Chapter 208 Illegal
The two of them lay in bed until it was almost noon.
Christina had to attend a cocktail party held by designers after the meal, so she went upstairs to get changed after telling Nathaniel about it.
The cocktail party was held on the highest floor of a high–end hotel in Jadeborough.
Right as Christina stepped into the area, she noticed many familiar faces. Anna, who was in a champagne- colored dress, walked over to Christina.
She held Christina’s hand and said with a smile, “Quite many designers have come today. Let me introduce you to Ms. Timeton.”
Heidi Timeton was the daughter of the Timeton family, and she had recently taken over her father’s clothing company.
Timeton Clothing was rather well–known in the industry. The company had managed to steady its businesses despite the turmoils in the industry, and that was a sign of its capability.
However, Christina did not think too well about it.
Still, Anna seemed enthusiastic about the introduction, so Christina did not stop her.
“This is Christina Steele. She’s the one behind the trending clothing and dresses of Radiant Corporation,” Anna proudly introduced.
A few people began studying Christina. She’s young, but the young ones are truly impressive nowadays.
Christina responded with a small smile before her attention was attracted by Heidi. Heidi was wearing a customized fur coat that was worth millions,
Christina immediately deduced that Heidi had to be someone of significance.
After a brief small talk, Christina left.
Those people were managers in the company, and they did not click that well with the designers.
Anna hooked her arm around Christina’s and chuckled. “Christina, Ms. Timeton, seems nice, doesn’t she? To be honest, she was thinking of asking you to join her company, and she’s offering a salary several times more than what Radiant Corporation offers you now.”
Christina had already deduced that those people she had talked to a while ago were no ordinary people. She asked Anna, “When did you become a headhunter instead?”
Anna let out a sheepish chuckle. “Ms. Timeton told me that she’s going to open a studio for me as long as I can complete the tasks she a*signs me every month. She won’t even forbid me from taking personal projects.
For an entrepreneur, the opportunity of getting paid while obtaining a studio without any costs was something one should not let slip by.
However, instead of getting tempted, Christina reminded, “You’ve been working in this industry longer than me. You should have heard of the Timetons‘ business style. Ms. Timeton is a businesswoman, and craftiness is her second nature. How could she possibly give you such good terms without asking for
anything in return? Moreover, the Timetons are always stealing other people’s designs and pushing the blame on their designers if anything goes wrong. A handful of their designers have already been imprisoned because of this. I’d say it’s best to stay away from someone like her.”
That was why the Timeton family had been able to keep their company afloat even after the storm.
Their favorite move was to steal other companies‘ best–selling designs, change the branding and make slight edits before selling those designs as theirs.
Many smaller companies that were not as influential as they ended up getting kicked out of the fashion industry because of this.
As a designer, Christina looked down on sly people like them the most.
Anna’s expression darkened a little. “That’s in the past now. Ms. Timeton is an understanding woman, and she definitely won’t do something like this. Moreover, she just said that she appreciated original designs most than the others.”
Knowing that she could not persuade Anna otherwise, Christina muttered, “Well, just mull over this yourself. I won’t be joining her company.”
After a while of chatting, Christina left. To each their own.
It was up to Anna to choose whether to change a company, and all Christina could do as her friend was to give her a piece of advice.
While Christina was chatting with a designer she had just met, she heard someone crying out, “You’re the mysterious Ms. Ada?”
The name Ada caught Christina’s attention. Did someone just figure out my identity?
Right as she turned around in confusion, she spotted a few designers huddling around a woman in a black dress, talking to her with admiration bright in their eyes.
Christina curiously walked over to them. The closer she walked to them, the clearer she heard their conversation.
“Ms. Ada, I really like your work!”
“May we please have your autograph?”
“Will you be coming up with a new design? I’m waiting to worship your latest design!”
The woman smiled shyly. “I’m almost done. You’ll be able to buy it in Radiant Corporation’s flagship store when it’s released.”
Christina took a few steps closer and finally recognized who the self–proclaimed Ada was.
It was Shelley.
Shelley was showing off Christina’s design drafts on a tablet.
Christina could not believe that someone would have the guts to show off what they had stolen, and it was her first time encountering someone that shameless.
“You’re Ada?” she questioned.
Shelley froze. It was her habit to make Ada’s works as her tablet and phone wallpapers. She had never thought one of the designers would recognize Ada’s works and ask for her autograph and mistake her for
Ada.
< ū
Shelley had momentarily been dazed by the compliment. It had been a long time since she studied design, and she had been working hard to gain someone’s recognition.
In her prideful daze, she had decided to not correct the designer’s mistake and accept the compliment.
Then, when she saw Christina, she stiffened in guilt.
“I’m sorry, but I have something to attend to, so let’s talk another time.” With that, she rushed off.
Christina ran after her.
The two of them tugged each other and struggled for a while before entering the stairwell. When their gazes met, the air turned awkward.
“Why did you lie to them? You know you’re not Ada,” Christina said.
Flying into a rage out of humiliation, Shelley said, “Who told you I’m not Ada? Are you Ada? Why don’t you get Ada to confront me instead?”
Shelley had memorized Ada’s design style, and she was capable of replicating her style in design drawings.
After a moment of hesitation, Christina decided to come clean to Shelley about her identity. However, just as she was about to speak, a janitor came in and interrupted their conversation.
With a scoff, Shelley lifted the ends of her dress and left.
Christina wanted to call out to Shelley, but the latter was already gone.
Christina did not mind someone impersonating her. She just did not wish to see Shelley, who was only at the start of her career, walk down the wrong path.
Stealing another designer’s identity was illegal.
Those who relished in others‘ achievements would only end up losing their own identity.
Christina thought that Shelley would stop the chaos after that night, but something else happened the next day.
Early in the morning, Gina came into Christina’s office after her meeting.
“You need to pause your designs for the current season. The higher–ups said that they were going to let Shelley take over the season’s designs. From now on, she’s no longer your a*sistant.”
Christina was taken aback, but she soon asked, “What kind of relationship does Shelley have with Mr. Sacchetti?”
She had to be someone important to be able to skip the probation period in less than three months to become the designer of the latest season.
