Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 195 Junior President Payne vs Younger Uncle of Hale Family, they are arch-enemies

Chapter 195: 195 Junior President Payne vs Younger Uncle of Hale Family, they are arch-enemies

Upon hearing that Zoe Bell had encountered Serena Conner, Hannah Johnson’s head spun.

"She didn’t suffer, did she?" she asked the staff members urgently.

"No, she actually hit Miss Conner."

"Well, she had it coming."

Meanwhile, Hannah kept glancing toward the fourth floor as the staff chuckled lowly, "Miss Johnson, you don’t need to be nervous. Our Junior President Payne might seem difficult, but he’s a decent person."

"Really..."

Hannah gave a wry smile.

Who would believe that if it were said aloud?

At that moment, Zoe was also feeling anxious. When she followed Junior President Payne into the office, she noticed a wall filled with books and some raw gemstones, simple yet elegant.

Crucially, on the long table where he entertained guests, there was an incense holder with the remnants of incense sticks.

"Don’t you like the smell of incense?" Junior President Payne noticed her staring blankly at the incense.

"It’s not that."

While speaking, his assistant inquired about Zoe’s preferences and poured her a cup of warm water.

Zoe looked at the man across her, "Actually, there’s some personal animosity between Miss Conner and me. To have a dispute here was already troubling you, how could I then accept a free design from you?"

Zoe had already tactfully declined while following him upstairs earlier.

Perhaps fearing she was worried about the cost, Junior President Payne directly said, "It’s free."

"..."

"Having a bad experience here already puts us at fault, plus..." Junior President Payne looked at her, "I know your younger uncle."

Zoe paused while drinking water.

Younger uncle?

Was he talking about Finn Hale?

She and William Hale’s relationship had never been made public; how did he know?

"You came here with Hannah Johnson, who is William Hale’s cousin, notoriously uncompromising, so your relationship with him must not be as simple as outsiders think," Junior President Payne explained.

They had a limited number of guests each day, and he would generally skim through the specific list.

"Old Sir Hale is famously strict; how could he allow his grandson, on whom great hopes were pinned, to have issues in his private life."

Zoe chuckled hoarsely.

Truly a clever person.

"What do you want to design?" the man asked, sizing her up.

"Matching rings."

"Requirements?"

"Simple and elegant, something more everyday," Zoe roughly outlined her needs, and he noted them all.

"Miss Bell, are you from Greenland?" the man suddenly asked an apparently unrelated question.

Zoe nodded.

"A dancer?"

"Yes."

"Besides that, do you have any other hobbies?"

"Making incense."

A flicker of intrigue crossed the man’s eyes, "Don’t worry, I’m not prying into your personal details. Understanding client preferences helps deduce their style and taste based on their appearance and attire."

In the end, he had his assistant take her contact information. The design draft would be communicated and coordinated with her through the assistant.

Zoe had been very nervous initially, but he had conducted everything strictly professionally.

His efficiency was very high.

About half an hour later, Zoe met Hannah Johnson again.

As they walked side by side toward the parking lot, a gaze followed them from a window on the fourth floor.

"Miss Bell seems to have a really good temper, and she’s also attractive," the assistant remarked quietly nearby.

"How is she attractive?"

The assistant was stunned for a moment, "It’s rare to see such beautiful almond eyes. Perhaps it’s because she’s a dancer, they seem particularly spirited."

"They’re not almond eyes."

"Hm?"

"Those are the standard lychee eyes."

The assistant pursed his lips and remained silent.

They look pretty similar though.

**

By the time Zoe Bell left, a staff member handed her a small bag which she thought was some sort of souvenir. It was only halfway through her drive that she opened it to discover it was the latest model of a mobile phone of the same brand as her own.

"A mobile phone?" Hannah Johnson frowned.

Zoe Bell felt extremely embarrassed. She had taken the design drafts for free and now even received a mobile phone.

"Mine was broken by Serena Conner."

"No wonder I couldn’t find you when I called. I was so worried, if anything had happened to you, William surely would have held me accountable." Hannah glanced at the phone, "Everyone says that Junior President Payne is thorough and decent in his dealings, it seems it’s true."

"You don’t know him?"

"Met him, but not familiar. Just saw him once when assisting my mother with a necklace order, and after that, all the dealings were handled by his assistant."

"I thought he was someone you knew well."

Hannah laughed, "Why would you think that?"

If they were truly that well-acquainted, Hannah would have rushed to the fourth floor by now!

"He said he knows the Younger Uncle of the Hale Family."

Hannah burst out laughing, "You don’t think they are on good terms, do you?"

"Aren’t they?"

"Of course not. If they were, I could have used the younger uncle to pull some strings for Payne Family’s jewelry customization. The two of them are almost arch-enemies."

Zoe Bell was stunned.

It was only then that Hannah explained to her.

Junior President Payne indeed knew the Younger Uncle of the Hale Family.

They had studied design together earlier. Although their design orientations differed, their artistic aesthetics eventually converged.

It’s said that they didn’t get along too well,

after all, where there’s one gem, why create another?

Luckily, one specialized in architectural design and the other in jewelry design.

They hardly ever met in normal life, like two kings avoiding each other.

"If they’re both so talented, they should admire each other." Zoe Bell puzzled over why they didn’t get along.

"There was an art appreciation essay contest, and the younger uncle lost to him, getting second place." Hannah mentioned this incident with a smirk she couldn’t suppress, "Grandpa Hale had been telling him there’s always someone better, urging him to be humble, but he just wouldn’t listen..."

"And he got smacked in the face!"

"Don’t think the younger uncle is so calm now, everyone has their hot-headed youth."

"But this was many years ago, and because their fields differed, they seldom interacted."

Zoe realized.

Yet, thinking of Junior President Payne, who also enjoyed incense, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing, "I think this Junior President Payne..."

"Has great taste."

Hannah’s lips curled upwards, "Say that here, but never mention it in front of the younger uncle, he’d probably be so annoyed."

As they approached Yarden, the ever-so-clever Hannah still asked, "Coming to our place?"

This time, surprisingly, Zoe Bell nodded in agreement.

"Sure, I haven’t seen Fanta in a while. I wonder if it’s gotten fatter." Zoe Bell and Hannah Johnson were now as close as sisters and naturally did away with polite formalities.

Hannah’s heart skipped a beat, "Isn’t your shop busy today?"

"I thought the ring customization process would be more complicated, so I cleared my schedule for the whole day, but it ended early."

"..."

Hannah chuckled ruefully to herself, really shouldn’t have asked that extra question.

If Zoe Bell showed up at her place now, she would definitely encounter Isaac Shea.

"By the way, should we go grocery shopping? I’m cooking today." Zoe Bell had already contacted William Hale using Hannah’s phone, and he had an engagement tonight.

By this time, the sky had darkened, and it was dinner time.

"No need, I’ve hired a cook." Knowing Isaac as she did, she guessed he was probably nearly done with dinner.

"When?"

"A few days ago."

Hannah appeared calm, but she was actually really nervous on the inside. She said she wanted to buy some cat food for Fanta, and turned the car around towards the pet store while casually texting Isaac to give him a heads-up to prepare.

It wasn’t easy for Isaac, who had been staying there for a while, to completely erase his traces.

When she brought Zoe Bell back half an hour later, she was still very nervous.

However, aside from the food already prepared on the dining table. there were no signs of Isaac’s presence.

"This cook you hired is really good, she even made a meal for Fanta." Zoe Bell looked at a delighted Fanta, "She must have left just after finishing the meal, right?"

Hannah muttered under her breath.

Seeing Isaac leave at such a time, she felt guilty.