Chapter 106: If It Happens Once, It'll Happen Again

Lia aggressively brushed her teeth, frustrated. "Forget it. I'll go by myself—no need for you to tag along. I have a temper, but I know when to draw the line. I run the studio, and several people depend on me for their livelihood. Don't worry, I'll handle it." Bells thought about it and agreed. No matter how unreliable or impulsive Lia could be at times, she still managed to run the studio on her own, so she had some sense. "Alright then. Good luck."

After dropping Bella off at the hospital, Lia followed the address on the original contract to the contract partner's office.

When she called, the assistant answered. He told her to wait, saying the boss was in a meeting and would be tied up for about two hours.

Lia was already seething but held her anger in. The company was a large financial firm, impressive in size, which only made her more irritated. Why would a billion-dollar company back out of a contract with a small studio like hers? It seemed like they were making trouble just for fun.

She hadn't eaten breakfast due to the stress, and now, with hunger setting in, she grew even more irritable. Figuring she had two hours to kill, she decided to grab some breakfast.

But just as she sat at a nearby café, ready to eat, her phone rang. It was the assistant. The meeting had ended early, and the boss was ready to see her. He asked where she was. Cursing under her breath, Lia abandoned her breakfast and rushed back to the office.

When she met the assistant, she forced herself to smile politely. "Could you tell me why the contract is being canceled? All of our products are handcrafted, and I've personally checked them. The quality is top-notch."

Still not making eye contact, the assistant led her into the elevator and pressed the button without a word. "I'm not sure. You'll have to discuss that with my boss."

Lia smiled on the outside, but internally, she was fuming.

Before entering the office, she composed herself and put on her best polite, friendly expression. The assistant opened the door for her. "Go on in."

"Thank you."

For the first time, the assistant glanced at her and nodded slightly.

She froze in the office when she saw Leonard sitting at the desk. Her smile vanished instantly. "What are you doing here?"

Leonard replied expressionlessly, "Weren't you the one who wanted to meet me?"

Only then did it hit her—Leonard was her client! Recalling the events of the previous night, she felt disoriented. "You're not seriously doing this out of spite, are you? Why drag the business into a private grudge?"

Leonard was cold. [The sentence about searching a website is removed as it is irrelevant to the story.]

"Because I'm not a good person."

Lia felt the bitter sting of her words returning to haunt her. This was precisely what they meant by "hoisted by her own petard." He was blatantly using this as an excuse for personal revenge, still holding onto that one insult from the night before. After a moment, she mustered up a forced smile. "I didn't know you were the client. I take back what I said, alright? I've already made a commitment and bought all the materials in advance."

"If you cancel now, the losses will be huge for me. Maybe this money is nothing to you, but it's a big deal for me."

Leonard leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. His voice was icy, "How is that my problem? Like you said, it's nothing to me. You're the one who's going to suffer."

She felt like she was at her breaking point. She bit her lip and walked over to him. "I'm sorry. Is that enough?"

He opened his eyes, his gaze dark and heavy. "So, you think an apology just settles everything? This is the first time I've ever been insulted like that You've got some nerve."

Lia cursed inwardly, "You'll get used to it. If it happens once, it'll happen again"

Outwardly, though, she kept up her meek act. "I've already apologized. What else do you want from me?"