Thomas kept a polite smile on his face, "I'm sorry, Mr. Firestone is quite busy and had to leave early."
"Oh..." Ariana couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, "could you give me Mr. Firestone's contact information? I really want to thank him in person."
Thomas shook his head. "I'm sorry, Miss Summer, but without Mr. Firestone's permission, we can't give out his contact details to anyone."
Ariana didn't want to make things difficult for him.
"Could I have your contact information instead? you could ask Mr. Firestone for me and if he's okay with it, you could pass his contact info to me?"
As the saying goes, third time's the charm, Ariana had asked three times and it would be a bit awkward to refuse again.
Thomas hesitated at first, then nodded. "Alright, I'll ask Mr. Firestone for you."
They exchanged contact information.
"Mr. Firestone has arranged a car to take you back," Thomas added.
"Alright, thanks."
On the way back, Ariana scrolled through the man's social media, but found nothing.
A bit disappointed.
But regardless, having this encounter with Lucas meant she now had a reason for further interaction when they met again.
When Ariana got home, limping slightly as she entered, Lucas rushed over and scooped her up in his arms.
She poked his forehead playfully, "in such a hurry, didn't you see I'm hurt?"
Lucas carried her to the bed and gently lifted her skirt to check her injury.
"What happened?" he asked, though he already knew.
Seeing the wound wasn't too serious, he felt relieved.
"Does it hurt?"
Ariana, however, seemed quite cheerful, "not too bad, it stung a bit when disinfecting, but it's a blessing in disguise!"
Lucas looked at her with a mix of amusement and concern, "you're happy even though you're hurt?"
"This injury was worth it! the prince of the Capital saved me and now I have a great chance to connect with him! I got his assistant's contact info, so getting in touch with him is just a matter of time!"
Lucas let out a soft hum, "you didn't do it on purpose, did you?"
"Of course not, do I look like I have a death wish?"
Lucas leaned in and kissed the corner of Ariana's lips, "how does that prince look?"
Ariana recalled his deep eyes, "I didn't see his face; he was wearing a mask, but when he held me, I noticed his eyes were quite captivating, I bet he's a very handsome man."
Seeing Ariana's dreamy expression, Lucas felt a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe.
"Is he more handsome than me?"
Ariana laughed at his question, "Are you jealous?"
"He even hugged you?"
"Yeah, and when he did, he was really manly." Ariana teased him on purpose.
Unexpectedly, Lucas suddenly pinned her down on the bed, "let me show you who's more manly."
Just as Lucas reached for Ariana's hand, she let out a sudden yelp, causing him to immediately pull back.
"What's wrong?"
"My hand hurts." Ariana lifted her hand to reveal a blistered palm.
It must have happened when she was pulling the reins too hard.
At the time, she didn't feel the pain and even in the doctor's office, her mind was preoccupied with how to thank Lucas.
Lucas frowned and quickly fetched the first aid kit, she sat on the bed while he knelt on the floor, carefully tending to her wound.
Ariana looked down at him, watching his focused expression and suddenly smiled.
"What's so funny?" Lucas glanced up at her before continuing to apply the ointment.
"Seeing you being useful, it's worth keeping you around!"
Lucas gave a mischievous smile, "Tonight, I'll show you just how much you're getting out of this deal."
That night, Ariana truly understood.
Because of her injury, Lucas insisted she rest while he took care of everything, making sure she was completely comfortable.
Ariana felt content and relaxed, this young man was indeed a treasure she had stumbled upon.
He could cook, tend to her injuries, make her laugh and was quite impressive in other ways too.
She never expected that in her time of need, it would be this young man who brought her comfort.
Claire happily returned home.
Simon was waiting for her at the door, as soon as he saw her get out of the car, he rushed over.
"Claire, did you spend money at the Royal Racecourse Club today?"
Claire was taken aback, remembering that she took the shuttle.
"The place was so far, I just took the shuttle for a bit and it cost 18,888! It's daylight robbery!"
"The membership card was stolen from my grandpa, you spent money, and he got a notification, he knows I took the card and gave me an earful!"
Simon was nearly losing his mind with frustration!
"I clearly warned you not to make any purchases, if you absolutely had to spend money, you should have paid separately!"
Simon was already not very favored in the Sheen family, stealing the membership card to have fun only worsened his grandpa's impression of him!
Claire quickly grabbed Simon's hand, "Simon, don't be mad, I have some good news for you!"
"Did Lucas agree to collaborate with Summer?"
Claire gave an awkward smile, "Not yet, but I did meet James!"
"James Bluefield?"
"You wouldn't believe it until you check, James is childhood friends with the prince of the capital circle and he's the future heir of the Bluefield group.
The Bluefield Family is one of the top three powerful families in the capital."
Claire spoke excitedly, having had a delightful dinner with James today.
"I've heard of him."
"So today's outing wasn't in vain, if I can win over James, Lucas won't be a problem, right? don't worry, I'll soon arrange a meeting with Lucas and secure this project."
Claire wrapped her arms around Simon's waist, "once you bring home such a big order, your grandpa will definitely see you in a new light."
Simon steadied his thoughts, his position in the company wasn't high, always overshadowed by his two brothers.
Times had been tough lately, but if he could land a multi-million dollar deal, he'd naturally be in charge of the project and his grandpa would surely promote him.
"Can you guarantee we'll get this order?"
"Trust me, I can definitely do it!" Claire said confidently.
Simon had no choice but to put his hopes on Claire.
The next day, Ariana went to the office and immediately got busy in front of her computer.
She couldn't help it; her boyfriend at home was just too distracting, making it hard for her to focus.
She worked on refining her design proposal.
Her hands hurt from blisters, slowing her down.
Many people noticed the bruises on her legs and expressed their concern.
Claire arrived fashionably late, in high spirits and quickly went over to Ariana when she saw her working.
In a low voice, she asked, "Sis, did you get in touch with Mr. Firestone?"
Ariana felt a bit discouraged, that morning, Thomas had replied to her, saying Lucas mentioned there was no need for a face-to-face thank you and that she should just rest well.
Claire could tell from Ariana's expression that she hadn't succeeded.
"Well, I've made some progress!" Claire said with a sly smile.