Ambition and obsession - Season 1 Episode 18

Since the Mann Family made their living in the clothing industry, offending F&M Apparel would only bring them disgrace. Although Mann Clothing Co. was one of the top clothing companies in Lumore, they were just a speck of dust compared to F&M Apparel. With beads of sweat on his forehead, Joseph immediately felt regretful, remembering the words he had said to Nicole earlier. Back then, he had actually listened to Queenie without considering the veracity of her words and ended up believing that Nicole was pretending to be Lisa. Because of this, he had completely displeased the entire F&M Apparel corporation. Seeing how Joseph had switched sides so quickly, Queenie was furious. However, she could only hold back her anger. “I’m sorry for my ignorance, Miss Lisa,” she apologized. Since Colton needed Lisa’s cooperation, if she ruined her chance, she could forget about being the young future mistress of the Gardner Corporation. Looking at Queenie who was so apologetic, Nicole smiled slightly and replied weakly, “Well, I’m not an unreasonable person. Just be cautious in the future, okay?” Hearing this, Queenie was stunned; she thought Nicole would take this chance to humiliate her even more. She didn’t expect Nicole to let her off the hook so easily. Before she could react, Nicole went off on a tangent. “I don’t really care about this personally, but I’m here representing the entire design team of F&M Apparel. And by embarrassing me, you’re embarrassing my entire design team. There’s no way I’m going to let my design team members be seen as weak.” Nicole accentuated her words as her upright posture highlighted her slender figure, as well as her heels that made her look tall and stylish. Queenie, on the other hand, was taken aback by her cold tone and stern face. Her entire body trembled as her cheeks flushed. Since she was put on edge, if Nicole continued to berate her, the Gardners might turn on her. At that point, the Anderson Family would have no one left to rely on. She glanced at Colton, who was not far away, only to find him staring with his arms crossed, with no intention of supporting her. Then, she could only swallow her pride and play the sibling card. “Um… look, Nicole. We’re sisters, aren’t we? After all, the same blood runs through our bodies. I admit, it’s my fault. Could you please forgive me?”

Nicole lowered her head to look at Queenie. Her once arrogant sister was now acting as petty as a shy puppy. She smiled unaffectedly, knowing that this was just the beginning. None of you Andersons will be forgiven for Mom’s death!

“You’re right,” Nicole replied as her eyes grew duller. “Since we’re sisters, I’ll let this slide.” As she spoke, she turned to Joseph. “Mr. Mann, as I said, F&M Apparel will never establish any partnership with the Mann Family, and my words still stand. If there is nothing else, you can leave.”

As Robert’s only precious son who was raised with all the care and attention in the world, Joseph felt insulted to be confronted in front of a gigantic number of guests—including countless respectable figures of the country—attending the annual dinner. He felt completely embarrassed, being ridiculed by the crowd. However, the person in front of him was Lisa, so he could only resist and retreat with his pent-up anger.

Embarrassed, Queenie, along with Joseph, fled the venue in despair. A hint of malice flashed across Queenie’s eyes as she turned to look at her popular sister.

Then, the domestic general manager of F&M Apparel came to deal with the crowd. “It’s okay. It’s just an accident. Let’s all enjoy our food and drinks. You can ask Miss Lisa for guidance if you have any questions.” There was obviously sweat on his forehead, as he was stupefied by the previous disturbance. Since it was Lisa’s first trip to the country, if the conflict was blamed on him, his career as general manager would be practically over.

With that, the guests, sparing the pride of F&M Apparel, gradually dispersed.

At that moment, Colton approached with a polite smile. “Greetings, Miss Lisa. I am Colton Gardner, president of Gardner Corporation.”

Faced with his virile and magnetic timbre, Nicole turned and met his deep dark eyes. Those eyes were as deep as an abyss, as if they were pulling her in. Looking at the man in front of her, she frowned and replied boldly, “You don’t have to be so polite. We’ve known each other for a long time. A long time, after all.”