“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for Larson Group and the Klein Group to compete for first place!”
With this announcement, the judges began to look at the design drafts carefully. They occasionally glanced at each other and joked about some designs.
The Klein Group and the Larson Group always went head-to-head every year. Their designs were often so excellent. But the designs of the Klein Group were always a little better than that of their rival.
It wasn’t surprising because they had been in the business for longer and had a good reputation in the industry.
“This design is concise and at the same time, innovative. The designer must have put in a lot of work.”
As the judges looked at the Klein Group’s design, they praised confidently, “It seems the Klein Group will be selected for the opening show again.”
The judges were about to make their final decision. But they were interrupted by a senior judge at the table. His eyes suddenly lit up as he stared at the design drafts sent by Larson Group.
A bright smile also appeared on his face. “Wait, I find this design from the Larson Group very interesting.”
‘What is he talking about?” the other judges thought and fixed their eyes on Natalie’s work again. Their opinion at first glance was that the design was a little tacky and naive. They didn’t think it was fashion show material at all. But when they looked at it more carefully, their opinions changed. They saw that the design had many hidden meanings and it evoked thoughts.
This surprised all of them. It became a masterpiece in their eyes. After a heated deliberation between the judges, the chief judge took the microphone and announced.
“For the first time in so many years, we had to take a look at the designs carefully. It was a stiff competition between both designs. We have decided that the Klein Silk fabric’s design can only be showcased during the second show. While the Larson Group’s design will headline the first show!”
This announcement caused quite a stir in the Larson Group. Such a thing had never happened in the years of the competition.
This victory shut up all of Natalie’s haters. It proved that she was indeed excellent at her job. Soon, the rumors drastically reduced Natalie’s colleagues no longer looked down on her or gave her the cold shoulder Some of them even sucked up to her.
“The design department of the Larson Group defeated the archenemy for the first time in many years! We are so proud! Good job, Quinn!”
Tiffany gave Natalie a hug. The victory filled her with so much vigor and vitality. She also became more confident. Natalie chuckled and covered her mouth to conirol her excitement. Waving her hand, she said humbly, “I just tried my best. Thanks for the praise, anyway.”
“All right, all right! Your best has done us good. Woo-hoo! This calls for celebration. Listen up everyone, the entire design department will be going out for a get-together! It’s Mr. Larson’s treat!”
“Yay!”
A cry of jubilation went up in the department when the employees heard that the boss was treating them.
The dinner party was held in a fancy French restaurant. “Quinn, would you like to have a drink with me?”
Tiffany was swiveling a glass of red wine in her hand, swaying it towards Natalie. She glanced around the crowd before darting her eyes back to Natalie. With sincerity, she said, “I’m sure it must’ve been difficult for you to showcase the limits of your talent under all that pressure. I know what kind of person you are. Truthfully, I’d rather not say anything else. Different people have different views. Right now, I just want to drink this glass of wine with you first.”
Upon hearing Tiffany’s remark, all the employees of the company fell silent. Amidst the quiet atmosphere, someone stood up and joked, “We didn’t think that Quinn was very capable. She looks pretty meek. We’re actually surprised that she’s so incredible! Perhaps we should try to get along better after this drink?”
“This could be a way to overturn the previous rumors circulating about me,”
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Natalie thought.
She took a sip of wine and smiled at Tiffany. With a reserved smile, she said, “Thanks, everyone. I appreciate that.” Now that she had cleared things out, Natalie was over the moon.
When the dinner party came to an end, she received two messages; one from the bank, and one from Brandon. He said that he had given her a bonus. It was a large sum of money.
This time, Natalie accepted the money without any qualms. She had spent lots of time and energy for the fashion week in Seacisco, and she had indeed made great contributions to the event. Since she was just an ordinary woman who was short of money, Natalie accepted the bonus gratefully.
She sent Brandon some words of gratitude to express how grateful she was. The dinner party didn’t last very long. Most of the company’s employees were married, so they had to go back to their families and take care of them. Around eight in the evening, Natalie’s colleagues sent her home.
Unable to restrain her excitement, she started humming a song while she was changing her shoes.
“You seem pretty happy. What’s going on?”
When Sebastian heard the door open, he came out to have a look. He was holding the clothes that he had just taken out of the dryer.
His broad shoulders, narrow waist, and the simple white tank top he wore made him look even more muscular. Natalie’s eyes lit up as she walked to the sofa to lay down. She had the look of satisfaction and relief.
“There was a project in the company I had been working on. Now that it has been completed, and I get some extra bonus!”
She didn’t tell Sebastian all the details of the project, because she assumed that he didn’t know much about fashion shows. After all, men usually paid no attention to fashion. Sebastian nodded in response.
Then, he sat on the sofa with a pile of clothes in his arms. Thereafter, he folded the clothes neatly. It was then that Natalie noticed that her underwear were among the clothes he was folding. Her bras and panties looked a lot smaller in his hands.
“I can fold those myself!”
Natalie took her underwear away; her face turned red. Sebastian didn’t think it was a big deal, for he had done this many times. He chuckled and pinched her blushing face. “We’re a couple. Why are you so shy about it?”
The way her eyelids dropped and how her eyelashes fluttered about made Natalie looked timid yet lovable. Trying to suppress his smile, Sebastian cleared his throat and decided to change the topic.
“In that case, we should celebrate your victory! Let’s go out this weekend. You’ve been busy with work for so long that you haven’t had a chance to relax.”
He and Natalie had been through a lot recently, and they weren’t even that close yet. All he wanted was to have an opportunity for them to develop their feelings for each other.