CEO’s Surrender With You I Can Never Win

Chapter 11

Of course, Finley kept the words to herself. However, the man understood what her eyes meant to say.

He snorted and glanced away.

Someone whispered, "Did you see? That girl is so shameless!"

"You're right! I think she came late on purpose to attract Mr. Turner's attention."

"Ha! Did you see how he looked away in disgust? With Mr. Turner's outstanding status, what kind of beauty has he not seen. Just because she has a pretty face, did she think she could win over Mr. Turner?"

Finley ignored them, even though she silently acknowledged the barb. She did think that her looks and talent could attract the man.

Alas... Her husband preferred men...

Leaving that problem for another day, Finley walked to the contestant's waiting area and fixed her attention on the person next to her.

Meanwhile, Bryan pushed away the unease he felt when Finley looked away and proceeded to ignore his presence.

Disgruntled, he asked Harry, "Who allowed contestants to use fake names?"

"Sir, the competition allows for the competitors who value their privacy to use a pseudonym on stage. Since Lemon has already established a reputation for herself abroad, we saw that there was no problem with her identity and decided to let her join the competition with her stage name..."

Suddenly, Harry realized why his boss was upset.

It seemed as if Boss did not know that Mrs. Turner was joining the competition!

"Sir, should I do something?"

"Forget it."

Bryan narrowed his eyes.

It really surprised him that Finley indeed make herself known in the circle.

What else was his wife hiding?

Soon, the competition finals officially began.

All the perfumers on stage had to mix their perfume on the spot in front of the cameras, judges, and audience. With their every move being scrutinized, many of the contestants were visibly nervous. On the contrary, Finley moved with practiced ease. Her nimble hands picked up and mixed the raw materials on her table unhesitatingly.

Even though she had no makeup on and was standing under the bright stage lights, Finley's pure face shore with beauty. Bryan was not oblivious to the appreciative glances many men and women in the audience directed at her.

Tricia swallowed the anger burning in her chest as she saw Bryan's gaze was fixing on that bitch. That vixen seemed as if she was oblivious to the people looking at her but Tricia knew better. That b*tch with the smooth skin and delicate features must be secretly enjoying the attention!

But somehow she felt that face was familiar...

A loud ding snapped her out of her jealous thoughts.

"Ten minutes are up. Contestants, you have 50 minutes left on the clock."

Tricia clenched her jaw. "We'll see how smug you are when I defeat you!"

Dirk had given her a secret recipe that was guaranteed to win her the competition. Who cared how beautiful Lemon was when her recipe was inferior to hers!

As long as she focused and replicated the recipe correctly, the trophy was hers!

The hour passed quickly and soon the host rang the bell, signifying the end of the round. Everyone stopped what they were doing and took a step back from their workstation.

Then, one by one, their creations were brought up to the judges. The wait was agonizing for many o the competitors.

After each perfume was brought to the judges, they scored it and allowed at least 10 minutes to pass before the next perfume was brought up.

The first two contestants scored 8.9 and 9 respectively, setting the bar high for the rest of the competition.

When it was Tricia's turn, she proudly took her bottle to the judges.

Finley smirked at her peacock-like behavior.

"Ha! Enjoy your moment. The higher you climb, the harder you'll fall."

Tricia introduced herself and then her perfume. "It's called First Glance, it's meant to invoke the feeling you got the first time you saw your beloved..."

The judges nodded as she explained and their smiles widened when they smelled the fragrance. "Miss Tricia is truly deserving of her title as heir to the Keith Group's perfume empire." "Indeed, she is beautiful, talented, and intelligent."

Tricia was happy to receive the praises from the judges but there was only one man she cared about.

However, the man merely put down the sample in his hand without a change in expression and looked away.

For him, any perfume smell the same, because he could smell anything, except that one.... Harry leaned forward, blocking the woman's view and she looked away in disappointment.

"Sir, what score would you like me to give-"

"Whatever."

Harry sighed and looked at the score written down by the person next to him. The old man was an important figure in the perfume world, copying his score would not be a problem. That was what they've been doing to cover up Bryan's disability.

It has served them well so far.

A few minutes later, Tricia's score was announced.

"Oh my god!" Somebody exclaimed, "That's the highest score so far!"

Tricia lifted her chin proudly as people started congratulating her.

Bryan suddenly felt a murderous gaze on him. He tilted his head and caught Finley's eyes.

Seems like she was roasting him, "How dare you give that woman such a high score?!"

Why? Jealous? Bryan chuckled.

Meanwhile, Tricia coquettishly glanced at her ideal man. Only to discover that he wasn't looking at her at all!

He was smiling at that b*tch!

By the time Finley stepped onto the stage, the judges were tired and had already crowned Tricia the winner in their minds.

But when Finley opened her mouth to greet them with her sweet voice and uncapped the perfume bottle, they immediately sat up in shock.

They looked up at the young woman with the sweet voice and were stunned by the confident aural she exuded.

Then she smiled and the cold face transformed into a dazzling beauty. She said her name and introduced her perfume.

"My perfume is called Infatuation, for the. The top notes are grapes, violet leaves, and strawberries; middle notes are rose, violets, and jasmine; and lastly, the base notes are orange cedarwood and vanilla." "Why did you choose this theme?"

Finley smiled at the judge who asked the question. "We meet many people in our lives. One day we may meet the one who will be by our side for the rest of our life. When that happens, I hope the love and infatuation we once felt, in the beginning, will continue to grow. Just as the scent I created will continue to bloom in your senses the longer you smell it." The judges nodded in agreement at Finley's explanation.

The old expert next to Bryan suddenly spoke up. "There's a note here I can't identify. What else did. you put in here?"

Finley chuckled, "You're very astute, Sir. I used a secret mixture of Chinese herbs. It can help people with smell disorders better appreciate my fragrance."

At first, Bryan had closed his eyes to enjoy the sweet fragrance wafting toward him. He felt the longing and happiness of infatuation Finley described. Then Finley opened that can of worms.

He shot her a sharp look.

The cheeky woman smiled innocently back at him.

Someone was asking for a beating...