Chapter 317

“I didn’t expect that…you initiated it, I thought…”

Maja was a bit taken aback. If it was business, of course, she had to approach lan. There’s no way lan

would come to her.

“Did he ever say no?”

Though it might not be appropriate to pry into private affairs, Connie was curious. She thought he was

the cream of the crop in the Raymond family.

“He turned me down a few times, but eventually he agreed.”

Maja chuckled, not understanding why Connie suddenly brought this up.

Connie’s cheeks flushed a bit. She hadn’t expected Penny to go to such lengths just to get close to

him.

If Carlene found out, she might blow a gasket.

But she wouldn’t spill the beans. After that, she clammed up for the rest of the ride.

Once they arrived at the studio, Maja got ready to hop out of the car. As she was about to shut the car

door, she thanked Connie and was about to take off when Connie spoke up.

“Penny, can we still be friends?”

Maja was taken aback. She really liked Connie’s personality, but if Connie found out she was the wife

of lan, whom she wasn’t exactly a fan of, who knows what she would think?

“As long as you’re up for it, we can be friends.”

She had to reply like this, even though Connie might not want to be friends with her in the future.

Connie sighed in relief, “Don’t worry. You can rest assured that I’m not that shallow. I won’t have any

prejudice against you.”

With that, the car door closed, and the car slowly drove off..

Maja stood there, not quite getting what Connie meant by her last comment. But she didn’t dwell on it

and headed towards the studio. However, she felt something was off.

Her first time was with lan on the night he returned to the country. Since then, she hadn’t had any other

experiences. But now, walking felt a bit off. Her back was aching, and her legs were sore.

Not being experienced in this, she wasn’t sure if it was because she fell off the bed or if she actually did

something last night.

Confused, she headed to the studio.

Today, Maxwell was in, giving her a raised eyebrow when he saw her.

“What good deed have you done lately? Silverstone Enterprises is suddenly being very generous to our

studio, giving us materials at the lowest price.”

Maja had previously made a deal with Silverstone Enterprises regarding the material prices for

Greenfield Gardens. She didn’t expect Silverstone Enterprises to bel so understanding, benefiting the

studio as well.

She explained the construction mishap and then sat down.

“Once lan’s project wraps up, I might no longer work at the studio.”

That was her plan all along. She wanted to return to painting.

“How are things at home?”

Maxwell’s eyes softened as he rubbed his forehead.

“That issue just got resolved. I don’t want a cut from Greenfield Gardens. Whatever lan gives, you take

it.

Maja didn’t want to stand in the ceremony with him. After all, the studio was out of the woods now, and

Maxwell certainly wouldn’t be strapped for cash in the future.

“I won’t hand in my resignation just yet. I’m not sure if I can take on the work Ryan Elston offered me. If

he insists, I’ll take his work after I finish the Greenfield Gardens design and might open a painting

studio. You know I’ve always loved painting.”

Maxwell wouldn’t stop her. He nodded and said, “Once lan’s work is done, just text me. As for Ryan’s

work, I won’t take a cut. Those jobs were all brought in–by your own ability.”

“I won’t stand on ceremony then, but I have some beef with Ryan’s girlfriend. If she wants to replace

me, I’ll pass the work to others in the studio.”

And then there was the current work at Greenfield Gardens. Ian had been upset today, so she didn’t

know if she would receive a message from lan later about terminating their cooperation.

So she decided to go to the studio and see which designers were available. She couldn’t just give the

job to someone Carlene knew.

After all, this was a design fee of several hundred thousand dollars. If someone from the studio could

take it over, it would be doing Maxwell a favor.

After explaining everything to Maxwell, she returned to RosenGarden. She felt exhausted and

uncomfortable. It was probably due to the hangover, and her stomach was hurting slightly.

She took some stomach medicine, then soaked in a bath, only to discover a discreet mark on her inner

thigh.

The mark was red, looking like a love bite.

She froze, her eyebrows furrowing.