Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 224 - 222: Graceful and Dignified

The next day, Simon Forrester went with Sienna Thornton to the villa to meet the prospective partner, after all, he had to vet the person who would be working with Sienna.

They arrived at the villa half an hour early, opened the windows and doors to let in some air, and then Sienna mentioned some aspects that needed updating.

For example, she hoped her office desk could be placed by the window so that she could feel the natural breeze in summer and not always rely on air conditioning. This way, more space could be allocated for an extra bookshelf, two safes, and a more spacious meeting area.

Simon joked that she was traditional, saying that people usually want their office desk to dominate the room, yet she preferred moving it to the window, shrinking into a corner, with none of the leadership aura.

Sienna couldn’t be bothered to debate with him and asked him to just do it.

At ten o’clock, Rhonda Wagner brought the female lawyer over.

This was Simon’s first meeting with the other partner, Rhonda.

Rhonda was from the south, a scholarly-looking Korean-style young man, tall and thin, wearing black-framed glasses, dressed fashionably, appearing young, but to Simon’s surprise, he was already thirty.

Simon had investigated Rhonda’s background. He had some connections with Tobias Blackwood, making him trustworthy enough for Simon to agree to him being Sienna’s partner.

Rhonda was previously a criminal lawyer at Vantage South Branch. This year, he moved to Brimfield following his father, who transferred here to work with the high prosecutor, and, recommended by Thomas Reed, he became one of Sienna’s partners.

As for the female civil lawyer Rhonda brought today, Simon wasn’t familiar with her background besides her resume. What was her circle like? Did it pose any threat to Sienna or even The Forresters?

All of these needed investigation.

But Sienna seemed to be getting along well with her, eager to sign already. As it was around noon, Simon suggested they discuss over lunch and continue with the signing in the afternoon.

During lunch, Simon received a message from the investigator confirming that the female lawyer was Rhonda’s father’s student, with a clean background, having worked in the South, and having no connections in Brimfield.

Simon was satisfied and did not obstruct Sienna from signing the contract.

After signing the partnership agreement, Sienna and the other two partners began preparing the necessary applications for the firm. The three lawyers quickly went into action, with incredible efficiency, obtaining all licenses in just half a month.

The firm was named "Cognitas Law Firm".

The name was chosen by Old Master Forrester, considering the five elements and a touch of feng shui — "Cognitas" signifies "gathering strength" and "Ideas and Thoughts".

Thus, on a day in late February, "Cognitas Law Firm" held a lively inauguration ceremony.

Early that morning, Simon was still asleep, while Sienna got up before dawn. After a bath and makeup, she spent one or two hours in the dressing room, trying on various outfits, alternating between pants and skirts.

When Simon went in, the long bench between two rows of wardrobes was piled with her clothes, and she stood in front of the mirror, having changed into a black tweed suit.

The suit had a high-neck, cinched-waist design, with a string of yellow beads hanging below the collarbone from a matte black obsidian square buckle. The almost all-black attire was so understated, it highlighted the string of beads prominently.

Simon put on his shirt, took a look, and said, "You look great in this, elegant and dignified, perfect for today’s occasion!"

Sienna wrinkled her nose, turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck, and asked, "So I’ll wear this then? Does it look a bit old-fashioned?"

"Not at all, it looks very steady. Grandpa will bring some old friends today, all of them are big shareholders of listed companies and could be your future clients. It’s never wrong to appear more composed." Simon handed her the tie, slightly bent over to indicate that she should help him tie it.

Sienna finally smiled, happily tied Simon’s tie, not forgetting to remind him, "Once SY’s consulting contract with Vantage ends, bring it over to me."

Simon kissed her still unpainted lips, smiling confidently, "You don’t need to say that." Then he gave her a hug before going to his wardrobe for his blazer.

They had a simple breakfast and drove to the firm.

The unveiling ceremony was also an opening ceremony, organized by a PR company, so by the time Sienna and Simon arrived, preparations were well underway. Guests just needed to arrive, and at 10 o’clock, the ceremony would commence.

Rhonda and the other partner, Aurora Buckley, had arrived early and were discussing matters with the PR company staff in the reception area.

Sienna quickly got out of the car and entered, greeting many PR company staff members along the way with nods and smiles.

Aurora, seeing her, hurried over and, with sharp eyes, noticed the string of beads on her chest, exclaiming, "Lawyer Thornton, that string looks just like those worn by the consorts in Qing era dramas."

Sienna laughed, not daring to say it was indeed from the Qing era, humbly replying, "Today’s outfit felt empty, so I just added it."

Aurora admired, "It’s really beautiful!"

At this moment, Rhonda also came over, smiling, "Lawyer Thornton, everything is almost ready."

"Great." Sienna adjusted her bag, "I’ll put my things in the office and come back down."

-

When Sienna went upstairs, Rochelle Linwood was organizing a pile of case files in her office and asked upon seeing her, "Lawyer Thornton, should we lock the files from the previous accommodation case in the safe?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Hearing those words, Sienna paused, then after a moment, suppressed her voice, "Yes, seal them up and lock them away, that case isn’t over yet."

"Okay."

Sienna put her bag down and greeted Rochelle before heading back downstairs.

Several guests had already arrived, and Rhonda and Aurora were handling the reception duties.

Sienna didn’t see Simon anywhere and went outside to find him on the lawn talking on the phone.

She walked over and heard him say to the person on the other end, "It’s impossible that this person doesn’t exist. I assure you all the information I provided is correct. Push the age a year back and forward, continue searching, and send me anything that’s even close; I’ll compare it myself. If necessary, I need to meet those people in person..."

Sienna’s steps hesitated, and a familiar sense of disappointment washed over her.

She stood there for a while until Simon finished the call, turned around, and she forced a smile, walked toward him, hooked her arm around his, asking, "Is it about my birth father?"