As Zachary’s eyes fell upon Nicole, he pursed his fine lips as if he was holding something back. Simultaneously, a fiery sensation surged in his ebony eyes.
Seeing that, Queenie thought he was upset due to Nicole being an impersonator and further remarked, “President Yates, she didn’t even finish college and kept telling everyone she’s Lisa. She even did everything she could just to sneak into the company’s annual dinner. She must have ill intentions!”
The crowd continued to badmouth and belittle Nicole. Hearing the murmurs from the crowd, Queenie felt contented. I’ll ruin Nicole’s life and have her grovel at my feet today! There’s no way she can recover from this!
When Queenie was finally done, Zachary went up to her with a withdrawn smile. His face was stony, and his voice was excruciatingly icy.
“Who said Lisa’s pretending?”
“As I said… Wait, w-what?” Queenie opened her eyes wide. “W-What do you mean, President Yates?”
Zachary walked to Nicole’s side and defended her before every observing eye. “This Nicole lady, who’s standing right beside me, is F&M Apparel’s one and only Chief Designer, Miss Lisa!” As he voiced his words, silence filled the room. The sudden change of situation left those who were disparaging Nicole stunned.
Nicole is Lisa? But everyone said that Ms. Lisa from F&M Apparel is a woman in her forties! Queenie was in dismay. “That’s impossible!”
“Do you think I’m lying to you, miss?” Zachary stared at her with a hostile gaze. Given his tactfulness, he could sense that the woman before him was highly antagonistic toward Nicole. Although Nicole rejected him, he was still in love with her, and he would not allow anyone to condescend her!
Queenie’s body trembled as her eyes reddened. Yet, unable to express her frustration, she clenched her fists tightly. She was thoroughly disconcerted. Nicole’s actually
Lisa! She’s the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel! I’ve gotten close to Colton and become the young mistress-to-be of Gardner Corporation, but how?! How is she still above me?!
The tables were instantaneously turned.
Most of the people came to the event in order to establish a connection with Lisa. With the golden opportunity presented right before them, they’d rather not ruin their chances.
“Wow, can’t believe anyone would doubt Miss Lisa!”
“You said it! And she was so confidently accusing her without checking her ‘facts.’ Tsk!”
“Apparently, she’s Lisa’s assistant in the country…”
Queenie stood still. Although she wore a flashy set of clothes, in that instant, she was perceived as a foolish clown. She thought she could finally devastate Nicole, only to realize she had shot herself in the foot. The belittling whispers and scornful glares made her extremely vulnerable as shame and embarrassment quickly overwhelmed her.
She wanted to defend herself, but before she could do that, her intention was suppressed by a freezing stare. She turned to the stare and discovered it was coming from Colton. His cold expression reflected the absence of any intention to comfort her as he gazed at her with his inky, warning eyes.
With her reputation at risk, she could only take the embarrassment head on as she said through gritted teeth, “My apologies for making baseless accusations and staining Miss Lisa’s name.”
Naturally, Zachary wouldn’t forgo the fact that someone had attempted to humiliate Nicole. Grinning, he turned to Colton. “President Gardner, I heard that she’s your fiancée. Does she not know her place, coming to F&M Apparel and insulting our people?”
Colton withdrew his gaze as he remained in his firm posture. With a bland tone, he blurted, “Rumors are rumors.”
Those three indifferent words devastated Queenie and left her shivering by his coldness. No way. Even Colton’s not gonna back me up now? She took a step forward and was about to call for Colton, but hastily refrained from doing so as she was met by his daunting eyes. She was now nothing but a joke, and staying any longer in the venue would only draw mortification upon herself.
Joseph, on the other hand, was also perturbed. He never had expected Nicole to be Lisa herself, and it was only a few days ago when he insulted her back in the coffee shop. As the collaboration between the Mann Family and Lisa was crucial, he thought he could secure it with his trickeries, only to realize he had demolished the opportunity for a partnership.
At that moment, Nicole revealed a subtle smile as she pressed on her tingling wrist that was grasped by Queenie earlier. “Miss Anderson, Mr. Mann.” She looked at the two before her. “I’m clueless as to the violation I’ve caused to the two of you which resulted in your bold accusation of me pretending to be Lisa.” Her tone was neutral and unintimidating, as if she was simply making a description. “But now that President Yates has verified my identity, aren’t you going to suspect him too?”
The faces of Queenie and Joseph paled at
Nicole’s formidable reprimand.
Although the majority of F&M Apparel’s power was overseas, their influence in the local market remained significant, and they were definitely not one to go up against.
Joseph hurriedly shook his head. “N-Nothing like that, Nicole – I mean, Miss Lisa. I was merely fooled by Queenie’s jabbering. I hope you didn’t take it personally, Miss Lisa.”
Since the Mann Family earned their living in the clothing industry, offending F&M Apparel would only bring doom. Although Mann Clothing Co. was one of the leading clothing corporations in Lumore, they were only a speck of dust compared to F&M Apparel.
Breaking drops of sweat on his forehead, Joseph immediately grew remorseful remembering the words he had spoken to Nicole previously. Back then, he had indeed listened to Queenie without considering the truthfulness of her words and ended up believing that Nicole was pretending to be Lisa. Because of that, he had thoroughly displeased the entire F&M Apparel corporation.
Seeing how Joseph switched sides so quickly, Queenie was infuriated. Nonetheless, she could only hold her anger in. “I’m sorry for my ignorance, Miss Lisa,” she apologized. As Colton needed the collaboration with Lisa, if she were to destroy his chance at that, she could forget about being the young mistress-to-be of Gardner Corporation.
Looking at Queenie who was so apologetic,
Nicole smiled lightly and faintly replied, “Well, I’m not an unreasonable person. Just be cautious in the future, will you?”
Hearing that, Queenie was stunned; she’d thought Nicole would seize the chance to humiliate her further. She didn’t expect Nicole to let her off so easily.
Before she could react, Nicole went on a tangent. “I don’t really mind it personally, but I’m here representing the entire design team of F&M Apparel. And by embarrassing me, you embarrass my entire design team. There’s no way I’ll let the members of my design team be perceived as weaklings.” Nicole accented her words as her straight posture highlighted her slender figure, in addition to her heels that made her appear stylishly tall.
Queenie, on the other hand, was startled by her freezing tone and stern face. Her entire body trembled as her cheeks reddened. As she was put on the edge, if Nicole were to go on rebuking her, the Gardners just might turn on her. By then, the Anderson Family would have no one else to rely on. She glanced at Colton, who was not far away, only to find him watching idly, having no intention to back her up. Thereupon, she could only swallow her pride and play the sibling card. “Um… look, Nicole. We’re sisters, aren’t we? At the end of the day, the same blood flows in our bodies. I’ll admit – it’s my fault. Could you forgive me, please?”
Nicole lowered her head to look at Queenie. Her once-boastful sister was now behaving as petty as a timid little puppy. She unaffectedly grinned, knowing it was only the beginning. None of you Andersons shall be forgiven for Mom’s death!
“You’re right,” Nicole answered as her eyes turned duller. “Since we’re sisters, I’ll let this pass.” As she was speaking, she turned to Joseph. “Mr. Mann, as I said, F&M Apparel will never establish any partnership with the Mann Family, and my words still stand. If there’s nothing else, you may leave.”
As Robert’s only precious son, who had been raised with all the care and attention in the world, Joseph felt insulted for being confronted in front of a gargantuan number of guests – including countless reputable figures in the country – attending the annual dinner. He felt thoroughly ashamed, being ridiculed by the crowd. Nevertheless, the person right before him was Lisa, so he could only withstand it and retreat with his rage suppressed.
Shameful, Queenie, along with Joseph, fled the scene in despair. A hint of malice flashed across Queenie’s eyes when she turned around to eye her popular sister.
Then, F&M Apparel’s domestic general manager came to handle the crowd. “Okay. It’s all merely an accident. Let’s all enjoy our food and drinks. You may all come to ask Miss Lisa for guidance if you have any questions.” There was obviously sweat on his forehead as he was stupefied by the previous disturbance. Since it was Lisa’s first trip to the country, if the conflict were to be blamed on him, his career as a general manager would be as good as over.
With that, the guests, sparing F&M Apparel the pride, gradually dispersed.
At that moment, Colton walked over with a polite smile. “Greetings, Miss Lisa. I’m Colton Gardner, president of Gardner Corporation.”
At his manly, magnetic timbre, Nicole turned around and met his deep, dark eyes. Those eyes were as deep as an abyss, as if they were pulling her in. Looking at the man before her, she tensed her brows and audaciously replied, “You don’t have to be so courteous. We’ve known each other for a long time, after all.”
Colton was unaffected at all by the fact that he was seen through, evidently with the smile on his face. Calmly, he uttered, “Can’t be too careful when it’s about the partnership of two companies. Besides, I’m only showing respect for F&M Apparel and Miss Lisa yourself.”
Nicole was astounded by how the man before her complacently described his pretense as “being careful.”
Zachary, on the other hand, could tell there was some sort of pre-established relationship between the two and smilingly said, “Since we’re all here, why don’t we find a seat and talk about the partnership between F&M Apparel and Gardner Corporation?”
Nicole nodded. The partnership with Gardner Corporation would only be beneficial, unsimilar to working with the associates of Mann Clothing Co., who were so easily persuaded. Although Gardner Corporation was clearly inferior to F&M Apparel in the clothing market, their advanced information technology was one of the most formidable in the field, which was also why F&M Apparel was willing to work hand-in-hand with Gardner Corporation.
Sitting by the conference table, Nicole put aside all her personal grudges as well as her bias against the Gardners, while Colton began the discussion of the partnership. The two remained assertive and opinionated with their thoughts regarding the work as every single word spoken was conveyed professionally. Meanwhile, Zachary looked at Nicole as she confidently and charmingly proposed her ideas.
“For the next season, F&M Apparel will be concentrating on casual wear, mainly on the refinement of the material used in manufacturing those products…” Whenever Nicole was talking about work, it was as if she was an entirely different person. She wouldn’t miss even the most insignificant detail.
Out of nowhere, a man came over and whispered to Zachary, to which the latter revealed a stiff expression before turning to Nicole. “Nicole, something came up, and I gotta go tend to it. I shall leave the matter to you and President Gardner.”
Nicole nodded. “Alright.”
Zachary’s departure left the remaining two on the wide couch. At that moment, Colton’s eyes twitched and he grew silent as he looked at Nicole. He waited for Nicole to finish up the discussion and slowly said, “Miss Lisa, I have a personal question for you. Do you have the time?”
Nicole paused for a moment as she looked back at him, clueless to his intentions. She then lifted her head and countered, “What is it?” As far as she could remember, she did not have any private interaction with Colton.
“Is your son four years old this year?” He stared at her with a hint of fascination in his inky eyes, though he didn’t make it obvious.
Hearing that, Nicole immediately grew defensive. She peered at him with her eyes filled with wariness. “Why do you ask?”
Colton then laughed. Initially, he thought Nicole was trying to flirt with him. However, given her identity as the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel and the way Zachary spoke to her, he found no point to support and justify that thought. He lifted his commissures and claimed, “A boy named Hayden sent his hair to me and wanted a paternity test done.”
At once, Nicole’s body froze. Hayden? My son Hayden wants a paternity test done with Colton? She was visibly dazed. She knew Hayden suspected that Colton was his real father, but she had never expected him to be this bold. She raised her eyes to look at the face that was almost identical to that of her son’s. If she didn’t know that Joseph was the man she slept with five years ago, she, too, would have suspected that Colton might have been Hayden’s father.
Accordingly, she forced a smirk, clarifying, “Ah, that boy always wanted a father, and he might have overstepped his boundary seeing your dashing look. I hope you don’t read too much into it.”
More Kickass Romance Reads
Dive into irresistible romance stories packed with possessive heroes, forbidden passion, billionaire obsession, mafia intrigue, and heart-stopping twists. One chapter is never enough—your next addiction starts here.