But none of that mattered anymore—her grandmother had already agreed, and that was all Effie cared about.


    Back at the office, as Effie walked in, Irving Butler spotted her and scowled as if he''d just stepped in something unpleasant.


    In Irving''s eyes, Effie clearly had a knack for maniption; somehow, everyone seemed to be on her side, even at the expense of Isabel''s wellbeing.


    Still...


    "Effie," he said, his tone dripping with disdain, "some people need to remember their ce. Are you a designer, or a spokesperson? Don''t get so caught up in your side gig that you forget your real job."


    Effie had long since stopped pretending to be cordial with Irving. Now, she saw no reason to y nice.


    She looked him straight in the eye and replied, "Irving, are you saying there''s something wrong with my work? If there is, please point it out."


    Her meaning was clear: if she''d really neglected her duties or let her side work interfere with her main job, she''d apologize, even ept criticism. But as it stood, she hadn''t made a single mistake-so why should she put up with Irving''s passive-aggressive jabs?


    Irving wanted to snap back, but he couldn''t find any fault to pin on her.


    Effie always handled her responsibilities impably, never leaving so much as a loose end.


    With nothing else to say, he could only grumble, "Suit yourself."


    With that, he stormed into his office, mming the door behind him. The resounding bang was clearly meant for Effie.


    She didn''t bat an eye.


    Shirley, watching the whole exchange, looked at Effie with open admiration. She gave her a thumbs-up. "Effie, you''re amazing."


    "In this department, you''re the only one with both talent and the right connections, so you can afford to stand up to him. The rest of us wouldn''t dare."


    Effie patted Shirley''s shoulder and said, "If a had were connections, Irving could easily trip me up at work and find an excuse to fire me. The key is having real ability-only then can you be truly untouchable."


    Shirley nodded in agreement. Suddenly remembering something, she pulled out her design sketches and handed them to Effie with a hopeful expression. "Effie, could you take a look and tell me if these are any good?"


    "Of course," Effie said.


    Just then, Peter happened to walk by. Overhearing their conversation, he snorted, "Even if an assistantes up with a great design, no one''s ever going to use it. Unless..."


    Effie raised an eyebrow. "Unless what?"


    Peter just smirked and walked away without another word.


    Effie frowned. "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    Shirley''s face had gone pale. She looked at Effie and exined, "There''s this unwritten rule in the


    everywhere. No matter how talented


    a junior employee is, if you haven''t been in the industry for a few years and made a name for yourself, nobody''s going to take your work seriously. Clients will nitpick every detail, find fault with everything."


    "But if a well-known designer shows them the exact same work, they''ll praise it to the skies."


    "It''s really just that clients don''t have any faith in neers-they always think the veterans are better."


    "It''s not just in this field, either. My friend from college became a frence writer after graduation and went through the same thing. No one wanted her articles, no matter how hard she tried. Some people told her to start ghostwriting, but she refused."