Accepting the Challenge

"I always follow through on my promises. Both of you, rely on your talents. Whoever clinches the championship in this contest will gain the design rights to Serenity Tea Haven."

Iris Hart bit her lip, her voice fragile, "Nathan, didn't you promise me the design rights before?"

Nathan Ford looked down, gently comforting her, "Iris, I have faith in your abilities. You should believe in yourself too. I'm looking forward to seeing you win the championship in this designer contest."

"Nathan... but..." Iris Hart wanted to say more.

Ava Sterling, without hesitation, accepted the challenge. "Fine! I accept. A designer contest? I'm in."

Ava Sterling turned and shot a glance at the colleagues gathered outside the door, watching the drama unfold. Her sharp gaze swept over them, "Shouldn't you be working?" 

Prompted by her words, everyone quickly returned to their workstations. Zoe Dawson, watching Ava Sterling leave, hurriedly followed in her footsteps.

Now, the office was left with only Nathan Ford and Iris Hart.

Iris Hart, crying softly, questioned, "Nathan, why would you just hand over this opportunity to her?"

"I haven't just handed it to her. I'm letting the two of you compete fairly," Nathan Ford said, losing patience and withdrawing his hand from hers.

Iris Hart, frustrated, stamped her foot on the ground and followed Nathan Ford out of the company.

Word of the fair competition quickly spread throughout the company, sparking private discussions about who would emerge as the champion of this contest.

Ava Sterling's design style was well-known to everyone, and for this tea house, she would be the obvious choice for a designer. 

However, it was clear that Iris Hart had the edge this time, especially with Nathan Ford's support.

After exiting the office, Ava Sterling headed straight for the archives. The design proposal for Serenity Tea Haven required a thorough revision.

Zoe Dawson quickly followed her into the archives, relieved to see Ava Sterling's composed demeanor.

"Ava Sterling, are you out of your mind?" Zoe blurted out.

Ava, browsing through documents nonchalantly, responded, "What's the matter?"

"It's obvious they've set a trap for you. Iris Hart is Nathan Ford's ally. If Nathan Ford takes her side, you stand no chance. Why waste our time on this?" Zoe Dawson's concern was palpable, her words laced with worry. She looked at Ava, feeling both sympathy and anxiety for her. She couldn't fathom the reasons behind Ava's involvement with that despicable man and the current predicament.

"Nathan Ford will not favor anyone," Ava stated confidently, though unsure why she felt such conviction. Despite Nathan's unpredictable nature, he was known for his integrity, never breaking a promise, especially now, having openly declared a fair competition.

"How can you be so sure Nathan Ford won't side with Iris Hart?" Zoe Dawson asked skeptically, unable to see Nathan as anything but untrustworthy.

Shaking her head, Ava replied, "I can't be certain, but I have this gut feeling. If he were to show favoritism, he wouldn't be the Nathan Ford I know."

"It's pointless arguing with you. You've already agreed to this fair competition," Zoe conceded.

Closing the document she had been scanning for a unique design style without success, Ava approached Zoe, gently patting her on the shoulder.

"The revolution is not yet successful; we must continue to strive! Gather all the design styles of tea houses from the past two years for me, categorize them, and compile the statistics."

Zoe Dawson grimaced as she accepted the task, "I really don't understand what you're thinking!"

Ava Sterling remained silent. Upon returning, she found that the two had already left her office.

Ava Sterling slightly wrinkled her nose and walked over to open a window. Iris Hart and the other person had been gone for so long, yet the room was still filled with a pungent odor.

Throughout the day, the entire company buzzed with talks of their boss promoting a fair competition.

They had no doubts about Ava Sterling's abilities, but the behind-the-scenes investor of Serenity Tea Haven was Nathan Ford. If Nathan Ford intended to favor Iris Hart, they stood no chance at all.

As a result, when Zoe Dawson went to assign the tasks, everyone was listless and lacked energy, seemingly convinced that they could not win the project, so they lost interest in working hard.

Frustrated, Zoe Dawson stormed to Ava Sterling's office door and knocked.

"Bang, bang, bang..." A series of loud knocks were heard. Ava Sterling slightly furrowed her brow, lifting her head from the documents to look towards the door.

"Come in!"

Zoe Dawson, holding the recently gathered design styles, walked in and directly sat on the couch beside her.

"These people are infuriating!"

Ava Sterling raised an eyebrow at her, "Who?"

"Who else, but the slackers in the office!"

Zoe Dawson continued, fearing Ava might not understand, "They know you've agreed to this fair competition, and now the whole company is saying we think it's impossible to win. Nathan Ford is so fond of Iris Hart, by the time the results are announced, he will definitely protect her."

"And what did you say in response?" Ava Sterling inquired further.

Zoe Dawson shook her head, "What could I have said? They pretend not to talk about it, but the moment I leave, they start discussing it behind my back. Do they not realize we're all in this together?"

"What do you mean by 'we're all in this together'? Can't you find a better way to phrase that?" Ava Sterling said, a light chuckle escaping her.

"Ava Sterling, you still find a reason to laugh! You have no idea, when I went to assign them tasks this afternoon, each one of them looked so lifeless, it was infuriating!" Zoe Dawson, visibly frustrated, concluded her rant feeling parched and stood up to pour herself a glass of water.

"There's no point getting angry at them. Have you prepared everything I asked for?" Ava Sterling looked towards Zoe Dawson.

Nodding, Zoe held a teacup in her hand and picked up a document from the table, handing it to Ava Sterling, "Here are all the design styles from the past few years. The tea house designs have always been somewhat monotonous."

Zoe Dawson, with her usual flair for sarcasm, criticized Iris Hart, "Iris Hart's design style is too extravagant. I went through her designs earlier, and they all seem like something a nouveau riche would come up with!"

"Alright, you can go now. Let me have a look," Ava Sterling said, feeling overwhelmed and no longer wanting to hear anything about their disputes.

Zoe Dawson opened her mouth, wanting to say more but ultimately sighed in resignation and walked out.

Upon reaching the office area, Zoe observed the group's lethargic demeanor.

Her temper flared instantly. She walked over and slapped a desk, causing everyone to look up at her.