Chapter 762
As Natalie’s gaze swept over her old designs, her heart filled up with emotion.
She had realized her dreams of becoming an independent designer as well as having her own private workshop at last.
Her journey had been a tough and testing one.
Natalie was moved when she saw that Lexi also valued her old designs and remembered each one of them with great care.
“This must be the design that helped you win that competition, right? And this one, isn’t it from the Milan Fashion Week collection? Whoa! And is this the original design of that old lady’s dress? It’s stunning!”
Natalie was astonished by how much her assistant understood her work.
After all, Brandon had always been the only person who could remember those details apart from Natalie herself.
“How do you know all this?”
With a proud smile, Lexi replied, “As I’ve said before, I’m your fan, and I know a lot about your work!”
After putting everything in its place, Lexi rubbed her chin and surveyed the workshop, frowning slightly.
“This place still feels a bit empty. How about we buy some decor? Or maybe fill the empty space with fresh flowers. What do you think, boss?”
Natalie pondered for a moment and shook her head.
“I like it this way. If our business flourishes, I will be able to place more desks here and hire more design assistants to help me out.”
“Then let’s just brighten it up with a few fresh flowers! I can order them right away!”
Lexi said with excitement as she took out her phone.
Natalie quickly stopped her from placing the order.
“Hold on a second, let’s not buy anything right now,” she said.
“Why not? It’s not like the flowers would take up a lot of space,”
Lexi said, looking puzzled.
Natalie shook her finger and said in a serious tone, “Do you know what the first rule for being my assistant is?”
Lexi’s eyes widened with curiosity as she asked, “What is it?”
Natalie replied with a mischievous grin, “It is to live frugally and make every penny count! After all, in eight months, Brandon will bring representatives of the Larson Group to check our studio’s finance. And if we can’t make our ends meet by then, I will have to declare bankruptcy.”
Upon hearing that, Lexi scratched her head and said, “Alright, then. I’ll do as you say, boss.”
Natalie heaved a sigh of relief.
She was already on a tight budget, and she couldn’t afford to spend money on trivial things.
She had to make smart choices about where to invest her money.
After making sure everything was in order, Natalie said, “You can go and rest now. I still have things to take care of.”
She was about to start designing for Carly.
It was her first order ever since the studio opened, and she was motivated to give it her best.
As soon as Lexi left, Natalie was about to completely immerse herself in the design work when she suddenly heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door.
Lexi rushed into the room, carrying a huge bouquet of fresh flowers and yelling with excitement, “Boss, someone has sent you flowers!”
Natalie raised her eyebrows in surprise and asked, “Is it from Brandon?”
“It doesn’t seem to be,”
Lexi answered, shaking her head as she handed over the flowers to Natalie.
Natalie took the flowers and when she saw the postcard inside, her eyes widened in surprise.
She never imagined that Clyde would be the one to send her flowers. “Did Mr. Larson send these?”
Lexi leaned forward to take a closer look at the name on the postcard and exclaimed, “Clyde? Who is that?”
Natalie’s brows furrowed as she explained concisely, “An artist.”
Lexi nodded, but she was still confused.
All of a sudden, there was a commotion outside the studio.
“What’s going on outside? Why is it so noisy?”
Natalie asked with a frown.
Actually, her studio was located in a quiet area, so there shouldn’t be many people outside at that time.
Worried, Natalie and Lexi hurried out to find out what was going on.
They saw a group of reporters carrying their cameras around the studio while the man in front spoke to them.
The handsome man in front was none other than Clyde, the artist who had just sent flowers to Natalie.
When Clyde saw Natalie walking out of the studio with the bouquet he sent her, he grinned.
Perplexed, Natalie glanced at the reporters, turned to Clyde, and asked, “Mr. Lambert, what are you doing here?”
Clyde raised his eyebrows with a proud smile and said, “These are my friends from the industry. I heard that you were opening your studio today, and I specially invited them over to show you some support!”
While speaking, Clyde noticed that Natalie seemed to be displeased with his gesture, so he added, “Don’t worry. They’re only here to pay a visit. They won’t report anything.”
Natalie glanced at the reporters holding the cameras and immediately understood that even though Clyde mentioned that they were only visiting the studio, it was far from the truth.
They were actually there to publicize it for her.
However, she couldn’t accept the way in which they publicized her studio.
“Mr. Lambert. I’m a designer, not an influencer. And I don’t need the media to publicize my work. Mr. Wesley gained popularity because of his talent. His works are famous because of his skill and hard work. I hope to follow his example and succeed on my own.”
Clyde felt a little disappointed when his kindness was bluntly refused by Natalie.
“Mrs. Larson, I am only doing this for your good. Times have changed. And even though you’re an outstanding designer, it would be difficult for you to shine through without any help from the media.” The reporters gathered around with fawning smiles.
“It is true, Mrs. Larson. Everyone’s fame depends on our publicity. And don’t worry, we will make it seem very natural.”
Hearing that, Natalie was a little annoyed.
Did they not understand her words? She had already made it clear to them that she did not need their publicity, so why were they still there? Noticing that she did not say anything, the reporters turned to the studio and began commenting on it.
“This studio is beautifully decorated, and it seems like the rent isn’t cheap at all! It can be used as a great marketing idea.”
“We can make the studio viral on the Internet! A lot of people would come to visit!”
“Besides, the designer, Mrs. Larson has good looks. She will definitely become famous on the Internet soon enough.”
Natalie became furious when the reporters kept talking about promoting her studio and making it go viral on the Internet.
Irritated, Natalie snapped, “I don’t want it!”
She shoved the bouquet into Clyde’s hand.
“Mr. Lambert, please take your reporter friends and leave.”
Caught off guard, Clyde held the bouquet, embarrassed and confused.
“Mrs. Larson, we just came here to visit… Why are you so angry?”
Natalie ignored him completely and did not even look at him.
Just when she was about to turn around and walk back to the studio, she noticed a familiar figure from the corner of her eye.
“Well… What happened here?”
Holding her grandmother’s arm, Carly walked over.
