Lucy blushed at Koven’s praise.“You’re exaggerating. Cooking is simple. If you want to learn, I can teach you.”Koven nodded eagerly. “Sure!”He wasted no time in picking up a piece of beef.Although the casserole dish was easy to assemble, the cooking time in the oven had to be precise and required the skills of a professional chef. It was the true test of a chef’s culinary expertise.Koven had a mouthful of beef. It was tender and flavorful, truly delicious.Then, Koven had a mouthful of potatoes. The chunks of potatoes were cut to the perfect size, and they were soft and extremely appetizing.Koven exclaimed in amazement. “Wow! This casserole is better than what I’ve had in restaurants!”He was not exaggerating. The restaurants either overcooked the beef or undercooked the potatoes, but Lucy’s version was perfectly balanced.“Did you learn to make this dish from someone else?”Lucy pushed the food toward him, encouraging him to eat more.“Not exactly. I found a cooking v
"Thank you for your concern, Koven. I’ll definitely keep an eye on her.”Lucy wanted to say that she had been wary of Charlotte a long time ago and had developed a sense of vigilance against her ever since getting provoked by her.On the other hand, it seemed to be the second time Koven felt threatened by Charlotte’s subtle warnings.He sighed and said wryly, “You don’t know this but… In our line of work, networking is crucial.”“What do you mean?”Lucy remembered Koven’s warning earlier. She thought that the most important thing for fashion designers was their abilities. “I know I told you that a combination of skill and hard work is important.”Koven explained, hoping to dispel Lucy’s doubts.“Back in the early years of the fashion industry, everyone’s intentions were pure, and there weren’t that many ill-intentioned people yet.“But in recent years, many falsely acclaimed fashion designers have emerged under the guise created by talent agencies. They occupy the path that man
A few bites into the meal, Lucy lost her appetite. More importantly, she wanted to know what else Charlotte had said to Koven. If she had said anything offensive or threatening to Koven, Lucy was not going to let her get away with it.“How do I avoid these situations from happening?”Koven did not have a huge reaction. In fact, his expression barely changed since he told Lucy these things, and he still had a good appetite. “I mentioned earlier that you have Matthew to back you up. There’s no need to draw a clear line between what he can or can't help with. I’m sure that the two of you help each other a lot in your relationship, and I believe Matthew wouldn't just let something like that happen to you. "I know how he is, and there’s no doubt how much he cares about you.”Lucy found it hard to believe that Koven had such a clear understanding of her relationship with Matthew when they had only known each other for a short time. However, his next words provided her with the answer
Koven sighed. “After finding out that I wanted to be your mentor, she started to reach out to me, trying to isolate you by pulling me in.”“Is she really that childish?”How dare Charlotte still resort to such cliche tactics? Lucy almost found it degrading. “Lucy, you need to understand that these methods may sound cliche, but they work. The scariest part is that she’s taking advantage of other people’s kindness.”Just the mention of Charlotte’s name seemed to burden Lucy endlessly. If that was the case, she was going to confront her head-on.“What conditions did she offer you?”Koven waved his hand dismissively. “Forget about it. I won't accept any amount of money from her. I even wanted to tear up the dress she asked me to make. After the way she insulted me, I would never agree to anything she said.“Lucy, the reason Charlotte is targeting me is because of our relationship, so you should think carefully about how she might use the same tactic on others. If she already tried to
The concept of their collaborative brand’s design was focused on the signature minimalist style that Hudson’s company excelled in. However, executing this collection required designers with strong expertise.The designers from Hudson’s company lacked sufficient experience, and their design philosophies were different from their desired direction, so they were set aside.That meant that they had to find replacements who were even more skilled, which was quite the challenge, given the short timeframe.The collection was scheduled to launch in the latter half of the year, which meant they had only six months left.Given that there were no other options, Hudson came up with a compromise. “How about this? Designer No. 3 works for my company. His work may be lacking a little, but it seems we have no other choice for now.”Abandoning the plan to launch the clothing line in the latter half of the year was not an option. Many major brands would be launching new products at the end of the y
Matthew’s voice was not loud, but each word struck Samantha’s heart like a hammer. It left her breathless as she wondered what Matthew would say next.Seeing as she was still standing there, Matthew said, “Did I not make myself clear?”Samantha tried to hide her frustration and disappointment. After spending so much time with Matthew, she knew his temperament well. It was best to do as he said.“But Matt… I thought you still haven’t chosen anyone.”“Who I choose is irrelevant now. What I want to know is how you came to know about this.” Matthew sat on the couch and looked at her with a rigid posture.Matthew did not have to ask. He could already guess that it was his mother, Gabriella, meddling in his business again.He noticed that information about his activities was leaking from within the company. It was not just him being paranoid. Gabriella never failed to bring up what he was doing, covering it up with clumsy lies, which only made her more suspicious.After finding out ab
“Alright, alright…”Samantha began spouting nonsense out of excitement. Did this mean that she would be able to spend more time with Matthew in the future?However, Samantha was happy over this for nothing. It was not what she thought at all.Matthew was relieved to finally be rid of this huge trouble.There was a huge problem at work when Matthew received the call from Hudson. The people working for him were getting unreliable. A data entry mistake had caused a contract to be wrongly drafted.Matthew berated Pete, the person in charge of this, sharply. A lot of yelling was involved.He asked coldly, “Who was in charge of the data entry?”“I am…” A man standing at the very end put up his hand to say.“Who was the one in charge of fact-checking?”“That was me, Mr. Leon…” A young woman put up her hand.“Did Pete check the data?”Pete nodded. His gut told him that Matthew was about to blow his top.“Is this the standard we’re supposed to have after you’ve done the checking?”
Hudson asked hesitatingly, “Mr. Leon, are you… playing a guessing game with me? I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”Matthew had no choice but to tell him the truth of what happened.“Samantha Shelby is a designer my mother recommended. That’s the reason why I told her to try and interview with your company.”“But Mr. Leon… This woman isn’t capable enough for the job. Also…”He was reminded of Samantha’s attitude. Hudson felt like she was a fly that kept buzzing around his ear.Samantha claimed that she was a rookie designer, but her attitude did not reflect that. She did not act like a newbie in the working world and did not regard her superiors in such a manner.“She claims to have just started working, but she doesn’t look like a newbie at all. She name-dropped you the moment she walked into my office and kept ordering my secretary and everyone else around. "Those who weren't aware she was here for an interview might think she was somebody important. Have you seen