Chapter 243: A Stick and a Sweet Date
Vance’s scalp tingled under her gaze. He had a gut feeling he was about to be in trouble, too.
Sure enough, the next second, they heard Arabella say coolly, "You both make good points. In that case, we’ll have to provide extra compensation to the clients to retrieve these items. That money will be deducted from your bonus this year, Supervisor Lynch. But your bonus probably won’t be enough to cover it. So, Vance..."
Caught off guard by being called out, Vance shuddered involuntarily and blurted out, "Miss Donovan."
"Supervisor Lynch is certainly at fault, but ultimately, he was brought in by your cousin."
Vance’s eyes flickered. "You’re right. My responsibility in this matter is no less than Supervisor Lynch’s. You can deduct my bonus for this year as well to compensate the clients. On top of that..."
"Alright, that settles it." Vance hadn’t finished speaking before Arabella cut him off. "Both of your bonuses for this year will be deducted in full to compensate the clients. I’ll personally cover any remaining shortfall."
"We can’t let you do that!" Supervisor Lynch had already braced himself to be made an example of by the new boss.
He never expected it to end with just losing his bonus. As a senior manager at the auction house, his year-end bonus was substantial, but for a screw-up this big, not getting fired was a relief. Just losing his bonus was truly a blessing in disguise.
Vance was also taken aback. He truly hadn’t expected Arabella to offer to cover the difference herself. A decision like that clearly went against the standard principles of management.
But given the auction house’s current situation and the fact that Arabella had just taken over, this was undoubtedly the most appropriate way to handle things.
"Why not? But this is a one-time thing. Don’t let it happen again. Consider this a lesson learned. If anything like this happens again, the consequences will be far more severe than just financial compensation. You’ve seen for yourselves—even without concrete evidence, if I want to know something, I have my ways of finding out. Understood?"
As soon as Arabella said this, everyone recalled the harsh lesson someone had just received, and they all tensed up, nodding hastily. "Understood, understood."
Arabella discreetly sighed in relief, her eyes filled with amusement.
Caspian Rhodes couldn’t help but smile. ’It seems I was worrying for nothing.’
’Absolute strength, combined with a bit of cleverness, was more than enough for her to handle these decent, ordinary people.’
Ms. Kerr’s call came in right at that moment. Considering Arabella intended the finished product as a wedding gift for an elder and was currently staying at that elder’s house,
Ms. Kerr called proactively after receiving the items. She wanted to know if she should have the newly finished pair of bracelets delivered personally to Vistagrove Avenue, or if they should arrange to meet somewhere else for Arabella to pick them up herself.
After a moment’s thought, Arabella decided to pick them up herself. She arranged to meet them at a hotel, planning to treat the mother and son to a meal to thank them for their strong support that other night and for rushing to finish the pair of bracelets.
When Caspian Rhodes learned that Arabella was going to meet the Kerr mother and son, he immediately volunteered to drive her there.
Because of matters related to taking over the auction house, the two of them had been inseparable for the past few days. Arabella had grown accustomed to riding in his car, so she didn’t refuse his offer.
They had just settled into the car when Caspian Rhodes couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Is what you said just now true?"
"What did I say?"
"’That a person’s fortune in life is predetermined.’"
"Oh, that." Arabella’s expression cleared. "It’s true. But that predetermined amount isn’t set in stone. It’s like how bad deeds damage your karmic virtue, while good deeds accumulate good karma. Although your fortune is set at a certain level, if you do good and accumulate good karma, your fortune will increase. Conversely, if you do bad things and diminish your karmic virtue, your fortune will also decrease."
"I see. So it’s basically ’you reap what you sow,’ right?"
"Exactly!" Arabella fell silent after she spoke.
"What’s wrong?"
"It’s nothing. I just suddenly feel that... while the principle holds true, in reality, good people often run into bad people, and bullies love to pick on the kindhearted, like Mr. Vance’s uncle and aunt. Yet, it takes a villain to grind down a villain, and some bad people, no one dares to provoke." ’Just like that Vincent Vaughn we ran into at Delicacy Pavilion.’
Caspian Rhodes paused, unable to think of anything comforting to say after mulling it over. He settled for saying, "The world is an unpredictable place; no one knows if tomorrow will come or if disaster will strike first. So, we should just focus on ourselves. Living your own life well while still managing to help others once in a while is already more than enough."
Arabella paused, then smiled. "You’re right. No matter what, we just have to focus on being our best selves. For everything else, we can only do what we can."
"That’s the best way to think about it."
’As the saying goes, a passionate life is often short, and a brilliant mind is prone to harm. The young woman before him had only just come of age, and Caspian Rhodes didn’t want her to burden herself with unnecessary worries and overthink everything.’
"Huh?"
"What is it?"
"Ms. Kerr is asking if she can bring two more people to dinner," Arabella said, turning to ask for Caspian Rhodes’s opinion. "Is that alright?"
"I have no objection. It’s your call."
"Then I don’t have any objections either."
Arabella and Ms. Kerr had arranged to meet at a hotel, one that Ms. Kerr had chosen.
After they arrived at the hotel, a waiter enthusiastically led them to a private room as soon as they gave Ms. Kerr’s name.
The Kerr mother and son were already waiting inside the private room. The moment Arabella appeared, they quickly came out to greet her.
"Miss Donovan, you’re here. Please, come and sit down. See if you’re satisfied with these bracelets. If there’s anything you don’t like, I can have them taken back for adjustments."
Arabella lifted the lid of the box Ms. Kerr was holding. Inside were two crystal-clear, four-colored bracelets. Meticulously polished, they shimmered brilliantly under the light, even more dazzling than before, and instantly captured Arabella’s heart.
"They’re so beautiful! Miss Kerr, your company’s artisans are incredible. This finished product is far beyond my expectations. It’s absolutely wonderful."
Ms. Kerr sighed in relief. "I’m glad you like them."
"How could I possibly not like bracelets this beautiful? I’m sure my grandmother will love them, too."
"Since there are no issues with the bracelets, let’s sit down and order some food."
"Right, right, let’s order first."
"And these two are...?" As Ms. Kerr pulled her to a seat, Arabella noticed a middle-aged man and woman sitting on the other side, looking a bit ill at ease. One of them seemed vaguely familiar.
Arabella searched her memory. Suddenly, it clicked, and she connected the woman before her with a figure from her memory.
"You’re... the lady who spoke up for me at the auction house that day?"