However, before long, she suddenly received a call from Colton.
Nicole found it a little strange. If Colton is calling at this hour, could it be that there’s omething wrong with the design drafts again?
Nevertheless, she answered the phone.
“Nicole, I’m coming to your house now. Send me the location,” Colton said solemnly.
Nicole was taken aback, but she could still hear a trace of trouble in Colton’s voice. She quickly asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Well, the dress you designed for Wendy has been suspected of plagiarism, and there’s quite a lot of buzz about this,” Colton briefly explained.
Nicole frowned. Plagiarism?
Even though she made some changes to her own design, it couldn’t possibly be considered plagiarism. She blurted out, “I didn’t!”
“Yes, I believe you, so I’m going to your house now to discuss how to solve this matter.” Colton lowered his voice.
Nicole didn’t know why he trusted her so unconditionally, and it warmed her heart. She murmured assent, then sent him the location of her home.
Due to her son’s fever, Nicole hadn’t looked at her phone all day, so she didn’t expect that such a huge incident had occurred.
After hanging up the phone, Nicole took a look on the Internet. Sure enough, her name was trending, in which one of the hot searches was – ‘Lisa plagiarized a design!’
Nicole browsed a little more and found that the matter was quite serious, as even the judges of that year’s competition came forward to confirm it.
Her head ached as she tried to log into the account she used to submit the design that year, but because it was too long ago, she had forgotten her password.
Nicole thought of the passwords she commonly used in the past and entered them over and over again, but the final display was, ‘The password you entered is incorrect’.
As she became the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel that year, she never logged into that account again. Now, she wanted to access it after being accused of plagiarism, but she
Colton was quick and arrived at her house in less than ten minutes.
As soon as he arrived, he walked right in.
Today, Nicole was wearing loose light-colored pajamas because she was at home. Her hair was tied into a messy bun, and she had slight dark circles under her eyes, so it seemed like she didn’t sleep well.
Nicole didn’t beat around the bush either and said bluntly, “President Gardner, please sit. I took a look at the posts on the Internet. The gist of what they’re saying is that I copied the design of a national design competition’s champion from a few years ago.”
Upon seeing how frank Nicole was being, Colton didn’t know how to reply.
Nicole smiled and didn’t continue talking about the plagiarism, but turned the conversation around and talked about what had been happening lately instead.
“President Gardner, don’t you think the incidents of the past few days are all aimed at me?” Nicole asked calmly.
Colton nodded and responded, “Yeah.”
Nicole continued, “First of all, that person arranged for Henry to approach me. I only let my guard down because I felt guilty about him. After that, the design draft was leaked – that’s also aimed at me. Now, it’s plagiarism. I don’t think all these are coincidences. Someone had carefully planned it.”
Colton was silent as he listened to Nicole’s analysis, and he also suspected that someone was targeting Nicole, but the matter of plagiarism had already been spread on the Internet. If strong evidence wasn’t provided, this incident would become a stain on Nicole’s life.
“Then, what are you going to do?” Colton cast Nicole a sideways glance. Although her bare face made her look a little tired, she was still full of dazzling confidence.
“We’ll beat them at their own game and find out who the true mastermind is!”
Colton thought it strange that he trusted Nicole wholeheartedly, but he nodded in response. “Okay.”
Suddenly, Nicole remembered something, so she turned to look at Colton. “President Gardner, don’t you suspect that I actually plagiarized the design?”
With a small smile on his face, Colton said slowly, “As the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, you have no reason to do such a thing that could ruin your reputation. I don’t believe that you’re so dumb.”
Nicole stared at Colton’s handsome face as his thin lips opened and closed, his voice low and slightly magnetic.
Lowering her head, she said seriously, “I took a look at the comments on the Internet. They’re saying that I copied the design of the champion of the design competition a few years ago.”
Nicole peered at Colton. There was no expression on his face, and he still looked indifferent as usual.
Nicole continued, “I anonymously participated in that competition, and I created that design on my own. That is also one of the very few youth-themed outfits I’ve designed. I figured that since that dress wasn’t manufactured, I could just add some modern elements and alter it to become Miss Gardner’s dress.”
Realization dawned on Colton, then he raised his eyebrows and turned to Nicole before asking, “Then, what are you planning to do next, Miss Anderson?”
Nicole touched her nose in embarrassment. “Back then, I participated anonymously, and I submitted it using an email address. Now, I have to access the account to prove it, but I’ve forgotten the password.”
Colton pursed his lips and gave Nicole a heads-up. “If you can’t prove it, I’m afraid you’ll be subjected to cyberbullying for the next few days.”
Chuckling faintly, Nicole stood up. “I can still endure this. I can use this opportunity to get to the root of the problem and stop the mastermind from pulling any more of these tricks!”
Seeing that Nicole had a determined look, Colton suddenly felt like he was worrying for nothing. It turns out Nicole has always been able to handle it with ease.
Then, Colton lowered his head and gave a faint smile. “That’s fine. However, if you don’t clarify, I’m afraid you might face trouble for these days. Let me know if you need me.”
Upon hearing that, Nicole sincerely expressed her gratitude toward Colton. “Thanks.”
The very next morning, Hayden’s fever had also tapered down. Now that there was also a nanny overseeing matters at home, Nicole returned to work at the Gardner Corporation without any worry.
The atmosphere in the room was no longer as tranquil as before the moment she stepped into the Design Department. As soon as she walked through the entrance, she could hear distinct whispers.
“Wow! She still has the nerve to return to the Gardner Corporation.”
“I thought she would be in hiding after she was exposed. What a surprise. Tsk tsk!”
“As the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, she went so far as to plagiarize. Such a disgrace!”
There were further remarks being made about her.
Without any exception given, all of the comments made were vilifying remarks toward her. However, Nicole had no issue about it. After all, plagiarism was indeed ignominious in the fashion designing circle.
At that moment, Joanna appeared out of nowhere. When she heard these words, she scanned the people in the office with her eyes. Then, she said sternly, “Don’t spew nonsense! The issue has not yet been thoroughly investigated, so don’t believe the rumors you hear outside!”
Seeing that Joanna was defending Nicole, one of them stood up and said in a dissatisfying manner, “Miss Schmidt, even the judges of the competition have agreed that the design draft was plagiarized. What else is there to say?”
“Yeah, that’s right! Although we’re not as popular as her, we won’t plagiarize in any case.”
Still, Nicole was not as enraged as expected despite facing animosity in the office. After all, it was a reaction anticipated from a normal human being.
Then, Nicole recalled her past. Back then, someone in F&M Apparel was involved in plagiarism, and I mercilessly kicked the person out.
Scanning through the people in the office, Nicole slightly raised the corners of her lips. Then, she said lightly, “This issue has yet to receive its final verdict. After the end of the investigation, the truth will certainly be made clear to all!”
With that, Nicole turned and went back to her office. As soon as she stepped into her office, Joanna followed.
Well, this is an infrequent visitor. Looking up at Joanna, Nicole asked, “Director Schmidt, is there something wrong?”
Joanna looked at Nicole. Although she had anticipated drama deep in her heart, she pretended to express her care on the surface.
“Lisa, you heard the remarks outside. I wanted to stop them, but they…”
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