“Why does he like her so much? Humph!” She snorted.
She was so heartbroken that the urge to make Natalie disappear became stronger than ever before.
“Gosh! He has only known Natalie for a few months, but she’s already a very important person to him.Is he blind? What does he see in her? I really can’t understand why he’s head over heels in love with that Plain Jane.”
The more Charis thought about Brandon’s strong love for Natalie, the more worried she became.She feared that he might even decide to announced to the public one day that Natalie was Brandon Larson’s wife.
Not Sebastian, Brandon.
Hence, she decided to get rid of her before it was too late.
As much as she wanted to finish Natalie off immediately, she couldn’t do it herself.
Kent had failed her previously.She even colluded with Lauren, but the latter also failed.Her previous attempts were a little easier.
But now that Laney was protecting Natalie, it would be more diffcult to get to her.
Charis was dead sure that the future held doom for her if she didn’t eliminate Natalie soon.Time wasn’t on her side. She tapped her foot on the floor and racked her brain.
After a while, she abruptly stood up from the chair with a sinister smile on her face.
“Oh, you were so stupid, Charis! How could you have forgotten the Klein family? Those people are the ones that can help you now.You must contact them,” she murmured to herself.
After falling in love with Sebastian in high school, Charis paid utmost attention to the Klein family.She knew that everyone in that family wasn’t to be messed with.
More so, she was aware that Elissa, the real Mrs.Klein, and his two half-brothers hated him so much and they would be more than willing to grab any chance to hurt him.
The Klein Group and the Larson Group were currently rivals in the business industry.
Now that Natalie worked for the Larson Group, she saw it as a great opportunity to make the Kleins hate her.
She planned to play her cards right, so this wouldn’t cause any problems for the company.
Ritchie seemed to be the best potential ally out of all of them.
Hence, she decided to use him.It had been ages since Charis last saw Ritchie.
However, she remembered that in high school, he looked nothing like Sebastian even though they had the same father.
Sebastian was way more handsome than him.
Ritchie had been two grades higher than Charis and Sebastian when they got into high school.
He didn’t graduate from high school with honors, so he wasn’t granted admission to any top university, But his family bribed the school admission officer at one of the universities and eventually got him in.
Right from childhood, Ritchie had been a school bully and he committed a lot of offenses.
However, his family always helped him clean up his mess without bringing him to order.He had slightly grown out of his troublesome behavior, but it was a known fact that he hadn’t changed much.
And this was the first reason why Charis thought he was the best person to collude with., The Kleins weren’t people who trusted outsiders easily.
She would have to employ a good trick to get any of them on her side.
But she was so blinded by her wicked ambition to get rid of Natalie that she didn’t care anything else.
‘Ritchie will crush that bitch like a fly,” Charis thought confidently.
Another reason why Ritchie was the perfect candidate was that he wasn’t as emphatic and careful as Kent People like Natalie were nothing in his eyes.
After completing the joint project with the Perkins Group, Natalie finally ended her hectic schedule that had been going on for the past two weeks.
The designers gathered early one morning to discuss their prospective portfolios for this season’s autumn and winter series.
Without warning, Tiffany pushed through the glass door and strode in, her high heels clacking against the tiled floor.
“All right, everyone,” she said, clapping her hands to get their full attention.
“We are going to launch a high-end series of early spring styles.Brace yourselves because we are going to the Spring Fashion Week in Seacisco! Now, get moving and squeeze your creative juices! I want to see your designs piled up on my desk by the end of the week.”
A wave of excitement came over everyone, and they burst into action.
The Fashion Weeks in Seacisco were decidedly a big deal in the industry.
Designers needed to adhere to very strict qualifications for a chance to showcase their talents.
On top of that, the slots were limited, so they had to make sure that their portfolios stood out even during the screening procedure.
“None of our designs got in last year,” a colleague remarked.
“But we will definitely qualify this time and get international brands to sign with us!”
“The Seacisco Fashion Week is no joke,” Gerda said.
“Even if we only get through to the first runway walk, that would be considered a great honor.Unfortunately, beginners and mid- level designers aren’t allowed to participate in the event.”
She sighed before nudging Natalie’s shoulder.
“I don’t know about the others, but I really think you stand a chance to get into the preliminary screening. You’re a lot more talented than Natalie shook her head sheepishly.
“Thank you, but I suppose there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Tiffany came over at that moment and gave Natalie a big smile.
“That’s not exactly true. You’re perfectly qualified to undergo the screening process.The superiors think so highly of you that they decided to make an exception.”
“Really?” Natalie exclaimed.
“Thank you, Ms.Fisher! I promise, I won’t let you down.”
She glanced at Gerda, who was also grinning with joy.
The two women laughed together and let out squeals of excitement.
Tiffany turned on her heel, and left the room with a spring in her step.
“Oh, my God!” Gerda gushed.
“You are so going to defeat all the other designers! I’m putting my money on it!”
The next few days saw the company’s senior designers working overtime to perfect their final output.
Five days later, it was game time.
The panel in charge of the preliminary selection consisted of the big shots in Larson Group’s Design Department.
They were all experts in the field, whose designs had been featured in various Fashion Weeks around the world.
“Their current designs are much better than the ones submitted in the last few years. These drafts are very unique; it’s quite difficult picking out a handful from this brilliant body of work.”
This came from the chief editor of a fashion magazine.She leafed through the rest of the drafts until she came upon a portfolio. Her eyes immediately lit up.
“This girl’s work is fantastic! I must say, I’m very impressed.” Charis was also part of the panel.
The Turner family had started their business in the entertainment world, so she had a distinctly uncommon approach when it came to design. She looked over the praised draft and saw the name on the bottom of the page —Natalie Quinn.
“It’s excellent,” Charis finally exclaimed after observing Natalie’s drawing.
“The color combinations seem perfect, and every layer is designed to perfection. I can tell the designer has a great sense of fashion. This design is outstanding — clear winner,” Charis voted for Natalie’s draft.
Since Charis had praised the design, the others looked at the draft with great-interest and curiosity.
“What do you think?”
Charis looked up and glanced around haughtily.She held the highest status on the panel, so her opinion naturally influenced the other people’s decisions.
“It’s indeed good.”
“Ms. Turner always has good taste. This design is indeed professional and impressive,” the other assessors chimed in.
“Well, it’s really good.” Tiffany nodded in appreciation.
Ultimately, Natalie’s design draft was chosen.
Tiffany didn’t have a problem with the decision because Natalie’s design was indeed outstanding.
All the senior designers participating in the competition are good, but Natalie was a natural talent.Her design was superior to theirs.
The news about Natalie’s outstanding performance in the preliminary selection soon spread among the design department.
“Everyone spoke highly of you in the primary election.And one of the senior executives was constantly praising you,” Tiffany said, shrugging nonchalantly.
Natalie was both happy and surprised.She didn’t expect to impress the senior designers or earn their praise.She had only intended to participate in the competition and give her best shot.
“Ms.Fisher, I have seen the designs of some senior designers. They are more professional than mine.
“Oh, come on.Stop belittling yourself, Natalie. Your design was excellent.I think those senior executives prefer your style.After all, everyone has different tastes and preferences.As you said, some of their designs were more professional and wholesome.But they all seem to lack something.”
Noticing the unease on Natalie’s face, Tiffany patted her shoulder reassuringly and returned to her office.
Meanwhile, Natalie heard three senior designers complaining about her getting selected, “What’s going on? Quinn was not qualified to participate in the competition in the first place, but she not only managed to take part in it but also won the goddamn competition,” one of the senior designers snorted with disdain.
“That’s right.What the hell? I thought she just made up the numbers, so I didn’t take her seriously.It looks like they had made up their minds to select her even before looking at our drafts,” another designer grunted with disdain.
“Fucking hierarchy!”.
“You know what? I heard that she has an affair with a top-level senior executive of our company. That’s why she is getting special treatment,” the third designer added.
“Well, I’m aware of that.I heard it had caused quite a scene before.Someone was fired because of her. Well, let’s not discuss it further.She is right here. We’ve got to be careful.Otherwise, she will complain about us as well, and we’ll end up losing our jobs.After all, we are decent people. We can’t compete with that bitch who has her way with everything by playing dirty tricks.”
The first designer elbowed the other designers, and the two winked in return.
Natalie frowned.She had already guessed some people in the design department would be unhappy with the decision and bitch about her.
Never had she thought things would escalate this soon.