Ch. 91..100
Chapter 91 Please Listen to Me
Joseph couldn’t risk offending F&M Apparel, so he could only grip the report and leave.
As she watched Joseph leaving, Queenie forced a smile and took two steps forward. However, as she was about to speak up, Colton interrupted her.
“You may leave.”
The smile on Queenie’s face stiffened. Gritting her teeth, she stared at Colton with an aggrieved look. She thought he was still bothered with the incident last time, so she explained, “Colton, regarding the incident last time, it’s really someone else who drugged—”
Nevertheless, he did not give her a chance to explain. As he frowned, he repeated in a hostile manner, “Leave.”
Noticing the tension between the two was growing, Nicole had no intention of meddling with their affair, so she carried Hayden and said to Colton, “President Gardner, I’ll head out first and wait for you at the entrance.”
After Nicole left, Queenie mumbled pitifully, “Colton, please listen to me.”
Colton seemed to have intentionally avoided Queenie since the previous incident with Joseph as he wouldn’t allow her to enter his office or home. Since it was a rare occasion to be alone with Colton, she was determined to seize this opportunity to give him a proper explanation.
Hearing Queenie’s words, Colton shifted his gaze downward and couldn’t help furrowing his brow when he saw the pitiful look on her face.
“You should be well aware of what you have done,” he croaked in a deep voice.
Her heart jolted, but her pitiful expression remained unchanged. She pinched her hand and anxiously wanted to explain the situation to Colton.
“Colton, please believe me. It’s impossible between Joseph and me. It’s all Nicole’s fault. She was there too that night. She must be jealous of me, so…” Queenie prattled on as she was eager to restore her image in front of Colton. However, little did she know that the more she went on, the more he detested her.
Nicole was also drugged that night, but she had mentioned nothing about the culprit. In contrast, Queenie was dying to involve herself in the matter to prove her innocence.
“That’s enough!!” Colton’s voice became stern and laced with dissatisfaction.
Straightening his body, he gazed at Queenie with dark, unemotional eyes that were as cold as the lake in winter.
“If you still wish to maintain your identity as Mrs. Gardner-to-be, stop causing any more trouble. This is my last warning to you. If this happens again, you shall get lost!”
The words that Queenie initially wanted to continue saying were stuck in her throat at once. Tears swam in her eyes as the disbelief spread across her face. So, he doesn’t believe me?
Although she parted her mouth, she realized she couldn’t say a word as if her throat had been stuffed with something.
Looking at the woman who was about to cry, Colton did not even have the slightest bit of sympathy for her. Instead, he turned and walked off with a frigid face.
Queenie’s eyes were fixated on Colton as she watched him leave. Suddenly, her body felt weak and she slumped onto the floor as coldness filled her body. How can this be?! How can this be?! All of this happened because of Nicole! My life has always been peaceful before Nicole came back. However, since she returned, my life started changing and it became a mess. And now, even Colton doesn’t believe me anymore. B*tch! You b*itch!
She was so furious that her eyes turned bloodshot. As she tightly clenched her fists, she could feel the pain since her long nails had dug into her palms.
Nicole and Colton being together was something that she would never allow. If she lost both Colton and the Gardner Family, the Anderson Family would be doomed!
After wiping the tears away from the corner of her red-rimmed eyes, Queenie spat through gritted teeth, “Nicole Anderson, we’ll wait and see who the winner is in the end!”
She refused to believe that Nicole could turn the corner each time.
Chapter 92 Joanna Schmidt Is Back
By the time Colton walked out, Nicole was bickering with Hayden.
“Mom, I have already said that Joseph, the foolish bum, can’t possibly be my dad! I’m sure my dad is someone like Mr. Handsome.”
“Stop it. You’re already shameless at such a young age!”
“Hmph! If you don’t believe me, you can check out his DNA paternity test report,” Hayden grumbled indignantly with a pout.
The moment Colton walked out, he overheard the conversation between the mother and son, and the gloom on his face was slightly dismissed. Holding the paternity report, he waved it at Nicole and asked, “Miss Anderson, do you want to check this report?”
As she looked downward, she pressed her lips and shook her head with a faint smile. “It’s okay. Regardless of the content in it, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Assuming that she did not wish to comment further on the topic, he kept the report away and said, “I’ll send you guys back.”
“Thanks a lot for your help today, President Gardner.” Nicole expressed her genuine gratitude as she knew she must have caused Colton, a dignified president, a dilemma by asking him to do such a sneaky task.
Colton smiled nonchalantly and did not continue with the topic since Hayden was still around. “My pleasure.”
…
By the time they arrived home at night, Zachary was already home with a weary expression.
Seeing his exhausted countenance, Nicole bit her tongue and remained silent for a moment, but she eventually said, “Zachary, if you have any matters to settle, please go ahead. I’m still able to handle my affairs so far.”
Shaking his head, Zachary pressed his brows and hummed gently, “It’s all settled now.”
She nodded and did not probe further. Thereafter, she brought Hayden upstairs.
When she arrived at the office the next day, Nicole noticed the originally quiet Design Department was much livelier and even heard people whispering the moment she entered.
However, the murmurs ceased moments after she went in.
She was not surprised by this because she had been transferred from F&M Apparel after all, and the staff still deemed her as an outsider.
As soon as she entered her room, Scarlett followed her in.
“Miss Nicole, Director Schmidt is back,” Scarlett said with a low voice. Although she was an employee of Gardner Corporation, she had been working under Nicole since joining the company. Meanwhile, Nicole was protective toward her subordinate and treated Scarlett well.
“You mean Joanna Schmidt?” Nicole raised her brow and asked. She had heard of such a name from Queenie when she first came to Gardner Corporation.
“Yeah.” Scarlett nodded. Looking hesitant, she still spoke up after a while. “Miss Nicole, about this… I heard from colleagues that Sabrina is exceptionally close to Joanna and was fired from Gardner Corporation…”
Nicole knew what Scarlett wanted to say. She lifted her head to gaze at the cautious young lady in front of her, who was obviously on her side despite the timid appearance.
After giving an unconcerned smile, Nicole nodded. “I see, alright. There’s always a solution to a problem. She can’t possibly declare a war the moment she returns.”
Seeing Nicole’s confident smile, Scarlett heaved a sigh of relief.
Rumor had it in the Design Department that it was Nicole who chased Sabrina out of the company and Joanna would surely teach Nicole a lesson upon her return.
However, judging from Nicole’s calm look, Scarlett reckoned that she was already prepared. “Alright then. Have a good day, Miss Nicole. I shall excuse myself first.”
A knock at the door emerged out of the blue at around 10:00AM.
Ever since Nicole started working here, no one had entered her office besides Scarlett.
Seeing that the visitor had not entered the room after a while, Nicole guessed it must be the Joanna Schmidt whom everyone was talking about.
In fact, Nicole did not find Joanna’s name to be strange. Not only was Joanna a well-known designer in the country, she was also a student of Master Engler. As such, she thought that it would be awesome to have an opportunity to meet Joanna.
“Please come in.”
After Nicole said that, the door was opened to reveal a tall woman walking in.
The woman was dressed in a light-colored one-piece dress while her hair was kept at shoulder length. With her optimum makeup, she made a first impression of gentleness and elegance and did not seem to be someone who came to seek trouble.
“You must be Ms. Lisa.” The woman’s gaze fell on Nicole the moment she entered the room while her warm voice that resembled the spring breeze was pleasing to the ears.
A courteous Nicole stood up and nodded. “Yes, you can call me Nicole.”
“Hi, Nicole. I’m Joanna Schmidt, the design director of Gardner Corporation.”
Chapter 93 Face-off
“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” Nicole politely said.
“You flatter me. I should be the one saying that. Not everyone has the chance to work with the Chief Designer from F&M Apparel.”
A smiling Joanna had spoken so eloquently that one could hardly find any fault in her.
“Not at all. The collaboration this time is a bilateral agreement between F&M Apparel and Gardner Corporation,” a humble Nicole responded.
“By the way…” Joanna paused out of the blue and lifted her head to look at Nicole as her smile slightly faded. “I heard that Sabrina was fired from Gardner Corporation because she has offended you?”
Joanna finally went to the main point after beating around the bush. Nicole did not avoid the topic either as she met Joanna’s gaze and answered, “I won’t say I was offended. It’s just that the young lady has a big mouth. I reckoned someone overheard her and complained directly to President Gardner.”
“I see. It seems like the rumors aren’t true after all.” Joanna wore a faint smile again and continued in a kinder tone, “I knew you are not someone calculative and petty, Ms. Lisa. How would you possibly drive the girl into a corner because of such a small matter? Sabrina is indeed a big mouth. Ms. Lisa, if you don’t mind, I’ll bring her here to apologize to you. I hope you can forgive her.”
Nicole cast a glance at Joanna. Although Joanna did not appear to be aggressive, she had phrased each word in such a deliberate manner that Nicole had no other option but to follow her lines.
“Please don’t say that. After all, I’m not the one who fired her.”
Joanna nodded and subtly raised her brow.
“I brought Sabrina into Gardner Corporation, so it can’t be helped that she will side with me and behave rudely toward you. I’ve already taught her a lesson and she has realized her mistake. How about this? I’ll bring her to officially apologize to you this afternoon.”
As she narrowed her eyes, Nicole gazed at the lady in front of her, who still had a gentle look, and smirked. Truth be told, she would rather have Joanna be as shrewish as Queenie so that she could at least fight back.
Now, it felt like Nicole was punching on cotton and couldn’t even be charged up.
“It’s unnecessary to apologize since it’s not a big matter to begin with.”
“That won’t do. After all, you were transferred from F&M Apparel. This incident can be a warning to the others too. Later in the afternoon, I’ll get Sabrina to apologize to you in front of the entire Design Department and we’ll revoke her salary for a month as a punishment. What do you think?”
Looking at Joanna pressing forward with her agenda, Nicole knew that Joanna was forcing her to forgive Sabrina and allow the girl’s return to Gardner Corporation.
Nicole narrowed her eyes as she sneered. Despite Joanna’s gentle appearance, her words were filled with the intention to compel Nicole to surrender.
“What if I say no?” Nicole wore a half-smile and asked Joanna in return.
Joanna probably did not expect that Nicole would turn her down, so her expression tensed for a second. Nevertheless, she quickly regained her composure and answered, “Ms. Lisa, as the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, you don’t have to be calculative with an insignificant staff.”
Nicole had a stern look but since the opponent was taking the soft approach, she could also feign innocence.
“Director Schmidt, this is not just an issue of whether I want to go after Sabrina or not. I’m sure you’ve heard of what Sabrina had said. It doesn’t only implicate me but President Yates from F&M Apparel as well. If I really accept the request, I would be indirectly admitting her remark, don’t you think?”
The moment that Joanna heard Nicole’s statement, her expression changed at once. Just as she was about to say something, Nicole interrupted, “Alternatively, you can bring Sabrina to personally apologize to President Yates. If President Yates forgives her, I’ll naturally let it slide too.”
Joanna lifted her head to glare at Nicole as her originally amiable look had disappeared and was now replaced with coldness. Pressing her lips, she continued to stare at Nicole for quite some time before she finally had a fake grin and commented, “It seems like I’ve lacked the consideration. Sorry for disturbing you today, Ms. Lisa.”
With that, she walked out of the office resolutely.
Chapter 94 A Collusion
Nicole only went back to her seat after Joanna left. Looking at the draft in her hand, she suddenly lost the mood to continue.
Although Joanna did not adopt an aggressive approach, given today’s situation, Nicole reckoned her coming days in Gardner Corporation would be rather nasty.
She casually took a pen and placed it between her fingers to start spinning it. If she had known that there would be so many troubles in Gardner Corporation, she would not have come at the start. However, she was now already stuck in the midst of all the vexations.
Nicole spent the entire afternoon in her office. Due to Joanna’s return, the entire Design Department became much livelier and Nicole could even hear the noises from the outside as she sat in her office.
Soon, it was time to get off work. Nicole was not in a mood to work overtime, so she packed her stuff and was ready to leave.
Just as she was going to walk out from the office, a gentle voice emerged.
“Ms. Lisa.”
Nicole paused and turned to see Joanna standing at the entrance with a bright smile on her face. Joanna appeared to be quite enthusiastic as if the episode this morning had not happened.
She nodded at Joanna and did not strike an attitude. “Hey, Director Schmidt,” she acknowledged with a smile.
Joanna walked up to her steadily and stopped in front of her. “Ms. Lisa, thanks for leading our department during this time while I was away. The colleagues insisted on throwing a welcome dinner for me since I’ve returned. Please join us if you can.”
Nicole stared at Joanna for quite a while as she had no idea what the woman was up to. “I’d love to, but I have some family matters to attend to today, so I’m not available.”
Nicole came up with a random excuse. She did not go along with Joanna this morning in the office. As such, she did not know if Joanna would stir up more trouble, should she accept the invitation to the dinner.
The smile on Joanna’s face did not fade away when she perceived Nicole’s rejection. Instead, she lowered her head and drawled with downcast eyes, “I totally understand. After all, you’re occupied with myriad affairs as the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, so of course you won’t have time to eat with people like us…”
Nicole was rendered speechless.
Now that Joanna had phrased it this way, if she continued insisting not to attend the dinner, she might offend all the staff in the Design Department.
Nicole exhaled slowly. At the thought of how Colton had done her a big favor, she knew she shouldn’t screw things up at the critical moment, so she bore with it.
“Not at all. I guess the dinner will happen at night. The timing would be just nice if that’s the case. I’ll drop by after finishing with my stuff.”
Joanna smiled upon Nicole’s agreement. “Sure. I’ll text you the location and time by then.”
“Thanks, Director Schmidt.” Nicole nodded and hummed before turning around to leave.
She had to admit that Joanna was a very sophisticated person, especially in front of others.
Nonetheless, Nicole thought it was just a welcome dinner and there would be many other staff around, so Joanna was unlikely to cause problems for her.
After Nicole had left, Joanna walked out of the office and went to the ground floor of the company. There, a woman dressed in bright-colored outfits walked toward Joanna—it was Queenie.
“Hi Director Schmidt, it has been a while,” Queenie wore a smile and said in a fawning manner.
There was not much expression on Joanna’s face as she cast a side glance at the man beside Queenie, who had an average, honest look.
With her eyes flickering, she asked, “This is…”
“Please allow me to introduce Mr. Henry Cooper. He’s a staff of Gardner Corporation too,” Queenie said.
Narrowing her eyes, Joanna gazed at Queenie in confusion as she couldn’t understand what Queenie’s intention was.
Queenie walked up and lowered her voice. “Director Schmidt, Mr. Cooper is Nicole’s ex-boyfriend.”
There was still not much change in Joanna’s expression. Instead, she smiled and questioned in return, “And what does this have to do with me?”
“Director Schmidt, if there’s nothing to do with you, you wouldn’t come down when I asked you, would you?” Queenie smiled and continued in a low voice.
“Nicole chased Sabrina away from Gardner Corporation the moment she came. Everyone in the company knows Sabriana is close with you. Moreover, she was fired because she put in a word for you. Isn’t this as good as humiliating you?”
Joanna’s face darkened when she heard Queenie’s words. The original reason why she went to see Nicole today was to negotiate for Sabrina’s return, but Nicole refused to let go of the incident.
“What’s your intention then?” Joanna stared at Queenie and asked. In fact, she had roughly heard about the affairs of the Anderson Family and knew the two sisters were not on good terms.
Chapter 95 Bumped Into the Ex
“Director Schmidt, didn’t you invite Nicole to join the welcome dinner? Bring him along and I’ll naturally have a way to embarrass her,” Queenie declared confidently.
Truth was, she had spent quite some effort to track down Nicole’s ex-boyfriend. Back then, Nicole broke up with Henry for the sake of money in order to save her mother, therefore Queenie was sure that Nicole felt guilty toward him.
On the other hand, Henry was actually a snob who was easily influenced by money, so of course Queenie would seize this perfect opportunity to use him.
Joanna cast a side glance at Henry and frowned slightly as she didn’t find this man attractive at all, and she wondered how Nicole even fell for him.
“You mean him?” Disdain flashed through Joanna’s eyes.
Queenie smirked. “Director Schmidt, you just have to bring him there and he’ll know what to do. Regardless of the outcome, it doesn’t cost you anything, isn’t it?”
Joanna looked back and forth between Queenie and Henry for a while. Indeed, she had disliked Nicole, so she agreed after pondering for a while. “Alright, I’ll trust you this time.”
Meanwhile, Queenie smiled even brighter upon hearing Joanna’s acceptance.
Nicole, it seems like you’re truly a nuisance. Everyone is against you!
The sky had turned completely dark by the time it was 8 at night, yet the city was brightly lit.
The weather was slightly chilly tonight. It was drizzling, yet one could still feel the cold although the rain wasn’t heavy.
Around 7 o’clock, Joanna sent Nicole the location. It was at a karaoke lounge in Goldwick. The room number was 888, so Nicole figured that it was a big private room.
Nicole stayed at home and waited until the time had passed 8 o’clock before she wore a jacket and headed out. Perhaps the sky seemed to be foggy due to the fine rain.
Nicole drove to the location and could hear a noisy atmosphere the moment she stepped into the lounge. She frowned uncomfortably as she never had any liking for bustling places.
After enquiring from a waiter the way to Room No.888, she headed to the room.
It was a huge private room. When she walked in, red and blue spot lights were flashing in the room, and she couldn’t recognize the other guests at all because the room was very dark.
“Hi, Ms. Lisa, welcome. I thought you couldn’t make it.” Joanna stood up the moment Nicole walked in.
“I rushed over after I finished settling my stuff, but I’m still late. Sorry about that,” Nicole replied politely.
Besides the staff from Design Department, there were a few other people in the room whom she had not met before.
“I’m glad you’re here. We have been waiting for you.” Thereafter, Joanna introduced a few individuals to Nicole. “This is Mr. Stanley Larry, the manager of Finance Department. This is Mr. Shaun Geller, the deputy manager of Human Resource Department. And this is Mr. Henry Cooper from Logistics Department. ”
Nicole had not met the first two people, so she merely wore a courteous smile while Joanna introduced them. However, there was an obvious change in her expression when it came to Henry’s turn.
She lifted her eyes to look at the man sitting at the corner of the couch. Although he appeared to have aged slightly as compared to five years ago, there was not much change in his appearance.
Perceiving Nicole’s gaze, Henry also shifted his gaze toward Nicole and feigned a shocked look upon recognizing her. He parted his lips and called out softly, “Nicole?”
Nicole wore a rueful smile as she had never thought she would bump into Henry by coincidence. Feeling a lump rising in her throat, she nodded at Henry and greeted him. “Hey, Henry.”
Meanwhile, Joanna pretended to only have discovered that the two were acquaintances. “Lisa, do you know Henry? What a coincidence!” she exclaimed in surprise.
“We’re ex-classmates,” Nicole explained and slowly walked up to Henry.
Five years ago, they had dated for almost a year. Initially, she thought they would be together for the lifetime, but she ended up breaking up with him resolutely for the sake of her mother. As such, she had always felt guilty toward him.
Henry’s dark eyes flickered upon seeing Nicole sitting next to him.
Truth was, he was a normal staff member in the Logistics Department. Queenie came to him and offered to promote him to team leader as long as he agreed to embarrass Nicole.
Chapter 96 Shall We Start Over?
Nicole went to sit beside Henry. Everyone was belting out in the room, which caused quite a clamor.
Stretching his neck, Henry cast a glance at Nicole and pressed his hand to suppress his nervousness. At the thought of how she had abandoned him five years ago, he became resentful toward her. Nevertheless, he remembered Queenie’s assignment for him, so he still endured his emotions.
“Nicole,” he called out softly.
Despite the noisy setting, Nicole still heard Henry’s voice. So, she turned around and hummed in response, “Yes.”
“You’re already a Chief Designer and I’m still a normal staff member. You surely have made the right choice by ending our relationship back then,” he mumbled with a rueful smile.
Truth be told, Nicole still felt guilty toward Henry.
She turned her head aside to gaze at Henry, who seemed to have aged quite a bit as compared to five years ago. Pressing her lips, she then croaked, “I’m sorry.”
Nicole did not know what else to say, so she could only apologize.
“Nicole, I just have one question—did you break up with me at that time because you sold your body?” Henry’s voice was not too loud and at a volume loud enough only for them to hear.
Nicole’s body clearly stiffened when she heard his question as she had no idea how to answer him.
Indeed, due to her mother’s health, she had accepted Queenie’s request and slept with another man back then…
However, how could she bring herself to say the truth? With downcast eyes, she felt her heart pounding. Toward the end, she clenched her fists and decided not to answer this question directly.
“Henry, please feel free to come to me if you run into any problems at work. I’ll definitely help you to the best of my ability.” Perhaps it was due to her guilt, Nicole had always wished to do something for Henry.
On the other hand, Henry did not continue forcing her to answer either. Instead, he changed his question. “Nicole, are you married?”
Nicole turned to look at Henry, who wore an anticipating expression. She paused for a moment before shaking her head and hummed, “No.”
When Henry heard the answer, his eyes gleamed with hope. “Nicole, shall we start over then?” he asked in an agitated tone.
Nicole stared at Henry. Five years ago, both of them were still students. Their relationship during their school days was pure and not tainted by any desires, but at this moment, she had a subtle feeling that he had changed.
With the expression on her face stiffened, Nicole did not agree but merely muttered with downcast eyes, “Henry, it has already been five years and everything has changed…”
Understanding Nicole’s implication, a dejected Henry lowered his head and said in a self-deprecating manner, “That’s true. You’re already a superior Chief Designer, so how can I possibly take your fancy?”
Nicole was a little depressed to see Henry’s crestfallen look. Feeling a lump in her throat, she tried to explain, “Not at all. It’s just that as time passed, people and things around us have changed. I’m not who I was five years ago anymore. It’s me who doesn’t deserve you.”
Bearing in mind Queenie’s exhortation to be flexible and not to be overly forceful, Henry nodded and asked, “Can I ask you out for a meal then?”
He paused and continued, “It has been so long since we met. I just hope to catch up with you over a meal.”
Nicole thought it was inappropriate to reject it, so she nodded and agreed. “Sure.”
The others were still singing in the room. After finishing her chat with him, she zoned out while sitting alone in the corner. She felt like she was radically out of place in this lounge, so she planned to leave in a short while.
“Ms. Lisa, that’s impudent of you to come late and leave early,” Shaun, the deputy manager of Human Resource Department, teased Nicole with a grin.
Nicole wore an apologetic expression and said, “It so happened that I need to attend to some family affairs today. You guys have a good time.”
“Oh well, then at least have a drink before leaving.” After consuming some alcohol, he became bold and directly stepped forward to block her from walking out of the room.
Chapter 97 Got Out of a Pickle
There was no change in Nicole’s expression as she stared coldly at the drunk man. “I’m sorry. I’m allergic to alcohol, so I can’t drink.”
Apparently, Shawn was unhappy with Nicole’s excuse. In a drunken stupor, he directly grabbed a glass of wine in front of him and closely approached Nicole. “Stop saying all this nonsense. Finish this glass and I’ll let you go.”
Detest flashed through her eyes as she stepped aside and was about to open the door and leave directly. However, the unyielding Shaun grabbed her arm all of a sudden and pulled her backward.
Being caught off guard, she lost her balance and nearly fell to the ground.
She subconsciously looked toward Henry’s direction, but Henry merely stood there and had no intention of coming forward to help her.
Shocked at the scene, everyone else in the private room quietened down as they watched Shaun continue pestering Nicole.
After all, Shaun was the deputy manager of Human Resource Department and the ordinary staff would not dare to offend him, so none of them said anything.
Toward the end, it was Joanna who spoke up. “Forget about it, Mr. Geller. Maybe Lisa really can’t drink.”
By this time, Shaun’s face was reddened as he had already consumed a few glasses of liquor. Alcohol often made one bolder, so he shook his head and babbled, “Nope! She’s just a Chief Designer from F&M Apparel and it’s nothing worth being arrogant of. Although Gardner Corporation is not a leading company in the fashion industry, if you take into account the entire Gardner Corporation, her F&M Apparel is nothing compared to us!”
Nicole had no intention of arguing with Shaun. She shook her arm free and frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”
However, it was true that men generally tend to be physically stronger than women. No matter how hard she struggled, she could not break away from her grasp.
On the other hand, it was Joanna’s desire to watch Nicole being embarrassed to begin with, so she stopped persuading Shaun after perceiving that Shaun would not listen to her. Instead, she merely curled her lips and stood aside.
“The original agenda tonight is to welcome Director Schmidt back to the company. Since you’re already here, what’s the big deal with having some alcohol?” Prattling on, Shaun even wanted to step forward and force the liquor into Nicole’s mouth.
However, before he could draw close to Nicole, a man suddenly dashed in out of nowhere and gave Shaun a punch.
The punch was so forceful that a clear, loud smack emerged when it landed on Shaun’s face. As a result, Shaun directly fell backward onto the floor with a bang, and the glass of wine he was holding spilled all over the floor. At once, Shaun’s blood boiled as he quickly got up from the floor and glared toward the man fiercely. “Who the hell is it?!”
However, when Shaun realized who was the man who punched him, the arrogant look on his face disappeared instantly. Instead, he became obsequious as he muttered, “P-President Schumacher…”
Nicole turned around to look at the tall and muscular man. Standing beside him, she was only about the height of his shoulder. The man was dressed in a casual outfit, but his bright-red hair and the cigarette in his mouth made him look like a gangster.
“I can even hear you from next door. What’s wrong if the lady doesn’t want to drink? I detest bullies like you the most!” Mason Schumacher blurted in a rascally manner. Nonetheless, his words sounded pretty righteous.
Perceiving the increasingly tense atmosphere, Joanna quickly walked up to mediate.
“My apologies, President Schumacher. We’re originally having a gathering among our colleagues. Mr. Geller drank a little too much and isn’t too sober.”
Mason glanced indifferently at Joanna and smirked. Then, he took down the cigarette from his mouth and sneered. “So, it’s Miss Schmidt. Since all of you are colleagues, how could you all just sit and watch? It seems like Gardner Corporation has a culture of hostility after all.”
She became awkward after hearing his jeer. After all, her original intention was to see Nicole being embarrassed.
On the other hand, Mason retracted his gaze after saying that and lowered his head to look at Nicole. Following that, his eyes brightened upon observing Nicole’s features.
“Wow, so it’s a beautiful chick. Pretty Lady, why don’t you leave a lousy entity like Gardner Corporation and join my company? I can guarantee my company is friendlier.”
Nicole had no desire to continue staying here, so she bowed slightly to Mason with her head lowered and said, “Thank you for today. I still have some matters to attend to back at home. See you.”
Chapter 98 A Heroic Rescue
Thereafter, Nicole quickly turned around to leave as she did not even want to stay on for a second more in this hotbed of dispute.
However, not long after she left the private room, Mason caught up with her.
“Hey, Pretty Lady, is this how you treat someone who got you out of a pickle?” he yelled as he watched her leaving in a hurry.
Nicole stopped and turned to look toward Mason. Earlier in the room, she did not clearly observe his look. It was only now that they had come out from the room to a brighter corridor did she realize that he was actually a handsome man.
Besides the rascal-like smile on his face, there was a tinge of brazenness in his alluring eyes. Holding the cigarette between his fingers and the bright-red hair, he gave the first impression of a good-looking gangster.
“Thanks for helping me out today, President Schumacher,” Nicole said politely.
Nicole reckoned Mason must be some respectable person since even Shaun, the Human Resource Department manager of Gardner Corporation behaved in a servile manner toward him. As such, she knew she did not have to go too far to thank him with money.
“Just call me Mason. Only outsiders will address me as President Schumacher.” Taking a step forward, Mason approached Nicole and sized her up from head to toe.
Unlike the other women in the lounge, she did not wear any makeup today. There was an innocent demeanor on her delicate face, which made her look totally out of place in this venue and it actually gave one a pleasant feeling.
“Sure, Mr. Schumacher,” Nicole called out strangely after she took a step back.
Mason smiled and didn’t really mind. “By the way, what’s your name, Pretty Lady? Who knows we might meet again?”
“I’m Nicole Anderson.”
“Nicole Anderson,” Mason repeated after Nicole. Then, he nodded and praised, “That’s a sweet name. I’ll remember you from now on.”
After getting her name, he did not ask her to continue staying. Instead, he waved her goodbye. “Miss Anderson, it’s better to stay away from places like this in the future. It does not suit you.”
Then, he paused for a moment and winked at Nicole with a smile. “After all, you won’t always be this lucky to bump into a handsome man who swears by justice like me.”
Nicole remained silent for a moment. Despite Mason’s rascal-like appearance, at least he was polite and did not behave in any way that crossed the line.
“Thank you.” With that, she thanked him and left.
It was already past 10 o’clock by the time she arrived home. Hayden had already gone upstairs to sleep, so there was only Zachary sitting in the living room.
Seeing Nicole’s return, Zachary lifted his head to glance at her. “Hey Nicole.”
Perceiving his weary look, a concerned Nicole asked, “Did something happen?”
With downcast eyes, Zachary’s sturdy body was drained with exhaustion. Rubbing his brows, he still talked in a gentle way despite his weariness.
“Yeah, there’s indeed something.”
After that, she did not continue asking since she had known him for almost 4 years. Besides being a superior and subordinate, they were also friends too. Nevertheless, Nicole had never crossed the line and asked Zachary about his family affairs.
When he noticed Nicole’s silence, Zachary shifted her gaze toward her and said honestly, “Someone wants to acquire F&M Apparel.”
A stunned Nicole lifted her head to look at him with her dark eyes tinged with shock. “Acquire F&M Apparel?”
F&M Apparel was one of the leading enterprises in the fashion industry worldwide. The business had been thriving over these few years, so the price to acquire the business was definitely a huge amount too. As such, an ordinary person would not be able to afford it.
“Yeah. It’s my father,” Zachary bitterly said.
In fact, this was the reason for his hustle over the past few days.
Nicole kind of understood the situation. He came from a wealthy family to begin with. Although she had no idea what career Zachary’s father had pursued, she could tell he must be extremely wealthy.
Few years ago, she had briefly heard from Harvey Mann that the initial plan was to allow Zachary run the family business, but Zachary was capable and eventually made his way to become the president of F&M Apparel. As such, he had no intention of taking over the family business.
Zachary lowered his head to look at the silent Nicole and sighed softly. “Don’t worry, Nicole. I won’t let anything happen to F&M Apparel.”
Chapter 99 You Are Fired
After making sure that Nicole was safe from harm, Zachary went for his overseas trip once again. It seemed as though it would be difficult to save themselves from the messy situation.
When Nicole arrived at the company the next day, she couldn’t help but notice how oddly quiet the office was. She could almost feel the weight of the silence.
The other employees who had noticed her arrival immediately lowered their heads. Still, nobody said a word.
She took a walk around, and her eyebrows soon crinkled when she noticed Joanna wasn’t at her usual place. She couldn’t help feeling weird about it—something must have happened.
By the time Nicole had arrived at the office, Scarlett was following right behind her with a worried expression.
After shutting the door behind her, she glumly said to Nicole, “President Gardner fired Shaun Geller from the Human Resource Department this morning.”
Nicole raised her head to look at the other woman, and it took her a while to react. If her memory served her right, Shaun Geller was the man who pressured her into drinking alcohol last night.
Seeing that Nicole was staring at her in surprise, Scarlett continued, “I’m not sure who President Gardner had heard from this morning, but as soon as he found out that Shaun tried to get you in trouble last night, he fired Shaun without even giving him the time to explain himself. Everyone working here is now holding themselves back so that they don’t offend you in some way.”
It was only then did Nicole understand why the Design Department was especially quiet when she arrived.
Even though she detested workplace politics, she never had the intention to take revenge on anyone. She could only let out a helpless smile as she nodded with a sigh. “I got it.”
“Also, President Gardner has asked Director Schmidt to meet him at his office,” Scarlett muttered while gingerly looking at Nicole.
So, that is the reason for the somber mood in the Design Department just now, Nicole thought. While massaging the incoming headache, she said, “I’ll have a talk with President Gardner in a while. Can you please tell everyone to be more at ease?”
At that, Scarlett looked at Nicole and nodded. “Alright,” she replied shortly thereafter.
Scarlett was a new intern at the Design Department, which was why she didn’t have the chance to attend an event like yesterday’s one. She had only learned about Shaun from the Human Resource Department and the man had forced Nicole to drink from the mouths of her colleagues when she arrived at the office earlier that morning.
For Nicole to get both Sabrina and Shaun in trouble soon after she started working there, it was only natural for the other colleagues to fear being further involved with her. They would be the next ones to go if they were to pull a wrong move.
However, as someone who had been working alongside Nicole, Scarlett knew that Nicole was not someone who would find fault with others over trifles. The two who were fired probably deserved their punishment.
Colton, who was in the President’s office of Gardner Corporation, was dressed in a custom-made black suit that perfectly accentuated the muscular curves of his fit body.
He had a dark expression on his face as he leaned back into his seat. His almond-shaped eyes were cold as he peered at the woman in front of him.
“Gardner Corporation is in a collaboration with Lisa. She does not work under you.”
Standing only meters away from him was Joanna, whose eyes were lowered.
“What happened was due to my negligence. I didn’t think Shaun would be daring enough to do something like that. I apologize for not stopping him in time.”
The corners of Colton’s lips only lifted into a sneer after he heard Joanna’s words, but his pitch black eyes continued to drill holes in her. He was well aware of the fight for power within the office. The only reason why he had never mentioned any of it was because he had better things to do.
His voice dropped to a baritone thereafter and his words came out, one colder than the other.
“I’ll only say this once, Joanna. Do whatever you want with the Design Department, but you have to do as Lisa says until the last day she is with Gardner Corporation.”
Upon hearing his words, her face immediately paled as a lump began to form in her throat. She didn’t think that Nicole was such an important person to Colton.
Her eyes had reddened by then and through gritted teeth, she grumbled, “It is not like I’m worse than her! The only thing that makes her better is that she has the backing of F&M Appa—”
“That is the thing,” Colton interjected before Joanna could finish her words. “She is the Chief Designer from F&M Apparel. That alone puts her on a completely different level than you. You may go ahead and tender your resignation if you are not confident about your work. I don’t want there to be any more issues while we are collaborating with F&M Apparel.”
A dumbfounded Joanna could practically feel a chill all over her body after hearing his words. She couldn’t believe that the only thing she had received in return for the sacrifices she made was but a measly permission to resign…
Chapter 100 An Argument
Joanna’s palms balled into fists as she lifted her head to look at the dashing man through teary eyes.
For someone who had graduated as the main disciple of Maestro Yitzchak, a pioneer in fashion design, Joanna would have held a higher position than Nicole if she aimed for a bigger company instead of Gardner Corporation, which had only started out.
It was all for Colton that she willingly started from the bottom while achieving her feats along the way.
All those sacrifices, and yet all she received was Colton telling her to resign.
She could feel her nose twitch, but she could only suppress the sadness that was welling up in her chest by answering in a small voice. “I understand,” she whispered.
Scarlett had just left the room when a commotion could be heard from outside. Nicole stayed unmoving until she heard someone shouting her name at the top of their lungs.
“Nicole! You b*tch! Get your ass out here!” The shriek was so loud that it was on the verge of breaking.
Stepping out of the office, Nicole was greeted by the sight of Sabrina being surrounded by a crowd of people doing their best to stop Sabrina from barging into the office. With the thick makeup she had slapped on her face, and her mane messy from struggling against the crowd, she looked like a complete lunatic who had just broken out of a mental hospital. To make matters worse, she never once ceased the profanities coming out of her mouth.
“Miss,” Scarlett sternly called out as she grabbed Sabrina by the wrist. “Please stop. This is a workplace!”
Sabrina’s eyes were red with rage. After shoving Scarlett and making her fall to the ground, she turned to Nicole and began chastising, “You witch! Why did you fire my brother? How could you do this just because I have offended you?!”
Nicole only frowned in confusion at that. “What are you on about?”
Thinking that Nicole was pretending not to understand her words, Sabrina let out a scoff before questioning, “What are you acting innocent for? Remember Shaun Geller? Were you not the one who fired him?”
Ah, siblings. Nicole finally connected the dots. That explains why they are both so annoying.
She managed to keep her cool in the face of the enraged woman and calmly said in a raised voice. “For your information, Colton Gardner was the one who laid off Shaun Geller. Go to the President’s office if you want to find someone to bark at. Why did you even come to me?”
“I’m sure you were the one who talked the President into it!” Sabrina’s face began to turn redder by the second as she spouted whatever nonsense she could at Nicole. “Nicole, you b*tch. Everyone knows that President Yates of F&M Apparel is interested in you. Don’t pretend that it was not the reason why you became the Chief Designer!”
Nicole’s expression fell slightly when those words came out of Sabrina’s lips. A hint of anger then began to show on her exquisite face.
Sabrina could feel her spirits rise when she saw the sour expression on Nicole’s face. Thinking that she had managed to poke at Nicole’s sore spot, she passionately continued on with her idle talk.
“You must have such great technique in bed that you were rewarded for your services! That must be how you were impregnated, and later gave birth to that b*stard baby 5 years ago. You even have to bring that child along everywhere you go now! I wonder if—”
As Sabrina was talking, she was suddenly stopped by a sharp pain on her left cheek. The loud sound of skin meeting skin quickly reverberated throughout the office.
Nicole had diverted all her strength into the slap that her own palm was tingling from the numbing pain. However, she showed no emotion as she continued to coldly glare at the other woman.
Swiftly after that, a red handprint began to appear on Sabrina’s face. Sabrina was so surprised that she could only blankly stare at Nicole in disbelief. Never would she have expected Nicole to lay a hand on her when provoked.
“You—” Her hands were trembling out of fury. After collecting herself from the initial shock, she took a step forward as she raised her hand in an attempt to return the slap.
Her hand didn’t even manage to make a full swing as Nicole had grabbed her firmly before giving another hard slap on her right cheek.
Blinded by rage, Sabrina dashed forward in Nicole’s direction while wildly screaming, “You f*cking tramp! I’ll drag you to hell with me!”