Revenge is best served cold

The preliminary round of the interior design competition was set for three weeks later.

During those three weeks, my days were packed with work at the company while my nights were spent drafting design submissions at home.

As promised, I arranged for an assistant to help Elsa, and by the next day, she was already by Elsa's side.

According to the assistant's feedback, Elsa didn't seem to care much about the preliminaries.

And honestly, it made sense. This round was basically a mass selection. As long as you performed decently, getting through to the semifinals wasn't hard.

Though she wasn't exactly a design prodigy, she'd been in the industry long enough to pass the first round without breaking a sweat.

What I didn't expect was that she was relaxed enough to go on a date with Jeremiah.

After submitting my first draft, Eric practically dragged me out to the mall.noveldrama

I'd been so caught up in everything lately that I hadn't taken a break in ages.

Somehow, he got it into his head that all women loved shopping, so he insisted on taking me to the mall to unwind. When we stepped inside, I spotted Elsa and Jeremiah walking toward us. They saw us too, and the air froze for a brief second. Then, they took the initiative to come over and say hello.

When Elsa noticed Eric carrying my bag, she glanced at Jeremiah and then lowered her eyes to the shopping bags in her own hands. A flicker of jealousy flashed across her face.

Jeremiah also noticed the women's handbag slung over Eric's shoulder. He sneered, "Mr. Flint, don't tell me you're playing the role of Jane's bag carrier? A big-shot CEO carrying a woman's bag? Don't you think that's a little embarrassing?"

Eric let out a cold chuckle, standing tall with an air of defiance. "Did your ancestors personally teach you that outdated male chauvinism? We're in the 21st century, and you're still talking to me about these things?"

Jeremiah was momentarily speechless, his face twitching in frustration. After a long pause, he redirected his gaze to Elsa.

"Elsa isn't like Jane, who only knows how to boss people around. You go ahead and spoil her all you want. We'll see how that works out for you."

Eric chuckled. "Well, that's my choice. No need to act like a sore loser just because you can't have something. Instead of wasting time following people around the mall, maybe you should focus on your company. Your share prices are already dropping."

Elsa glanced at Jeremiah again, a subtle hint of scrutiny flashing through her eyes. But she quickly looked away and turned to me. "Jane, I haven't seen Jeremiah in a while, so we just came out to relax. Prepping for the competition at home is exhausting, and I don't really have any other friends."

I raised an eyebrow, surprised that she felt the need to explain herself. Then, it clicked. She was probably worried I'd tattle to our parents. She must've snuck out. After all, at home, she was supposed to be the delicate, injured young lady still recovering from her leg injury. Seeing her bouncing around like this was quite the contradiction.

I smiled faintly. "No need to explain so much. I don't care."

After hearing that, Elsa subtly let out a breath of relief.

Eric spoke up first. "Since you guys are here, I'll take Jae to a different mall instead."

He smirked. "Wouldn't want to pick something out only for Mr. Cornell to lose his

dignity when he can't outbid me in front of his lady."

He then turned to me with a sly grin. "Let's go."

I nodded, completely ignoring Jeremiah's livid expression and the jealousy

practically written all over Elsa's face.

Without even a goodbye, I linked arms with Eric and walked away.

I suddenly heard Jeremiah's puzzled voice. "Elsa, where are you going? Why are you mad all of a sudden?"

His voice faded into the background as Eric and I exchanged glances, barely holding back our laughter.