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.
