Chapter 219 The Founder
Whitney immediately figured out what Nicole planned on doing, and she couldn’t help giving the woman a thumbs-up. “That is such a boss move, Miss Nicole.”
Instead of denying it, Nicole only said indifferently, “I won’t mess with people who don’t mess with me. Since she likes to use such underhanded methods, there is no need for me to hold back as well.”
Whitney’s anger finally subsided after she came to know the whole story. At the same time, she felt pity for Joanna for having Nicole as her opponent!
Due to the series of events that had been happening, the brand already had a widespread reputation even before the announcement of the new product release between the Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel.
After Colton and Nicole had a discussion, they decided to name the brand ‘Ann’ in accordance with Anna’s name, as she was the reason Colton got the Gardners into the clothing industry.
After Daniella’s suicide following the incident of the design draft leak and plagiarism, Nicole’s name had been pushed into the list of the top searches. Instead of a celebrity, the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel was the most-talked-about person in the country.
On top of that, Colton had used all the company’s media to promote the collaboration between the Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel. Just like that, the clothing brand ‘Ann’ had instantly become a highly sought after brand.
They had managed to turn up the heat with just a few photos of the ready-to-wear clothing items.
Regardless of what had happened before, they had saved cost on the marketing side this time around because of how social media had automatically assumed the part to promote the brand. The marketing aspect was the least of their concern.
The investigation of Daniella’s death confirmed that it was not suicide. It was proven that someone wanted to threaten Nicole with this incident by raising public opinion.
Even though the police had not announced who the murderer was, the news had cleared Nicole’s name after it was made known to the public.
Even the news on the Internet that called Nicole a murderer had also been removed.
Colton had directly made an official announcement that Lisa was the founder of ‘Ann’.
Needless to say, Nicole was caught by surprise when she saw the announcement. Although she was the one who made several of the main outfits, Joanna had also had her fair share of contribution in making the brand come true. Nicole didn’t at all expect Colton to make her the sole founder of ‘Ann’.
Naturally, there was no way Joanna could sit still as soon as the news came out. She stared at the announcement carefully for several times, and after searching back and forth, she still didn’t see her name there.
She was so angry that her whole body went stiff, and her lips were pressed into a straight line as she balled her hands into fists.
It wasn’t as though she had expected to be named as the founder of the brand, but they didn’t even bring up her name after all the time and energy she had spent. Nicole had taken all the credit for the labor of both their hard work!
Joanna wasn’t willing to take this sitting down. How could they treat the design director this way?!
Lexi looked at Joanna’s tense face, and she couldn’t help but feel worried. “Miss Joanna,” she meekly called out. “Are… are you alright?”
It was only then that Joanna remembered that there was someone else in the room. After she held back the emotions running across her face, she shook her head as she swallowed the hard lump in her throat. “I am fine,” she uttered.
Lexi knew what she was mad about, so she comfortingly said, “Don’t be discouraged, Miss Joanna. After all, this is a collaboration with F&M Apparel. It might have been a request by F&M Apparel. President Gardner probably didn’t have a choice but to comply.”
Joanna gradually looked more at ease after listening to Lexi’s words. She slowly closed her eyes as a wry smile tugged on the corners of her lips.
“Mhm. I know that this is a collaboration with F&M Apparel.”
Seeing that Joanna was still disheartened, Lexi began to console her again. “Miss Joanna, in any case, you are the chosen designer to make the dress for Miss Gardner’s 18th birthday. This is more than enough for you to beat Lisa.”
