Chapter 147: Chapter 147

Chapter 147

By the time Sophia fully snapped back to reality, she was already sitting in the HR office.

Two employment contracts were laid out in front of her, both already signed by her hand.

Brandon was standing right beside her, handing one copy of the contract to her while tucking away the other.

Sophia glanced hesitantly at the contract now in front of her, then back at Brandon.

“Welcome to Star Dempsey Architects,” Brandon said, looking at her, his demeanor back to its usual cool composure.

Sophia managed a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks.”

She took the weighty contract with a bit of hesitation, still feeling like she was in a dreamy daze.

Her mind was all muddled.

Brandon’s cell phone chose that moment to ring.

It was Kent on the line. [Mr. Crawley, do we need to introduce the new Design Director to the guests? Don’s struggling to keep up on stage.]

He was still at the event diligently blocking the door, clueless about what was going down with Brandon and Sophia.

Don on stage was also doing his best to keep the show running, equally in the dark about the current situation with Brandon and Sophia.

Was Sophia’s new role as the Design Director set in stone? Would she be coming back? Should he take the chance during the design team introduction to officially announce Sophia?

His head was swimming with question marks, but with Brandon having already ditched the scene, he couldn’t just bail like Brandon and had to stay on stage, trying to signal Kent with desperate eye gestures to call Brandon.

Luckily, Kent was on the same wavelength and caught on to Don’s predicament straight away.

Brandon didn’t give Kent a straight answer but instead turned to Sophia. “Don is up there introducing the company’s design team right now. Wanna make an appearance?”

Sophia glanced subconsciously towards the reception hall.

“Do I have to?” Sophia was still a bit spaced out, the contract signing had happened so fast, she couldn’t even remember when exactly she had signed it.

“I’m not some big-name designer, nor do I have any standout pieces to show off. My experience and age don’t carry much weight either. If I go out there now, I might just lower everyone’s expectations of the company.”

She looked at Brandon and added, “Maybe we should keep it under wraps for now, and let my work do the talking later on.”

Brandon studied her for a moment before nodding lightly, then told Kent on the phone. “No need for introductions.”

Kent got the message, hung up, and mouthed “It’s over” to Don on stage, who seemed visibly deflated for a moment before Kent added an “OK” sign with his hands.

Don got it in a second. His spirits, which had just started to sink, leaped back up.

With years of experience running the show, he left the guests with a teaser, “Our candidate for Design Director is a graduate of the renowned Apex Engineering University School of Architecture and has a portfolio of well-known architectural designs. She has a unique vision and solid strength. We look forward to her joining us,” and wrapped up the grand opening ceremony perfectly. The opening ceremony had already been done at an auspicious time while Brandon was still around.

After the opening ceremony, it was time for the guests to dine and mingle.

Don made his way through the crowd of well-wishers towards Kent, who was still guarding the door.

“What’s the deal here?” he asked, since he couldn’t get much from just exchanging looks earlier.

“How should I know? Mr. Crawley just brushed me off with a ‘no need for introductions”, Kent replied, equally in the dark but couldn’t resist trying to sneak a peek outside the door. “But relax, Mr. Crawley sounded pretty chill, he must’ve sealed the deal with Sophia.”

“Are you sure your gut’s reliable?” Don frowned, not entirely trusting Kent’s intuition. “Hope it’s not another false alarm.”

“Don’t worry, no one knows Mr. Crawley better than I do,” Kent bragged as he opened the door wide, not forgetting to turn back to Don with a boastful, “I dare say, I even know him better than he knows himself.”

His bragging came to an abrupt end when he saw Brandon and Sophia standing outside the door, and he respectfully greeted, “Mr. Crawley!”

Brandon glanced at his hand on the doorknob. “Why close the door?”

Kent was left speechless.

Don’s gaze shifted from Kent’s face to Brandon, then to Sophia, his evaluative look making Sophia a bit awkward, but she still politely greeted Don. “Mr. Dempsey.”

Don, ever so sharp, didn’t pry but just gave her a big smile. “You’re back.”

Sophia responded with a polite smile. “Yeah.”

Seeing Kent’s deflated look and his indecisive hand on the doorknob, remembering Brandon’s kiss from earlier, and guessing Kent might have seen it too, her embarrassment grew.

Kent, equally awkward, chuckled and greeted. “Hello, Ms. Yearwood.”

Sophia awkwardly replied. “Hi, Kent.”

As other guests noticed Brandon’s return, they came forward enthusiastically to offer their congratulations, their attention wholly on Brandon, hardly noticing Sophia standing by his side.

A few guests who were fortunate enough to witness Brandon’s impromptu kiss recognized Sophia from her clothes and cast curious and scrutinizing glances her way.

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable under their probing eyes, Sophia subtly moved away from Brandon. At that moment, a refined middle-aged man holding a wine glass approached Brandon with a smile and congratulations.

“Mr. Crawley, congratulations.”

“Thank you, Mr. Evert.” Brandon took a glass from a passing waiter’s tray and courteously clinked it with Mr. Evert’s.

Mr. Evert downed his drink in one go, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then his inquisitive gaze casually shifted towards Sophia. “And who might this be?”

He had seen Brandon kiss Sophia earlier.

Hanging out with Brandon over the years, he had never seen Brandon get so worked up and expressive, especially over a girl – definitely piqued his curiosity.

Before Brandon could pipe up, Sophia introduced herself to Mr. Evert with total ease, “Hey, I’m a designer with Star-Dempsey

Architects.”

Brandon glanced at her and kept mum.

Mr. Evert, who was itching for some juicy gossip, got cut off by Sophia, but still chuckled and reached out for a handshake, “Pleased to meet you, I’m Gavin Evert, the head honcho at the Evert Group.”

Sophia responded politely, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Evert.”

Gavin, failing to fish for any good intel, shifted his focus back to Brandon.

“Mr. Crawley, your new venture is brimming with talent. The youngsters are impressive!”

“Thanks for the props, Mr. Evert.”

Gavin chuckled and asked, “Mr. Crawley, is your company still hiring by any chance?”

Brandon looked at him dead in the eye, “Just spit it out, Mr. Evert.”

Gavin chuckled awkwardly, “Well, it’s about my son, just wrapped up his grad studies and hasn’t started working. He refuses to join the family biz. He studied architectural design, too. I’m worried he’s gonna turn into a couch potato if he stays home any longer. Maybe he could work with you guys?”

Brandon gave a polite smile, “Afraid our little outfit might not be grand enough for your prince.”

Even though he said that, Brandon turned and introduced him to Don, suggesting he get in touch for a job since Don was the main man running the new company.

Gavin, all smiles, agreed and turned to mingle with the other guests.

Finally having a moment to himself, Don looked over at Sophia and Brandon, “What’s the deal with you two?”

The direct question got both Brandon and Sophia to cough awkwardly and avert their gazes.

Don couldn’t quite make heads or tails of this drama, and it wasn’t the time to pry, so he turned to Sophia with a grin, “Contract all

signed?”

Brandon answered for Sophia, “It’s done.”

Don let out a sigh of relief that had been weighing on him and raised his glass to Sophia, “Welcome back.”

Sophia, without a glass, just smiled back, “Thanks, Mr. Dempsey.”

“I’m the one who should be saying thanks,” Don said, already waving over Cindy and the others who were chatting up a storm with other guests, “Come over here, folks.”

Cindy and the rest hurried over, setting down their drinks.

“Mr. Dempsey, what’s up?” Cindy asked, her attention all on the boss, Don.

Don announced, “Let me introduce everyone to our new design director, Ms. Sophia Yearwood.”

As he said it, his hand gestured towards Sophia.

Cindy and Sophia looked at each other.

They both fell silent..

Cindy was the first to catch on, recognizing Sophia as the girl from the sperm bank story at the police station and got super excited, “Hey, it’s you.”

Brandon fixed his gaze on the two, “You two know each other?”