Chapter 54

It took him forever to figure out that Marguerite didn’t want him to bring her flowers as a gift. She wanted to make perfume, and the flowers were the raw materials! Marguerite was busy crushing petals and the sound was crisp and clear. Frederick was not in the best mood, watching her with a gloomy expression. “Are you treating my office like a lab?”

Marguerite looked up and asked earnestly, “Can I?”

She dared to ask him for permission?

She really didn’t take him seriously!

Frederick denied her request flatly: “No.”

Marguerite looked awkward, her hands halted mid-air. The room was filled with a tense silence.

Chuck, fearing another argument, quickly explained, “Perfume is made through chemical reactions, which need to be done in a professional lab. If some substances come into contact with an open flame here, it could cause an explosion. As a perfumer, shouldn’t you know this?”

Marguerite was not pleased. She knew all that, but she was confident she wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake.

Marguerite glanced at Chuck, then looked at Frederick and said, “I’ll be careful and I’m not an idiot.

Besides, LuxeScents International refuses to let me into the lab and they said it’s only for top perfumers.”

Frederick thought he must have heard wrong. Was that a hint of complaint and coyness in her voice?

But since she was so passionate about making perfume, he might as well indulge her.

He looked at Marguerite without any expression and said, “Follow me.”

Marguerite was a bit puzzled, but she followed Frederick into the inner office.

She had never been in there before, all she knew was that Frederick and Robert would go in there for meetings every morning at 10, always secretive about what they were doing.

Frederick led her up a spiral staircase by the floor-to-ceiling windows, and Marguerite curiously followed.

At the end of the staircase, a wooden archway appeared. Frederick punched in a code, and Marguerite followed him in, and her jaw dropped.

The glasshouse was filled with all sorts of flowers and plants, and a suite of perfume-making tools lay on the lab table in the corner.

Marguerite had never seen such a beautiful lab, it was like a dream.

She was taking in the sight when a puppy suddenly popped out from somewhere, yapping and running towards Marguerite.

Marguerite was startled. She looked down and saw a young corgi, at most three months old.

“How did you get in here? You’re so cute!” Marguerite lovingly picked up the corgi, gently stroking its fur.

The corgi let out a huff, affectionately licking Marguerite’s hand.

“Ugly woman! Ugly woman!”

A harsh, unpleasant voice suddenly echoed in the room.

Marguerite was taken aback. She looked up and saw a red-headed parrot perched on a branch.

The parrot was staring at Marguerite with its round eyes, constantly repeating, “Ugly woman! Ugly woman!”

This parrot was nowhere near as cute as the corgi!

Marguerite glared at the parrot. “Who are you calling ugly? What’s your name?”

“Divine! Divine!”

Marguerite frowned, ready to take on the little parrot. “Who named you? It’s such an ugly name!”

Chuck was standing behind Frederick, completely flabbergasted.

How could Marguerite make talking to animals so entertaining?

Frederick, however, slowly cracked a smile; his face was rarely this relaxed.

He had thought this woman was all schemes and pretense, but her genuine joy was reminiscent of an innocent young girl.

“You can make your perfumes here in the flower room from now on and I’ll give you the passcode later.”

Marguerite was stunned, she couldn’t believe it.

When did this man become so kind?

Chuck was dumbstruck. “Mr. Winston, the flowers in the flower room are rare and expensive, some are on the verge of extinction. If damaged, even money can’t replace them.”

Frederick gave him a cold look, clearly indicating he didn’t want Chuck to interfere.

Chuck was startled and quickly shut his mouth.

Frederick turned back to Marguerite and said, “You’re in charge of the flower room now. If anything is damaged, you’ll work for LuxeScents international for free for the rest of your life.

Marguerite laughed, “Understood.”

Chuck looked at Marguerite, then at Frederick. He knew Frederick’s attitude towards Marguerite was changing, but he didn’t expect it to change so quickly and so drastically!

Before Frederick lost his sense of smell, the flower room was his most cherished place.

Many of LuxeScents International’s early fragrances came from this flower room, all supervised by Frederick and created by top perfumers around the world.

However, after he lost his sense of smell in a car accident, he never entered the flower room again.

Today, not only did he come back, but he also gave Marguerite access to the room. This proved how important Marguerite was to him.

Chuck’s thoughts were interrupted by a phone call.

He picked it up and walked to a corner, his face turning grim.

E After a while, he hung up and approached Frederick, his face serious. “Mr. Winston, the Patent Office called. They said our Polar Radiance perfume didn’t pass the evaluation.”

Frederick frowned. “Why?”

Chuck gulped, casting a complicated glance at Marguerite.

“They’re saying our patent is a rip-off. The perfume recipe we put out is a dead ringer for somebody else’s.”