Chapter 514
Kathie was shocked too. It had never occurred to her that Natalie might be the daughter of the White family, let alone the wife of Brandon!
Brandon Larson was a legend!
Kathie’s instinct had been to dismiss Natalie as just another poor designer; neither from a noble family, nor worthy of a noble man. As such, she hadn’t thought to have Natalie investigated.
“Never mind,” said Kathie. “It’s all over now. Natalie won’t ever know it was us. I guess she entered the fashion world just for fun. She’s the daughter of a rich family and the wife of a rich man, so I doubt she’ll be looking into it too much or even suspecting a setup.” Kathie reasoned away her fear.
Thanks to Kathie’s explanation, the female model was no longer panicking. They continued to watch the art exhibition. All of a sudden, a man walked purposefully towards them, followed by a dozen b*odyguards.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” the man said. “You are no longer welcome at this exhibition. Please leave.” The man then instructed the nearest b*odyguard to escort Kathie and the female model out of the building.
Kathie immediately took offense. Her face flushed a violent crimson and she began arguing with the man. “What are you doing?!” she screeched. “We have tickets!” “Miss Jimenez,” the man replied calmly, “you and your friend have been blacklisted. The two of you are not allowed to attend any more shows or exhibitions.”
Kathie’s eyes widened in shock.
She glanced at the female model standing next to her, and they both asked the same question at the same time. “Why? We didn’t do anything!”
The man in charge smiled patiently. “You know what you did,” he said. “We’ve just received an order to have you escorted out. Oh, and a final piece of advice: do not think that bad deeds go unpunished. The mills of God grind slowly, but surely.”
At that, the b*odyguards ruthlessly ushered Kathie and the female model out of the venue.
Being chased out of the exhibition left Kathie feeling humiliated. She had almost been pushed to the ground. Looking back at the door closing behind her, Kathie caught sight of Natalie waving goodbye from inside. A flash of anger compelled Kathie to rush back in, but the door closed too quickly.
“sh*t!” she spat. “It’s Natalie.” Kathie banged on the door, releasing some of her shock and anger. “It appears as though Brandon was already aware of the situation,” she said finally.
The short-haired female model stood next to her, gnashing her teeth angrily. “What are we supposed to do now?” she cried. “We’ve both been blacklisted!”
The door closed, and Natalie looked away. She felt much better.
“These people only dare to provoke you because you’ve always kept a low-profile,” said Brandon. He looked at her calmly.
Natalie continued to appreciate the paintings. “I am here for work, and I have to keep a low profile,” she replied. “If I brag about being Mrs. Larson or Miss White all the time, the public won’t value me or my work probably.”
“I don’t know what to do with you,” said Brandon, rattled. “Fortunately, your father and mother are still travelling abroad,” he added. “They’d be furious if they knew you were in danger.” Brandon felt helpless.
After some careful consideration, however, he cheered up. Girls like Natalie were ambitious, and Brandon liked that a lot. It was something he and Natalie had in common. After the art exhibition they packed their luggage, intending to leave Northcliffe. Brandon couldn’t delay; he still had work to do in Barnes.
Before they boarded the plane, Natalie heard someone calling her name.
Zuri ran over, panting slightly. “You two left in such a hurry,” she said. “I really thought I wouldn’t be able to catch you in time.”
She handed Natalie a large bag of delicately packaged gifts, saying, “Here’s a little something for you. They’re confections and some interesting handmade trinkets from one of the handicrafts exhibition. “I
thought that, since you’re probably tired of being disturbed by annoying people, you wouldn’t be in the mood for touring the city.”
Natalie took the heavy bag. She was surprised and excited. “Why did you come here, specially?” she asked Zuri.
“I’m here mainly on behalf of Iridescent Show,” Zuri replied. ‘We’re really sorry for the trouble we caused you this time.” Zuri finished speaking and was about to bow, but Natalie stopped her.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said graciously. “I didn’t get hurt. If we meet again in the future, please still treat me as a designer.” Natalie knew that Zuri was acting this way mostly due to her identity as Mrs. Larson.
Zuri shot Brandon a secret glance and nodded, smiling. 1 “Well, I’ve apologized now, so I won’t take up any more of your time,” she said. Zuri patted Natalie’s shoulder and gave her a hug. She liked Natalie a lot. Rarely did she see such a young, talented and knowledgeable designer.
Natalie waited until they were on the plane before opening her gift bag.
Zuri had indeed prepared these gifts carefully. Each kind of confections was exquisite and uniquely flavored.
“Are you hungry?” Brandon asked. He watched as Natalie looked through Zuri’s gifts.
Natalie placed the gifts back in the bag. “I am a little hungry,” she replied, smiling. “I’ll ask the stewardess for some snacks. I want to take these sweets back to Laney. She loves beautiful treats.”
“You’re always thinking of others,” said Brandon. He smiled, stoking Natalie’s hair. Grabbing his laptop, Brandon stood up. “I have an unscheduled meeting coming up,” he explained. “I’ll go take it in a separate cubicle. If you’re tired, you should rest.” He left, closing the curtain behind him.
Natalie found herself yawning immediately. With no one to chat to, she began feeling sleepy. She lay down on the seat and drifted off to sleep.
The next thing Natalie knew, she was being awoken by the smell of food. She couldn’t tell how long she’d been asleep.
Looking around, her eyes landed on Derek.
“Why are you also on the plane?” Natalie asked. Her eyes widened in surprise. She remembered that, due to them being in a hurry, Brandon hadn’t booked a private plane. He had only managed to ask his assistant to buy two business class tickets instead.
“This isn’t your plane,” Derek replied. “Why can’t I be on it?” Derek looked relaxed. He took a bite out of the slice of pizza he was holding and flipped through the pages of a magazine. Seeing Natalie gulp, he smiled and asked, “Do you want a slice of pizza? I got three times the usual amount of cheese.”
Natalie stared at the pizza and swallowed.
“No, thank you,” she replied, quickly suppressing her desire and regaining her composure. “Are you going to Barnes for a fashion show?” she asked.
Were there any upcoming shows, though? Natalie was a designer, so why didn’t she know?
Derek put the pizza back into the box and took out some tissues to wipe his fingers. “My home is in Barnes,” he explained. “I’m going to stay at home and develop my career. I’ll probably cooperate with W Marks Studio soon. I told my manager to negotiate with the studio, and the cooperation project is being finalized.”
Handing Natalie his business card, he added, “I admire Draco very much. My manager also agrees that the garment I wore at Iridescent Show worked well on me. I hope I can cooperate with W Marks again in the future.” Looking at Derek’s business card, Natalie hesitated. She raised her hand towards it slightly but in the end didn’t take it.
Derek remained calm. He stood up and walked over to Natalie, offering her the card again. “Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “I want you to give this to Draco for me. After I return to Barnes, I’ll be dealing with my family’s affairs first. ռօʋɛʟօʐ.ƈօʍ. I might not be able to visit W Marks anytime soon.” Derek spoke in a businesslike manner. It would have been inappropriate for Natalie to refuse his card. She ran her tongue over her dry lips. Just as she was about to take Derek’s business card, it was plucked away by someone else.
Natalie looked up and saw Brandon.
