Chapter 90
Calvin decided to drop a piece of advice for lan out of the kindness of his heart.
“Ian, it’s best if you explain to Mrs. Holcomb as soon as possible. Women usually get angry over just one matter.
“But if you don’t offer them any explanations or comforting words, they’ll definitely lump every little thing that ticked them off in the past together. It’ll be difficult for you to coax them by the time their grudge against you deepens.”
Jan couldn’t care less about how difficult it was to coax Sage. Heck, he couldn’t be bothered to
do that.
He no longer wanted to listen to Calvin’s nonsensical rambling, so he stated coldly, “Are you done with your project proposal? You can head to the meeting room now and explain every single detail to everyone there.”
Calvin instantly shut up at that order, clearly not expecting the sudden change in topic. He plastered a pitiful look on his face as he asked, “Can you spare me this once, lan?”
Ian wasn’t fazed in the slightest. “No.”
Calvin cried, “You can’t just vent your frustrations on me just because you got into a fight
with Mrs. Holcomb!”
Ian responded by shooting Calvin a cold glance. “One more word and I’ll kick you out of this office myself.”
Calvin fell silent immediately.
After reaching Donald’s residence, Sage handed the antique inkwell that Ian had bought to Donald. The latter smiled the moment he laid his eyes on the gift.
“Ian really has good taste in antiquities. Silver inkwells are hard to find in the market. nowadays. I’ve always wanted to include one of these precious artifacts in my collection. Sage,
you want to admire this inkwell with me?”
do
“Nope.” Sage didn’t even want to glance at the inkwell. She wouldn’t even touch it if it weren’t for the fact that Ian needed her to pass the gift to Donald.
“Grandpa, I’m going to the workshop to make some aromatic incense.”
Previously, Sage had bought some prayer beads for Linda and had put together a booklet for her. She originally intended to pick out another gift for Linda, but the latter didn’t need any expensive gifts at all.
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When Sage received Ian’s request to pass Donald’s gift to him, she decided to take the opportunity to make some incense with calming and sleep–inducing properties for Linda.
Sage often mixed chemicals together just to produce incense at home. Hence, Donald was already used to her frequent visits.
He continued studying the antique inkwell from every angle while saying, “Go ahead.”
The room hosting the workshop was located at the end of the corridor that led to the courtyard. It was pretty much a quiet space most of the time, not to mention it was quite big.
Sage’s mother, Rosemary Joyner, used to spend most of her time in the workshop before her death.
Like Rosemary, Sage was born with a keen sense of smell. Hence, she learned how to brew chemicals meant for incense and perfume production. 2
In order to become a professional perfumer, one had to undergo harsh training just to hone their sense of smell. Rosemary didn’t have the heart to put Sage through the torment, so she never trained her. That was why Sage was just making incense for fun.
No one else knew how talented she truly was, save for Donald.
After working on the incense for a few hours in the workshop, Sage noticed that it was already nighttime. She decided to spend the night in Donald’s residence.
There were countless procedures one needed to follow when it came to incense production. Plus, some of the incense needed to rest for a long time as well. Naturally, Donald understood Sage’s situation.
“The housing staff cleans your room daily. Rest assured that it’s extremely neat and tidy. You can just stay there without worrying about anything. Well, you’ve spent the whole afternoon in that workshop of yours. Come, have dinner with me.”
Soon, Sage and Donald sat at the dining table. The kitchen staff had prepared a lav consisting of Sage’s favorite food. Needless to say, she enjoyed dinner a lot.
After dinner, Sage went on a stroll with Donald.
inner
“Sage, I’ve reprimanded Susan yesterday. She promised me to never seek lan out for help from
now on,” Donald said.
Sage knew very well that Susan’s promise was an empty one. She’d still ask lan for help whenever the circumstances called for it.
However, she flashed Donald a smile just to reassure him. “It’s all water under the bridge now. Besides, Ian has already agreed to help her out.”
Donald replied, “I’ve talked to Owen about your suggestion of hiring a professional team to
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run the company. It’s obvious that he’s reluctant to consider it despite saying that he’ll think
about it.
“Owen has contributed a lot to the company over the past few years. I can’t force him to accept my suggestion.”
Sage said with a smile, “I know, Grandpa. I forgot to take that factor into consideration. Uncle Owen has done so much for the company, so it’s normal for him to be displeased about the notion of having other people take over the company.
“Well, I’ve been pondering about another suggestion. What if we hire a skilled vice president and have them help Uncle Owen out instead?”
Donald paused to think about the suggestion. “I have someone in mind who’s suited for this position.”
Sage suggested, “Grandpa, once you’ve made your choice, you can arrange for that person to join the company via the regular procedures. That way, Uncle Owen won’t have any qualms in arranging work for them.”
