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!"

to the side

agree?"

formulas will be a breeze. Now, it's just a matter of

looked at Alfred, her eyes curving into

as Astrid had anticipated,

"Vivienne, are you sure about this? The company is just getting off the ground. It's going to be hard work. Why not wait until things are more

think I can't help stabilize

just don't want you to overwork yourself. You're young. You should

she also moved back into Dorian's

ready, furnished just how she liked it, so

and Cordelia were indeed

were constantly discussing and verifying various reports, barely able to

Thaddeus would go hungry, waiting

their load

perfume formulas was enough to sustain the company, Dorian still wanted to develop more varieties to

a fresh rainfall, rich and enduring. I like

one is also fitting. It has a

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

Astrid stepped in, examining both formulas. The numbers of the formulas were very detailed, and

these two are both great. Why not

heard Astrid mention her and said,

excitedly picked one of the crumpled

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

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

left some cash on the