Chapter 18 Counter
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.”
