Chapter 29 Shunning Christina
Christina left work in a cheerful mood and broke the news to Evelyn that her design had been selected by the company.
Evelyn was overjoyed, and she hurried into the kitchen to prepare a few more dishes to celebrate.
Christina went into her bedroom, kicked off her slippers, and sprawled on the bed to scroll through her phone when she received an international call.
A hypnotic male voice said, “Have you gotten off work?”
Christina stilled for a moment before returning. “Nathaniel?”
The hoarseness in his voice lent credence to how busy he had been for the past few days, but the fact that she didn’t recognize his voice darkened his mood.
He gave a low hum, and both of them fell silent. “Did anyone deliberately approach you in my absence?”
Christina’s brows drew together as she did not understand what he was implying.
“No,” she answered honestly.
Nathaniel said unemotionally. “Okay, I’m hanging up now.”
Before he disconnected, she heard someone in the background shouting about a meeting starting, as if he had carved out time from his hectic schedule to give her a call before resuming work.
Christina stared at the unfamiliar number and hesitated for a moment before saving it to her contacts.
Evelyn called her out for dinner a while later.
After a good night’s rest, Christina changed into a petite suit and went to work the next morning-
She felt eyes boring into her with contempt the moment she walked into the office as if she was everyone’s common enemy.
Why the drastic change after one night?
Christina felt like an alien in everyone’s eyes, a feeling that left a sour taste in her mouth.
She clicked on the company’s forum to figure out the problem and finally understood after reading the
headlines.
A Radiant Corporation intern hitched a ride in the director’s Mercedes after work!
She tarnished the reputation of Radiant Corporation by sleeping around!
Christina Steele has to be stopped!
It had been blown out of proportion, and practically every employee had shared the headline.
The news didn’t only spin a narration about her getting into the director’s car, but also on her dubious relationship with Yosef, leader of Team B.
Yosef was the prince charming in the circle of designers, and the director was the ultimate prize. It was a crime for Christina to sink her claws in both of them!
A chill seeped into her bones as she finished reading the article. Even her fingertips were cold.
They painted me as a woman who sleeps her way to the top because my designs made the cut despite me being new.
What a ridiculous joke!
But how do I clear up the rumors without inadvertently revealing that I’m Mrs. Hadley or having Nathaniel step forward?
Disgruntlement rendered her silent.
Christina could only grudgingly ignore this matter and hope it would pass.
Two days later, the rumors didn’t peter out as Christina had thought but were exacerbated instead, and every designer had voiced their desire to boycott her.
They would not tolerate a designer in Radiant Corporation using her beauty for an advantage or sexual favors.
It not only promoted a dangerous culture but was also an insult to the other hardworking designers.
When Christina arrived at the office in the morning, several designers demanding justice surrounded
her small desk.
It was too much of a frenzy, and the security guards immediately informed the CEO and vice CEO.
Zachary and lan came to the design department a few minutes later to find a small crowd had surrounded Christina and were clamoring for her resignation.
Tina, Team A’s assistant team leader, challenged, “Mr. Sacchetti, if Christina doesn’t turn in her resignation letter today, it will be an insult to the rest of the hardworking designers. Either she goes, or
we leave!”
Zachary had seen the photos online, but he wasn’t sure what the relationship between Nathaniel and Christina was. Even so, he had seen how differently Nathaniel treated her the other day.
First, Nathaniel warned me away, then this girl was photographed entering his car…
He’s a germaphobe who will nitpick every time someone gets into his car, even us, so maybe, as the internet
suggests…
Zachary could care less about this matter, but he had to resolve the worsening situation.
Currently, he was feeling conflicted as he was personally unwilling to fire a beautiful woman. His face twisted into an awkward expression. “Why don’t you take some time off, Christina? We’ll make a decision once I get to the bottom of this.”
It was the most polite way out for Christina.
It was pointless for Christina to resist and embarrass herself further now that he had spoken out.
I’m not in the wrong, yet I have to leave… Isn’t this indirectly admitting that I slept my way to the top?
The stain on her name and disgrace would follow her to every job, which was really unfair!
lan stood in the middle of the crowd, towering over everyone with his six-foot-tall height. “I don’t believe Christina did any of that. I’ve seen her designs, and they are fabulous.”
He tried to be objective and leafed through her designs again, still believing that they were better than others in terms of artistic conception.
A male voice from behind said, “I agree with Mr. Zimmerman that Christina’s designs are fantastic.”
Everyone whipped their head around to see Yosef standing there.
If a designer of his stature supported her, surely that proved Christina’s expertise.
The designers who had raised a racket wanting her gone all fell silent.
However, Tina didn’t relent and asked, “How do you know she didn’t commission those? I don’t believe. that a fresh grad designer possesses such skills.”
The designs are either a fraud, or she’s a true genius, and I’m going with the former
Christina knew a few words of support wouldn’t dispel their suspicion.
Then, lan suggested, “Why don’t we hold another week-long design competition? Everyone will be required to stay at the hotel, with the company covering all costs, to level the playing field.”
Now was as good a time as any to allay everyone’s suspicion and doubt
lan was dressed head to toe in white-on-black designer clothes, and a hint of his clavicle peeked out, causing all the ladies to gaze at him with lovelorn eyes.
Christina was the first to put in her name, determined to win the competition to prove herself.
The rest who wanted to bring her down followed suit.
Ian delegated the registration duties to Gina and informed the designers who entered the competition. to go home and pack before congregating at Golden Rose Holiday Hotel two hours later.
Christina quickly gathered her belongings and left the office, as did the rest of the designers.
Following that, lan sent out a memo requesting that any news regarding Christina be removed.
He had just returned to the office and sat down at his desk when he received a call from Nathaniel.
