“Damn it!” At this moment, the two had taken the elevator up to the 16th floor of the commercial building.
Stepping out of the elevator doors, Harper held half a bagel in one hand, put the other on her hip, and let out an earth-shattering curse.
Chloe’s face darkened, hurriedly reaching out to tug at Harper’s sleeve.
Looking at the staff standing dumbfounded in the reception area bearing the “GY Studio” sign opposite them, she felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
The girl standing at the reception desk, seeing the two bosses, hurriedly ran out to welcome them with a crisp voice: “Good morning, Boss Chloe and Boss Harper.” The employees who were idling and chatting at the door finally reacted, hastily greeting them.
Only then did Harper realize her professional image had just been chipped.
She gripped Chloe’s hand tightly, gritting her teeth and speaking through them: “You, come over here!” Having said that, keeping a fierce face, she dragged Chloe through the glass doors, heading straight up to the design area upstairs.
Chloe stumbled, passively following Harper’s long strides, while simultaneously having to maintain a friendly industrial smile, nodding to greet the staff, struggling to drag her feet to the second floor.
The second floor was an open workspace in a stunning industrial style with floor-to-ceiling transparent glass partitions.
As soon as she pushed the door into the private office, Harper threw Chloe onto the soft leather sofa, turned around to lock the door from the inside, and pulled down the blinds.
Then, she walked over and stood towering in front of her best friend: “You had better honestly confess everything to me!” “Confess what…” Chloe mumbled a sentence, but immediately catching Harper’s glaring eyes, she instantly became timid: “It is exactly about that matter last night…” “Serena actually flew back to New York?” Harper narrowed her eyes.
“Yes.” “She came back and still dared to call your husband?” The corners of Harper’s lips curled up into a sarcastic smile.
“Yes.” “Calling in the middle of the night and even daring to coquettishly call ‘Julian’ as intimately as a lover?” Harper’s face was now as black as the bottom of a pan.
“Yes.” “Have you lost your brain that you only know how to say yes!” Harper forcefully poked her finger into Chloe’s forehead: “Didn’t you bother to interrogate Julian to see what the hell this matter is all about?” “There is nothing to ask, I trust him.” Chloe lowered her eyes, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the diamond ring on her ring finger.
“Heh!” Harper was so angry she laughed: “You trust him?
You trust him yet you were so paranoid that you lost sleep and stayed awake all night?” “I…” Chloe was momentarily speechless.
The next second, just like a deflated balloon, she gloomily leaned her back completely against the sofa: “I just feel a bit uneasy in my heart, after all, during their college years…
they had a period of passionate love.” “It was extremely passionate.” Harper smiled outwardly, but a harshness flashed in her eyes: “Perhaps it will not be long before old flames reignite and dry wood catches fire.
When that time comes, even if you drag your designer suitcases to knock on the door of my penthouse, I will not take you in.” “Julian is not that kind of man,” Chloe weakly rebutted.
“Hah!” Harper sneered: “One day I will be angered to death by your weak-willed nature.” Having said that, Harper pulled open the office door, popped her head out to look down at the work area below, and ordered in a loud tone: “Tommy!
Get me a cup of Iced Americano, lots of ice, put in a lot of ice!” “Huh?
Yes, boss!” A handsome young man with a scholarly appearance jumped up in a startle, clearly frightened out of his wits by his boss’s terrifying tone.
“It seems Boss Harper’s mood today is incredibly terrible!” A female employee with Hollywood-style wavy hair, wearing bright red lipstick and a tight dress showing off her fiery curves, smiled and teased Tommy.
“It is extremely, extremely terrible,” another female designer with glossy blonde hair chimed in, and then the two giggled at each other.
Tommy’s fair and delicate face clearly revealed a look of panic.
He had been hired for less than a week and had not yet fully grasped the human resources ecosystem of “GY,” and the number of times he had encountered Boss Harper could be counted on one hand.
If he accidentally brewed the wrong coffee and angered her further, he might very well be called up by HR and fired on the same day.
“Jessica, the boss said to add a lot of ice, how much do I have to add?” Tommy asked with a panicked expression seeking help.
“Do you want to know the secret, honey?” The red-lipped beauty threw him a flirtatious wink, her red-painted finger lightly tapping her own cheek: “Good boy, give me a kiss, and I will show you hands-on, deal?” Her sultry tone was exactly like a witch tempting Snow White to eat the poisoned apple.
The blonde girl, Lily, burst out laughing upon hearing that.
Seeing Tommy’s youthful face instantly turn red with embarrassment, she found it incredibly amusing: “Little Tommy, why aren’t you hurrying up and giving your sister Jessica a kiss?
It is very rare for her to show kindness and help a newbie today.” Tommy stood rooted to the spot, his eyes wide open, his whole body as stiff as a rabbit about to be devoured by a pack of wolves.
“Jessica, what tricks are you pulling again?
Do you know that kind of teasing completely constitutes workplace sexual harassment, and I can send a report straight to the human resources department?” Just as Tommy was despairing over being sandwiched between the two eccentric girls, a cold voice rang out from behind to bail him out.
Turning his head, the person who had just spoken was wearing a silk blouse paired with an elegant black pencil skirt, her short hair neatly combed.
That was Rachel, Harper’s highly capable executive assistant.
Jessica pouted and shrugged: “Assistant Rachel, I was just joking around to liven up the atmosphere, why so tense.” Saying so, Jessica raised an eyebrow at Lily, turned around, and walked back to her desk, not forgetting to toss back a flirtatious smile.
“Boss Harper’s requested Iced Americano: half a cup of ice, no milk, no sugar.” Rachel kept an emotionless face looking at Tommy: “Memorized the recipe yet?” Tommy, like a drowning person catching a lifebuoy, hurriedly nodded.
Seeing Rachel turn on her heels and head towards the pantry counter, he hastily trailed behind.
The two stepped into the company’s luxurious pantry area.
Rachel skillfully took a mega-sized Venti cup from the top shelf, scooped it half full with ice cubes, and then poured in thick, black Cold Brew coffee.
Seeing Tommy’s jaw nearly drop to the floor in astonishment, Rachel clicked her tongue and silently thought that fresh graduates truly lacked life experience.
“This…
this cup…
can Boss Harper finish drinking it?” Tommy timidly asked.
Roughly calculating, the amount of caffeine in there was enough to keep a person awake for two days straight.
“Whether she finishes it or not is unimportant; what the boss needs right now is a thermal shock to cool down her anger.” Rachel calmly shrugged.
She turned to take a stunning bone china teacup, carefully brewed a fragrant Latte Macchiato, and then jerked her chin, gesturing for Tommy to bring both servings upstairs.
Looking at the two cups of coffee with ridiculously disproportionate sizes placed on the tray, Tommy scratched his head: “Rachel, who is the other guest in the boss’s office…?” He had never seen that beautiful woman before.
“Oh, her?
That is the biggest boss here, Ms.
Chloe.” Rachel dropped a brief sentence and then picked up a file folder to leave.
Tommy carried the drink tray, pushing the glass door with trepidation, and carefully placed the giant Americano in front of Harper, letting out a sigh of relief.
After that, he looked up at the woman curled up on the expensive sofa, respectfully placing the steaming Latte cup on the glass table in front of her.
“Thank you.” A soft, elegant voice, like the sound of flowing water, rang out.
Tommy blushed and waved his hands: “You are welcome, boss.” Chloe lifted the teacup to take a sip, revealing a half-hidden smile of satisfaction: “A new employee?” “Yes, Boss Chloe.” Tommy stood up perfectly straight in a conditioned reflex, just like a rookie waiting for a general’s inspection.
“You do not need to be so tense.” Chloe narrowed her eyes in a smile, the corners of her mouth displaying a sunny, approachable smile: “What is your name?” “Reporting to Boss Chloe!
I am Tommy Brown!” The voice was full of vigor, almost shouting out loud and clear.
Good Lord, this was the renowned Chloe Quinn!
She was personally talking to him!
Although the jewelry brand “GY” was only established a few years ago, its position in the New York fashion industry was not something to be joked about.
This resounding success came entirely from the two talented female founders.
Harper, although young, had already pocketed a series of prestigious awards from international fashion weeks.
As for Chloe, although she rarely participated in competitions, any sketch she released created a fever.
The most typical example was the jade-encrusted tiara that the Queen of England had just worn at the Royal gala last month – that was single-handedly designed by Chloe.
Coupled with its high-end positioning but carrying a youthful and daring breath, “GY” was always the desire of fashion aficionados.
That was also the reason Tommy declined offers from large corporations to apply for an internship at “GY.” He was completely mesmerized by the peak aesthetic direction of this brand.
“Tommy Brown.” Chloe repeated the name slowly, gently nodding to indicate that she had memorized it.
“Alright, if there is nothing else, you can go out.” Harper spoke up to dismiss the person.
She hugged the Iced Americano with both hands, frowning as she looked across: “I will tell you the truth, Boss Chloe, lately you have been acting as a shareholder who sits idle and does nothing way too leisurely, haven’t you?” Chloe raised her hand to stroke her hair, using puppy-dog eyes to look at Harper innocently: “Harper, they say those with talent must shoulder more responsibilities.
If this brand were left to a business-blind person like me to manage, we would probably hold hands and file for bankruptcy in two days.” “Just shut up!” Harper gave Chloe a sharp glare: “The new Fall/Winter collection is launching, as the Creative Director, you should at least rack your brains to figure out a way to boost the marketing campaign!” “Isn’t opening the pre-order portal on the website enough to drive sales?” Chloe blinked.
After all, “GY” always maintained a scarcity model, and the manufacturing quantity for each design was extremely limited.
As soon as the upper-class ladies saw a new design released, they would predictably have to rely on all sorts of relationships to fight for a chance to buy it.
“This time we are launching a high-end Fine Jewelry line featuring pink diamonds.” Harper raised her hand to smooth the lapel of her vest: “Its retail price is sky-high, not everyone can afford it, therefore…” “Oh.” Chloe unhurriedly stood up from the leather sofa, taking out her phone to make a call.
A string of fluent French flowed from her pale pink lips.
A long while after hanging up the phone, Chloe raised her hand to massage her forehead: “Harper, prepare an item from the new collection, package it exquisitely, I will bring it as a gift.” “Okay.” Harper, on the contrary, did not show any annoyance.
She decisively pressed the internal phone to delegate the work downwards, then looked up to ask another question: “To whom are you gifting it?” “The wife of my former academic advisor from college.” Chloe drank the entire cup of bitter coffee in one gulp.
Harper’s face immediately overflowed with excitement.
She giggled and leaned forward, her left hand pointing toward the door in a waiter-like gesture: “Boss Chloe, our brand ambassador will shoot the advertising campaign for this season’s collection today, please move along, milady!” Chloe pretended to smooth the folds of her clothes, and upon reaching the door, she suddenly hooked her arm through Harper’s: “Let’s go!”