Natalie, who overheard Dolores’ remarks, felt a surge of anger. How dare she accuse Natalie of such things right in front of everyone? Did Dolores really think Natalie was an easy target, unable to defend herself? Unable to contain her frustration any longer, Natalie responded coldly, “You’re talking nonsense.” It finally dawned on Natalie that Dolores was truly two-faced.
Dolores wasn’t content with just tarnishing Natalie’s image in front of Draco; he also wanted to snatch away the opportunity for Tasha to work at W Marks. Draco, known for his integrity, frowned and firmly declined Dolores’ suggestion. “I won’t let personal connections influence my decision.”
Draco then turned to Natalie and asked, “Do you know this candidate, Tasha?” Natalie hesitated for a moment, wanting to explain further, but Draco interrupted calmly, “Yes, we know each other.” Natalie lowered her head, pursed her l*ps, and remained silent. She felt hurt by Dolores’ accusations. It wasn’t as Dolores had portrayed it.
Meanwhile, Dolores smirked, satisfied with his plan’s success. “Mr. Wesley, please take a look at this briefcase. This is the most outstanding candidate we’ve seen today,” Dolores enthusiastically handed over Tasha’s resume and portfolio to Draco. “Her designs are fresh and align perfectly with our studio’s aesthetics.”
Draco nodded and began reviewing the materials. After fl*pping through a few pages, he raised his hand and said simply, “Give me Tasha’s resume.” Dolores’ smile faded, but he had no choice but to hand over Tasha’s resume to Draco.
Draco silently compared Tasha’s work to that of Dolores’ friend and soon came to a conclusion. “I’m imp**ssed with Tasha’s work.” Natalie looked at Draco in disbelief, but he remained as composed as ever, as if discussing the weather.
Dolores was momentarily speechless, but he refused to give up. “How can Tasha, who is clearly inexperienced, be qualified to join our studio? Have you bewitched Natalie into favoring her so quickly?” Dolores underestimated Natalie, who had only recently started working there but already had a strong influence on her boss.
Draco gently placed the resume down and calmly stated, “I don’t care if the interviewees have connections within my studio or not. Tasha is undeniably the best candidate based on her work alone.” His calm gaze turned unusually sharp as he directed it towards Dolores. “But you, Dolores, what’s happened to you? Despite Natalie having less experience than you, can you honestly say that Tasha’s work isn’t superior to the other applicant’s? And how can you claim the other work is innovative when it’s utterly useless? It seems you’ve forgotten everything you’ve learned at W Marks over the years. Do you truly believe this immature design qualifies for our studio? Since when have our standards become so low?”
As Draco scolded Dolores relentlessly, his face flushed with anger and humiliation. Yet, Dolores refused to accept defeat. Nervously fidgeting with his thumbs, he blurted out, “Tasha is pregnant. It won’t be convenient for her to work here. Moreover, she’ll likely request maternity leave soon, which will undoubtedly burden us. That’s why I decided not to hire her after careful consideration.”
Draco spoke calmly, “Well, I’ve decided to hire Tasha. Dalores, you don’t have to worry about those things.” He smiled and shrugged nonchalantly, saying, “Okay, it’s up to you.” Then he lowered his head and focused on organizing the papers on the table, avoiding eye contact and refraining from talking to anyone.
Tasha looked excitedly at Natalie, who gave her a thumbs-up. She walked over to Draco to exp**ss her gratitude. “Thank you for choosing me, Mr. Wesley. I promise to work hard in the future and not let you down, even with my due date and unavoidable maternity leave. I’ll do everything possible not to delay your work during this period.” Draco nodded calmly.
To be honest, Draco had met Tasha once before. A few years ago, he had given a speech at Tasha’s school, and Natalie had the opportunity to see some of the students’ designs. Even back then, she felt that Tasha’s works were remarkable. Draco had hoped that Tasha would dive right into the design industry, but unfortunately, Tasha got married right after graduating and gave up her career for the sake of her family. Now that she was trying to get back into the world of design, Draco believed he was making the right decision. He just hoped that Tasha would persevere in the future, starting from scratch now.
“Natalie, why don’t you give Tasha a tour of the studio first?” Draco instructed Natalie. Natalie nodded, relieved that Draco didn’t believe Dalores’ lies. “This is where we work. The tea room is on the left. If you ever get hungry, you can always grab some snacks there.” Natalie, in high spirits, led Tasha around the studio.
After the tour, Tasha was eager to get started. The walls of the design department were adorned with the works of W Marks Studio over the years, providing great inspiration. From a distance, Dalores watched Natalie and Tasha laughing happily, which fueled her anger. However, since Draco had chosen Tasha, she had no choice but to accept reality.
After the tour, Natalie took Tasha to meet Elizabeth. Elizabeth was engrossed in a design draft when she felt someone patting her shoulder. Seeing that it was Natalie, she put down her pencil and stood up. “Let me introduce Tasha, our latest designer!” Elizabeth’s attention was immediately drawn to Tasha’s rounded belly, marveling at it. “You’re going to be a mother. I still can’t believe you want to work! That’s incredible! I admire you from the bottom of my heart.” Tasha looked down, feeling embarrassed, and quietly apologized, saying, “Please bear with me if I cause any problems.” Elizabeth reassured her, “Oh, don’t worry about it. We’re a team. If you have any questions, just ask me.” She extended her hand to Tasha, smiling warmly. “Welcome to W Marks.”
Relieved, Tasha shook hands with Elizabeth, wearing a smile. She decided to confide in Elizabeth. “Actually, I owe a lot to Natalie. If she hadn’t stood up for me, things wouldn’t have gone so well… I was about to give up at the first sign of trouble.” Elizabeth tilted her head in curiosity. “What do you mean? Did someone make things difficult for you?” Then it dawned on her. Arching an eyebrow at Natalie, she continued, “Let me guess. It was Dalores, wasn’t it? Has she done something like this before?”
Elizabeth’s exp**ssion turned grim as she spoke about Dalores’ hiring practices at w Marks. “Ever since Dalores joined, he’s been bringing in his acquaintances as interns here. Draco never seems to care about it; he only focuses on their work. Thankfully, the previous hires by Dalores weren’t too bad. But it seems like this time, I made a mistake.”
Natalie took a deep breath and sighed, finally understanding why Elizabeth had been distant with Dalores. “Well, at least now I understand why you were so cold towards her,” Natalie remarked.
Elizabeth shrugged. “I didn’t mean to say anything bad about it since it’s all in the past. But now it seems like Dalores is revealing her true colors on her own.”
Just as Natalie was about to show Tasha around the office, they heard a commotion outside the design department. Tasha asked, “What’s going on?”
“It sounds like there’s a fight happening outside,” Natalie replied. “I’ll go out and check.” Confused, Natalie decided to investigate the source of the disturbance.
As she glanced down the corridor, Natalie saw Dalores and her friend engaged in a heated argument. “Shh! The acoustics here are terrible. Everyone inside will hear you. Do you want me to lose my job?” Dalores tried to calm her friend down, clearly annoyed.
“Are you messing with me, Dalores? I’ve given you so much, and what do I get in return? Nothing! You used that expensive bag I bought you and did nothing for me!” the restless girl screamed.
In a fit of rage, the girl snatched Dalores’ bag and threw it forcefully to the ground. “I gave you this bag. Now I want it back!” she yelled.
