The Million-Dollar Heart

Vivienne did not reply immediately. Instead, she simply gazed at Astrid, waiting for her to continue.

Feeling a bit anxious, Astrid elaborated, "Don't get me wrong, Vivienne. I'm not saying that Percival isn't treating you well. I'm just thinking, with the Ellington family being such a prestigious and influential family it's a complex world out there. If you had enough confidence and strength, you wouldn't need to put up with any discomfort there."

Vivienne nodded slightly, "You make a good point."

Astrid let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you understand what I'm getting at. I hope I haven't overstepped."

"Not at all," Vivienne replied, taking a sip of her drink, "I can contribute some innovative fragrance formulas at the company, which could quickly build a reputation for us."

Astrid felt an awkward sense of being seen through and could only force a chuckle, taking a sip of her water to cover her nerves. "You're right. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?" Vivienne raised an eyebrow, a subtle gleam in her eyes.

After dinner, it was getting late. Alfred pulled the car up to the mall to pick up Astrid.

"Vivienne, let me drive you two back," Alfred called out, rolling down his window.

"No need, we drove here," Vivienne declined coolly.

"Alright then. Take care," Alfred waved and drove off with Astrid.

Watching their car disappear into the distance, Vivienne's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

Percival draped his jacket over Vivienne's shoulders, his fingertips lightly touching her cheek, "Getting impatient?"

She nodded. "More than I expected. It's quite dull."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and ushered her into the car, saying, "Then let's take our time. As long as you're happy."

A grin spread across Vivienne's face. "Sounds good to me!"

Alfred pulled over to

agree?"

so coming up with a few perfume formulas will be a breeze. Now, it's just a matter of how much she's willing to contribute." Alfred smiled contentedly. "She's a genius. Having someone like her on our

eyes curving into

as Astrid had anticipated, taking an

just getting off the ground. It's going to be hard work. Why not wait until things are more stable before you join? It

can't help stabilize the

"No, no, I didn't mean that. I just don't want you to overwork yourself. You're young. You should be enjoying yourself, not

joining the company, she

her room ready, furnished just how she liked it, so she could finally get a good

Cordelia were indeed busy with company

various reports, barely able to catch their

hungry, waiting for

arrival lightened their load considerably, especially regarding fragrance

the company, Dorian still wanted to develop more varieties to

and enduring. I like it," Cordelia announced, marking one of the formulas with

It

differed, and while they could launch both, the startup costs for two new perfumes were substantial for

and the ingredients used were accurate. She carefully read

she suggested, "Mom, Dad, I think these two are both great. Why not ask Vivienne

Lego, Vivienne heard Astrid mention

one of the

her favorite. "I win! We'll launch this one. I'll immediately discuss the launch strategy

discuss production schedules with the factory. "Astrid, Vivienne, we're off to the company. Stay safe at

he spoke, Dorian left some cash