laughed awkwardly, “Umm, actually, can I don’t…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she was cut short by Yael’s gaze.
Clarissa couldn’t help but laugh again as she continued, “Yael, well, you’re getting more badass by the day. That’s great. You sure have the bearing of a boss right now. With just one look, you’re compelling enough.”
“Ah, so you’re suggesting that I’m taking over your position?”
“No no no, Yael. How can you not get what I meant? I’m just complimenting you!”
Yael sneered while Clarissa wiped her sweatless forehead. “Haha, Yael, in fact, every decision concerning the studio has been made by you. I know you’ve been very dedicated all these years. Why not—”
“That’s enough.”
Yael clearly had zero interest in beating around the bush; she was straightforward.
“You sound like I’m taking advantage of you. Come on, you’re the boss here; don’t behave like a newbie. I’m in no way exploiting you.”
“Haha… Yael, I was just kidding. Anyway, I meant what I said, because I trust you fully. Besides, I’m not experienced in this area. If it wasn’t because of you, I don’t think the studio will be able to attain its magnitude today. Hence, you can proceed with your plan; I’m totally fine with it.”
“Alright, with your trust, we can carry on. Aside from that, I see that you’re at leisure lately, huh? So why don’t you come to the private equity dinner with me? Also, if you’re too free, there’re actually a lot of things you can do.”
“No no no, I’m not that free as you think. Haha… But regarding the dinner, I think…”
“You have to go!”
Since Yael had said the word, Clarissa could only pout with a reluctant face.
“Oh, right, there are quite a lot of dinner invitations recently. It’s almost year-end, and things are piling up. Apart from that, even though we have only a small number of people, the annual dinner has to be held. You haven’t joined in these couple of years, but you should be available this year, right? I’ll leave it to you then. You can start thinking about how you want it organized.”
“What? You’re assigning this to me as well?”
Clarissa was a little troubled at the abrupt allocation of tasks, but Yael didn’t let her go so easily and continued to bombard her for several hours before eventually releasing her. At last, when she came out of Yael’s office, she was completely devoid of vigor, and all the other staff was amused at her dreary look.
Mandy went up to her and started lowly, “Clarissa, Yael’s just as savvy as before, isn’t she?”
Clarissa nodded.
Seeing as such, Mandy couldn’t help laughing. “And she really doesn’t give anybody a pass, not even you, our boss.”
At that point, Clarissa was rendered speechless.
She gave Mandy a look, and only the two of them knew the implication behind it.
“Oh, yeah, Mandy, what do you normally do during the annual dinners from past years?”
“The annual dinner? We’ll have a feast and the company will be giving out bonuses and whatnot. There’s nothing much to it, the reason being that we have only so few people. We can’t really organize something grand, right?”
Clarissa looked very disconcerted. “Yael asked me to organize the annual dinner, but I don’t know what to do with it.”
All of a sudden, Mandy’s eyes brightened with fascination and she smiled.
“You have any thoughts? Tell me.”
However, Mandy reverted to her usual demeanor in an instance, except there was a notable awkwardness on her face. Hurriedly, she denied, “No, I don’t. I don’t have any idea.”
Frowning, Clarissa pressed, “Just tell me frankly if you have any suggestion.”
“No, nothing, really. Haha, I got to continue my work, see you.”
Mandy ran away in no time, leaving Clarissa in suspicion. Is it that hard to be honest about her thoughts regarding the annual dinner?
Clarissa didn’t pressure her. She then asked a few other staff members about their opinions on the annual dinner.
The staff members gathered around and each gave their suggestions, setting the office abuzz. Indulging in feasts, traveling, or having a lottery draw were some pretty good ideas coming from them.
Meanwhile, a young girl in the office suggested, “Clarissa, we’re right in the Tyson Corporation building, but we can only watch how grandiose and glorious the annual dinner of Tyson Corporation is every year without an opportunity to join them. How fun it’ll be if we’re able to attend their annual dinner.”
“What are you talking about?”
She was instantly stopped by Mandy. It was only when she saw the rather displeased faces of a few other staff members did Clarissa realize the reason that Mandy didn’t continue speaking earlier. She could vaguely remember that Mandy used to say something similar to what the young girl had spoken.
The young girl who gave that suggestion was a little nervous at that moment, and it was in hindsight that she suddenly remembered the scandal involving Clarissa and the president of Tyson Corporation back then.
Nevertheless, Clarissa wasn’t angry or embarrassed about it like they thought she would be. Instead, she burst out laughing.
“You want to attend the annual dinner of Tyson Corporation? That’s simple. Let’s all go together then. You guys better dress up, and if you see someone you’re really into, act fast and end your single life soon. You might even get to win a huge prize in the lucky draw. Nonetheless, if you really want to attend their annual dinner, you’ll have to at least prepare some performance, right? I can’t help you with that. Y’all have to come up with the performance yourself. Just don’t make our studio look too bad.”
“Is this… really okay?”
The way Clarissa smiled seemed like she was totally unaffected by it. Nodding, she answered, “Don’t worry, it’s really fine.”
Looking at Clarissa, Mandy said hesitantly, “Clarissa, don’t take it seriously. We’re not going to the annual dinner of Tyson Corporation.”
Her tone was filled with a little indignation for Clarissa.
Clarissa couldn’t help but laugh heartily. It was unknown to them when Yael came out of her office, but looking at them, she uttered, “Well, don’t mind her. If Mandy isn’t going, the rest of us can go ourselves.”
“Eh? Wait, no, Yael, but what about Clarissa and… Are we really going?”
“Why not? What are you worried about? Even Clarissa is going. Alright, that’s enough. She doesn’t even feel burdened herself; you’re worrying for nothing. Now, now, since we’re going to attend their annual dinner, then we don’t have to prepare our own this time. We’ll just leave this matter to Clarissa.”
Clarissa comforted Mandy and promised that she’ll also be able to attend the dinner with them. Meanwhile, all the other staff who knew what happened before looked at Clarissa with their doubtful faces, but Clarissa didn’t explain further.
In the afternoon, after having a video call with Damian and making sure that he was safe and sound at home, she was relieved. She had been assigned many tasks by Yael for the entire afternoon.
She regretted coming over to the studio and make known to everyone that she was unoccupied.
If only I had known…
It’s too late now.
Clarissa was filled with regret, but all she could do at that point was to commit herself without any complaint.
Clarissa felt as though she was finally liberated when she got off work. I’m really not suited for a nine to five. For so many years, she had not really got a taste of working a full-time job like she did that particular day and she had been very slothful. Now that she had experienced it, she was no longer envious of others.
Shortly after Clarissa arrived home, Matthew came back as well.
Seeing her leaning against the sofa casually, Matthew handed his coat over to the maid and paced forward. Scooping Clarissa up, he pecked lightly on her face and chuckled softly as he asked, “What happened? Why do you look so worn out? I thought you should have recovered after unwinding for the entire day.”
Blushing, Clarissa was suddenly reminded about the ‘misdemeanor’ of Matthew last night. In response, she shot a fiery glare at him and replied, “I went to the studio, and Yael assigned many tasks for me. I’m exhausted, and there are still multiple things coming up in a few days. Sigh… Only now do I understand how lucky I am to have such a capable partner like Yael. Anyway, it’s you who introduced Yael to me, so you’re still the one I should be most thankful to, right?”
Matthew raised an eyebrow while Clarissa kissed him lightly and added, “Thank you, Hubby.”
