Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 207

Heading back home, it might just mean casually jamming to a tune, but there’s always room for a twist. And my plan? It’s to make sure there’s no room for even the tiniest hiccup.

Just as | was gearing up to say no, my phone buzzed in my bag.

It was Timothy calling.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

| barely hit the answer button when his sweet, melodious voice popped through the speaker. “Xaviera, what’s going on? Why aren't you at work yet? I’m here waiting to catch up with you on some work stuff.”

His voice is naturally soft, but with that playful litt, it’s like he’s laying on the charm thick.

“Im on my way,” | said, while awkwardly pinching the bridge of my nose, “We'll talk at the office.” “Okay, I'll be waiting for you

Ro 11

Timothy dragged out his words, all soft and elongated — no clue if he was doing it on purpose or not. When | looked up at Darren, | saw him with a fist at his mouth, coughing softly.

| bet he couldn’t stand Timothy’s cutesy act either. So he chimed in, “Work’s been crazy lately; | might not make it to the gig this weekend, sorry.”

Darren paused briefly, then he smiled, “No worries, we'll catch a show some other time. No rush.”

Half an hour later, | circled back to the office; the moment | walked in, Timothy blocked my path. This kid sized me up for a second, with a smirk on his lips, “Aren’t you the model worker, Xaviera? What’s got you running behind schedule?”

Look at this smart aleck.

| didn’t give him a straight answer, but steered the convo to work, “So, the main character design is done?”

“Of course, who do you think | am?”

Hearing this, | immediately rallied everyone into the conference room.

I've never doubted Timothy’s abilities, but when | saw those four main character designs on the projector, | was floored.

The completeness of the character designs, the details, and the range of motion — all simply stellar. He’s even nailed the silhouette relationships between the side characters and the

Cha backdrop harmony. Truly, FreeMan’s reputation in the industry is well-deserved.

By the end of the discussion, Timothy's work got a unanimous thumbs-up. Even Wallis, who’s super critical about art, was totally sold.

We passed the news on to Zachary and set up a meeting with Hogan at Rainbow Capital the next afternoon.

| figured that as long as we locked down the character designs, we could catch up on everything else.

The next day, me, Wallis, and Timothy headed over to Rainbow Capital.

With an appointment set, the receptionist led us straight to the conference room.

But what none of us had expected was that we ended up cooling our heels in the meeting room for an extra hour with no sign of Hogan.

Zachary said that Hogan got held up last minute and was on his way.

After Zachary’s explanation, we waited another forty minutes.

Wallis and | started to lose our cool, and Timothy was absolutely livid, as if ready to storm out.

“The big shot from Rainbow Capital can’t even keep track of time? We're better off without a partner like that!”

Timothy fumed; as he was about to ditch his papers and leave and | stood up to follow him, suddenly the conference room door swung open.

In walked Hogan, who looked like he’d been through the wringer; his piercing eyes landed on Timothy as he said in a deep voice, “You live up to your reputation as a renowned artist, Mr. Temple. Such a fiery temper you have.”

As soon as Hogan finished, Timothy’s face turned sour, with a sharp look flashing through his pretty peach blossom eyes, “Does Mr. Zade’s judgment always come from wild guesses? How can you critique without having seen my work?”

Hogan glanced at Timothy, all indifferent, “Isn’t there a saying in the circle? The work reflects the artist. Mr. Temple, it seems you're still a bit short on patience.”

| anticipated that this afternoon’s report might not go smoothly, but | didn’t expect Hogan to show up two hours late and then, in front of everyone, put Timothy on blast.

But Timothy really hadn’t said anything wrong.

As | saw the molten anger bubbling up in the kid’s eyes, | stepped forward to shield him, and calmly said, “Mr. Zade accuses us of lacking patience. What about you’re short of?”