Chapter 130 Julie Is Tricked
Maria suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked at Julie. "So, what kind of answer are you looking for?"
Julie's expression stiffened, and her smile looked very forced. "I was just asking casually. If you don't like it, I won't ask anymore."
Maria didn't respond. Julie watched her walk away, seething inside. She believed Maria looked down on her because she knew about the assault Julie had suffered. Julie vowed to drag Maria into the same abyss and see if she still dared to look down on her.
Julie harbored malicious thoughts but didn't let them show. She caught up to Maria, chatting about other topics. They took a cab to the office, and just before getting off the elevator, Julie suddenly said, "Maria, let's have lunch together today."
"No, thanks. I'm eating with my colleagues," Maria rejected her outright. She didn't understand why Julie suddenly wanted to be friends, but she knew it couldn't be anything good.
Julie had warned her not to tell Dora or anyone in the Smith family about the incident. She didn't want Maria's help but wanted her to know about it. Maria didn't believe there wasn't some ulterior motive.
Julie bit her lip in frustration, thinking Maria was too cautious. She decided to approach the situation differently and didn't press further. They got off the elevator on different floors.
When Maria arrived at the office, Thea was already there, taking advantage of the quiet to work on her design. Seeing Maria, Thea waved cheerfully. "Maria, come over here! How's your design coming along?"
"I've finished one. How about you?" Maria asked, curious. She was surprised to see Thea's design was only half done. Thea had taken it home yesterday, so why was it still incomplete?
Maria voiced her confusion, and Thea looked a bit guilty, coughing lightly. "I had a burst of inspiration last night and ended up designing and making an outfit. Maria, it's perfect for you. I brought it with me. Can you try it on for me at lunch time?"
Thea looked at Maria expectantly. Maria's internal alarm bells rang. Based on the photos she'd seen at Thea's place, she couldn't imagine Thea designing normal clothes. She still hadn't dared to wear the last outfit Thea made.
"No, it's not convenient. Besides, I'm probably not the best fit. You should get a professional model to try it. You might get a different perspective."
Maria racked her brain for excuses to avoid wearing Thea's clothes. But Thea looked so dejected, her voice dropping. "Maria, do you think my designs are ugly too?"
Maria felt a pang of guilt. She couldn't stand seeing Thea like this, just like when Molly used to act this way whenever she made a mistake. Maria would always give in, and Molly knew it. Maria sighed, unable to harden her heart. "I can't try it here, but I can take it home and show you on video or send pictures."
"Video call will be fine! You're the best, Maria." Thea hugged her, beaming. Maria felt like she'd been tricked, but she couldn't back out now.
"Maria, here it is. I put it in your locker. Don't forget to take it after work," Thea said, hurriedly stuffing the bag with the outfit into Maria's locker. Maria's hope for the outfit dwindled even further.
With the outfit sorted, Thea returned to her desk, and Maria settled down to work on her next design.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the conference room was tense.
"This is the proposal you submitted? What am I paying you for?" Henry angrily threw a stack of papers at Vernon, who kept his head down, glancing nervously at the shareholders.
Among them was a man in a sharp suit with a refined demeanor. He noticed Vernon's look and his eyes darkened. That idiot Vernon, was he practically begging Henry to notice their connection? He gave Vernon a stern look before resuming his calm demeanor.
"Mr. Smith, it's my fault for not managing my team properly. I'll make sure to tighten control over them," Vernon, the manager of the planning department, said with a forced smile.
Henry's cold gaze didn't waver. "If this happens again, you're out."
Vernon's face paled. He didn't dare respond, hoping for help from his backer, but the man had already started talking to someone else.
"Next," Henry continued the meeting, ignoring Vernon. After the meeting, everyone dispersed once Henry left the room. Vernon quickly followed a man to the stairwell.
Just as Vernon was about to speak, the man snapped angrily. "Idiot! I told you to do your job properly. Now Henry's definitely suspicious of our connection."
"Mr. Adams, it's my fault. Please help me. If I get fired, you'll lose an ally," Vernon pleaded with Ryder.
Ryder's eyes turned cold. "Are you threatening me?"
Vernon's heart skipped a beat. "Of course not. I wouldn't dare, Mr. Adams."
Ryder sneered, his tone ominous. "You'd better not be. Now get back to work and stop hiring useless people. You may be my man, but remember, Luminex Innovations is Henry's domain. I won't be able to protect you next time."
With that, Ryder walked away. Vernon watched him leave, feeling dissatisfied. He had aligned with Ryder because he was a shareholder at Luminex Innovations and could speak up to Henry. But now Ryder was saying he couldn't protect him, which left Vernon frustrated.
Despite his frustration, Vernon had to deal with the proposal issue. He returned to the planning department's office, his face dark. Before anyone could greet him, he slammed the stack of proposals on the desk. "Who wrote these garbage proposals?"
Some papers fell to the floor. Julie glanced at them, her heart sinking. Two of them were hers.
"What kind of trash are you writing? If you don't want to work, get out. Luminex Innovations doesn't need useless people." Vernon was furious, humiliated in front of everyone in the conference room. His gaze was particularly menacing.
Everyone felt a chill under his stare. Suddenly, a timid female voice spoke up. "Mr. Larson, the top two proposals were written by Julie."
Julie's head snapped up. The speaker was Harper Cooper, a shy intern in the planning department. Julie remembered her because she had scolded her a few times. She hadn't expected Harper to set her up like this.