Chapter 10

"You really don't need to bundle up like that,do you?"Ella gave a faint smile behind her mask. "What do you know? Better safe than sorry. Arthur's got so many business partners, what if he finds out who I really am?"

Lily was momentarily speechless and gave Ella a once-over.

"Suit yourself."

They took the elevator up to the top floor, and the receptionist looked a bit surprised to see them.

Lily walked over and said, "Hi, we're from Worry-Free Studio. We have a 9:30 appointment with Mike Taylor."

"Mr. Taylor is in a meeting right now. Please wait in the meeting room for a bit."

The receptionist led them to the meeting room, set up some tea, and then left.

They sat in the room all morning, with no one coming in or out.

After what felt like forever, the door finally opened.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Mike walked in with his secretary He glanced at Ella and Lily but ended up extending his hand to Lily. After waiting so long, Lily was already a bit annoyed. But seeing his extended hand, she still shook it politely. "Please, have a seat. So, other studios have already reached out to us.What makes Worry-Free Studio stand out?"

Lily and Ella exchanged a glance.

'Weren't they the ones who contacted us frst?'

"Mr. Taylor, didn't you reach out to us first?" Lily asked, clearly confused.

Mike smiled. "That's true, but I still have to pick the best partner,right?"

"If we sign a contract, you need to prioritize our company. No private orders without our permission. Basically, Worry-Free Studio will exclusively serve us."

He smiled at them.

"Can you agree to that?"

Lily finally got what he was saying.

Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, she asked, "So, working with you means Worry-Free Studio belongs to you? We have to follow all your orders?"

Mike smiled and nodded.

Ella. standing beside her, was also surprised by the request.

Lily suddenly gave him a mocking smile and stood up. "Mr. Taylor, you're pretty greedy, wanting to own Worry-Free Studio. Are you kidding me?" "Making us wait all morning, and then you talk nonsense?""Do you really think your company is so amazing that every studio wants to work with you? Dream on!"

After her rant. Lily felt much better.

Seeing Ella behind her, she pulled her to leave.

Mike,stunned. quickly stood up. "How dare you talk to me like that?Just you wait! If you mess with me, Worry-Free Studio won't last!"

Lily rolled her eyes and left with Ella without looking back.

Outside, Ella took off her hat and mask.

"Looks like our new collaboration is off," Lily said, looking mournful, a stark contrast to her earlier outburst.

Ella smiled. "Weren't you feeling great while scolding him? Why regret it now?"

"This was a big project, and now it's gone. Can't I be sad for a bit?"

Ella chuckled and pulled Lily along.

"What's there to regret about losing that project? We can't just sell Worry-Free Studio to them."

Lily thought about it and agreed, her mood lifting.

Back at Worry-Free Studio, Lily would occasionally curse Mike. Every time Ella heard it, she found it pretty amusing. Soon enough, they both forgot about the whole thing. But a few days later, Worry-Free Studio started receiving notifications of order cancellations.One or two might be a coincidence, but nearly 80% of their orders were getting canceled.

"Could it really be that Mr. Taylor?" Lily asked, puzzled. "I was so focused on scolding him; I didn't think about the consequences."

"So,what do we do now?"

"Is the loss significant?"

Lily had always handled the studio's affairs, so Ella wasn't too familiar with the details.

"Worry-Free Studio's account has less than three million dollars now. Most of our orders have been canceled, and we still owe suppliers. We might end up with over ten million dollars in debt."

Ella was speechless; she had thought it would be at most a few million dollars.

"Should I go apologize to Mr. Taylor?" Lily suggested. Ella shook her head. "He doesn't seem like a good person. If you go to apologize,he might take the opportunity to make even more outrageous demands." For the next few days, they were both troubled by the situation. Since Ella left the Smith Villa, shehadn't contacted Arthur.

Meanwhile,Worry-Free Studio continued to receive cancellation notices.

Seeing all the cancellations, Lily and Ella were almost pulling their hair out in frustration.

Ella said, "How about I ask Arthur for help?"

She and Arthur were stillmarried; as her husband, he had an obligation to help her,right?

Ella barely finished speaking before Lily refused.

"No,you never wanted to contact Arthur. How can you bow to him over this?"

They exchanged a glance.

Do we just watch Worry-Free Studio go bankrupt?'

Just when they were at their wit's end, they almost simultaneously received calls about previous orders,

Ella glanced at Lily, and they walked a bit further apart to take their calls. After a while, they both hung up,looking bewildered. "You go first." "No,you go first."They spoke at the same time, then Ella paused, "The previous client called to say they won't cancel the order."

Lily waved her phone. "Same here."

The entire afternoon, they were busy with returning orders.

By evening, they finally had a moment to breathe.

"What happened? Is it really resolved? Did Mr. Taylor have a change of heart?"

Lily quickly shook her head, not believing he would have such a conscience.

Ella,however,seemed thoughtful. "Could it be Arthur?"