Not Your Doormat Anymore

"Try laying a hand on my girlfriend again and see what happens."

That one sentence left Casey completely stunned. Tears began falling silently down her face as she looked at me with sorrow, but I didn't waver.

Kourtney gently tugged at my sleeve. "Jace, the craft artisan has already signed the contract. He even got my contact information. Let's go. We can talk more later."

I nodded and left with Kourtney without looking back. Behind us, the sound of Casey's heart-wrenching sobs echoed in the air, but Kourtney and I didn't turn around.

Once we got in the car, Kourtney immediately let go of my arm and handed me the contract. "I figured those two had gone a bit insane, so I asked the artisan to stay inside and rest. I told him not to come out and to lock the door when we leave."

I nodded, and she continued, "There's no way we can wrap everything up today, so I set up a meeting with him for tomorrow. I'll come back tomorrow and go over the details with him. We should have the rest of it finalized within a week. Once everything is ready, we'll be done in at most a month."

Kourtney's professionalism surprised me as it far exceeded my expectations. As I watched her passionately explaining the partnership, I couldn't help but think back to how she had handled everything just now.

That side of her was completely different from the side I knew. She wasn't the shy and timid woman from before; she was confident and composed.

Noticing that I had been staring at her, Kourtney blushed. "Mr. Ranford, was my performance earlier alright?"

That was when I finally remembered that when we were in the car previously, we had agreed that she would pretend to be my girlfriend. I wasn't sure why, but I felt

a bit disappointed. Nonetheless, I still nodded, affirming her performance.

"You did great."

"Thank you, Mr. Ranford!"

Kourtney lit up with joy, and I found myself smiling along with her. Initially, I thought it would take three to five days to settle this deal. I hadn't expected it to go so smoothly in just one visit.

When I returned to the office, I updated Lindsey on our progress. She was just as surprised but didn't ask too many questions. She nodded and brought in the manager of the marketing department.

After a brief discussion, we decided to hand the whole project to Kourtney and make her an official employee in advance.

Pictures and details of us going to

negotiate the contract together quickly made their way onto the company's forum. It was even highlighted that I secured the contract after just one meeting.

The post instantly made many long-time employees show up.

"That elderly man actually agreed to the partnership?"

"No way! I called him so many times and got rejected every time. I even visited him three times and still failed."

"I heard another company offered him 500 thousand dollars and still got turned down. How much did our company offer him?"

While everyone was in shock,

Kourtney revealed the total sum. It was a hundred thousand dollars. Just a hundred thousand dollars and the elderly man agreed to work with us. This offer was significantly lower than any of the others.

This matter sparked another wave of discussion on the forum, and many employees began paying attention to Kourtney for the first time.

Kourtney put away her phone and looked at me. "Isn't this kind of unfair? It feels like I'm getting all the credit. It's just a small matter. Anyone could have done it."

I shook my head.

I went to see Jason today to let him know we secured the deal. At that time, the look on his face was priceless.

"Now, my salary has gone up by a thousand dollars! Once I get my salary, I'll treat you to a meal!"

Kourtney counted her savings and invited me to a meal excitedly. Since she didn't need to pay for rent or food and her only expenses were groceries and medication, with her salary increase, she could save a good amount. Treating me to a meal would be well within her budget.noveldrama

"Aren't you already treating me to meals every day?" I glanced at the table that was full of food.

Kourtney shook her head. "It isn't the same. I'll treat you to a meal in an actual restaurant!"