Tiffany sighed and patted Natalie’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry. You are capable and talented.I’m sure you’ll get a chance to prove yourself in the future.”
Natalie’s smile vanished, and the excitement in her heart died in an instant.
She lowered her eyes to hide her disappointment.
“I understand.I promise to work harder in the future.”
Tiffany squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.
“I’m sure you’ll achieve something in this industry. It’s all my fault.I shouldn’t have told you about it until we finalized the decision.” Natalie gave a wry smile and left Tiffany’s office.
After taking deep breaths, she returned to the desk and slumped on the chair dejectedly.
Natalie had left, Tiffany instantly called the manager of the Perkins Group.
“What did you say?”
The man blurted out after hearing the news, his voice raised.
“You’re changing the chief designer for our project?”
“I do apologize,” Tiffany said calmly and tried to explain.
“This decision was made by our senior executives. They feel that Natalie’s skills are too mediocre and inadequate, and they don’t really think she’d be able to direct the whole venture properly.”
In truth, Tiffany was pretty annoyed herself.She knew just how talented Natalie was.
Despite being a newcomer, Natalie’s designs were always imaginative and unique.
Tiffany doubted that the newly-appointed chief designer could even come close to filling her shoes.
“Miss Fisher, we greatly appreciate Natalie Quinn, which was why we decided to cooperate with you in the first place.I kindly ask you to tell your executives that if she is replaced, then our company will terminate this project altogether.”
The manager’s tone was firm and full of resolve.
Tiffany found herself smiling at that.
“I understand.I will convey your sentiments right away.”
She was shaking her head as she hung up, marveling at Natalie’s incredible luck.She wasted no time and headed straight to Adolf’s office.
He looked pretty confused when she walked into the room.Why was Tiffany here again, and so soon? Hadn’t he made himself clear just now?
“Is there anything else?” Tiffany raised her chin and spoke with confidence.
“Yes, Mr.Pierce.I just got off the phone with the manager of the Perkins Group, and he wants me to inform you that they will be terminating the contract if we replace Miss Quinn for the project.”
Adolf was visibly dumbfounded.He hadn’t expected Perkins Group to hold Natalie in such high regard.He sighed and rubbed his temples, unsure of how to proceed.
“I see,” he muttered under his breath.
He hadn’t meant for things to go this far; he was simply doing Charis a favor.
“Let me speak with the other executives and see how we’re going to handle this.Don’t contact the Perkins Group just yet.” Adolf was walking out of his office the next second, down the corridor, and into an empty stairwell.He called Charis and repeated Tiffany’s words.
“What should we do now, Miss Turner?”
He didn’t want to offend anyone, especially someone from the higher-ups.
Charis was naturally pissed by this development.She silently cursed at the manager of the Perkins Group.
Why the hell would they insist on having Natalie lead the project? Nevertheless, she couldn’t just let it all go up in smoke.
At the end of the day, the interest of the entire company still came before her own.
“Forget it for now.Give them what they want and get Natalie back as chief designer.”
Adolf strode back to his office, where Tiffany was waiting.
He forced a tight smile and said, “We should honor our client’s request.Natalie will still be the chief designer for the project.”
Tiffany nodded and smiled, then left without a word.
Natalie was about to leave for the day when Tiffany called her to her office yet again.She had already been there several times in the past few hours, and she had no idea what to expect this time.
Tiffany beamed at her when she entered.
“You will be in charge of the project with Perkins Group,” she announced, sounding like she had just conquered a battle.
“Are you sure about this, Ms.Fisher?” Natalie asked cautiously.
She felt as though her emotions had been taken for a roller coaster ride throughout the day.
“Yes, the Perkins Group stipulated that you will be their chief designer.Otherwise, they’re canceling the cooperation. You are good at what you do, Natalie. You deserve this.”
Tiffany nodded at her in encouragement.
Natalie was still at a loss when she walked out of the room.
A lot had happened that she didn’t know what to feel anymore.
When she finally processed all that had transpired, the only thing that remained in her heart was joy.
Her first thought was to call Sebastian and share the delightful news with him, so she did just that.
“Sebastian, let’s have dinner at a restaurant tonight.So much happened to me today, I think I need a sumptuous meal to calm myself down.”
“What would you like to eat?” Sebastian had just finished a video conference.He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the scenic night view of the city.
In the horizon, he could see the thousands of lights that brought the city to life.
The window reflected his tall figure in suit.His hair was combed back neatly.He was looking down, gazing at the city with sharp eyes, as though he was its ruler.
“Honestly, I want to have fish right now, but chicken sounds great too.Oh, and some steak would be amazing! What should we do? I can’t decide…”
Natalie mumbled over the phone.
While she was speaking to him, she sounded like an adorable teenager.A gentle smile appeared on Sebastian’s lips as he stared at his watch and replied, “I’m getting off work in a half hour.Wait for me, okay?”
“Yup! I’ll be waiting for you.”
After the phone call, he returned to his seat, but he was no longer in the mood to work.He couldn’t keep his eyes off his cellphone.
This afternoon, Sebastian heard about the news that Natalie had gotten replaced.
He had planned to do something about it, but he soon learned that the Perkins Group insisted on having her lead the project.He was really happy for her.
When the thought crossed his mind, he smiled again.
“That’s the woman I love.She’s such a talented designer.She doesn’t even need my help with her career” he thought.
But Sebastian resolved that he had to investigate why exactly Natalie almost got replaced.He shot a cold glance at his assistant and said, “Tell Adolf Pierce to my office.Now.”
Not long after, Adolf arrived and stood before Sebastian.He was trembling and sweat was running down his back.
“Who told you to replace Natalie Quinn this afternoon?”
“Normally, a senior executive like Adolf should be focusing on more important work. Why on earth would he notice Natalie?’ Sebastian wondered.
Adolf wiped the beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, unable to look Sebastian in the eye.He couldn’t dare tell him that Charis was the one who asked him to do so.
And because he didn’t want to offend Charis and the Turner family, he had to take the blame himself.
“I’m so sorry, Mr.Larson.I just happened to find out that a mid-level designer was set to lead an important project, and I didn’t think it was a good idea.That’s why I interfered.I was merely looking after the company’s best interests. If news of this broke out, the other employees would feel it’s unfair.Not only will this matter hurt Natalie Quinn, but it will also damage the company as a whole.”
