"Effie, you sly thing," Annabel teased. "You know a celebrity like Maurice, and you stille running to me for help?"


    Effie hesitated, not quite sure how to exin. "Sorry, Annabel. Maurice has been filming overseas in a closed set for months. I honestly had no idea he was back and avable."


    Annabel justughed. "All I''m saying is, Lyman''s in trouble now."


    "What?" Effie blinked in confusion.


    Annabel chuckled. "I''ve got my hands full with the kids, otherwise who knows what mess that guy would drag me into this time."


    And with that, Annabel ended the call.


    Effie stared at her now-dark phone screen, puzzling over Annabel''s cryptic remark. What exactly did she mean by that?


    But she barely had time to dwell on it. The live stream was getting crazier by the second; the viewer count was climbing at a dizzying pace.


    People flooded the chat with questions: What was going on? Why had Maurice suddenly dropped into this stream? Was there something going on between the host and Maurice?


    Soon, the truth emerged-this was the official channel for Etheridge & Co. Jewels.


    Then the spection shifted. Was Maurice about to be the new face of Etheridge & Co.? Was that why he''d made this surprise appearance?


    But none of this was scripted, and Shirley, clearly nervous, steered clear of any conversation about Maurice.


    At first, viewers had only tuned in because Maurice had joined. But it wasn''t long before Shirley won them overpletely.


    She had this way of breathing new life into each piece already stunning jewelry looked somehow even more dazzling under her imaginative touch. Her creativity was infectious.


    Facing the camera, Shirley recited the line she and Effie had prepared ahead of time: "Imitation is easy, but no one can surpass my original designs."


    As she spoke, it was as if she shimmered-radiant, golden, impossible to ignore. Her words struck a chord. In just a few seconds, her follower count soared. Meanwhile, across town, E&M was in the middle of a board meeting.


    Mitchell and the other shareholders were all singing Suzan''s praises. Hertest collection was a runaway hit, selling out almost immediately.


    Still, Mitchell was puzzled. Why had Suzan been so insistent on pushing the new designs to production so quickly? The pieces were gorgeous and inspired, sure-but the pace had caught him off guard.


    Suzan just smiled. "Good things shouldn''t wait."


    But Mitchell pressed on. "You do


    realize your designs ovep with et


    The Etheridge Group''stest


    collection. Do you havesy without


    a n to


    deal with that?"


    He fixed Suzan with a pointed stare, as if he could see right through her.


    Suzan licked her lips and replied, "What ovep? If anything, they''re the ones copying us our products hit the market first."


    Mitchell leaned back. "You got lucky this time. Let''s see if you can surprise me again."


    Suzan clenched her jaw. "Just watch me."


    She was determined to make hereback. This skirmish over simr designs was just her first test.


    Of course, she wasn''t using her real name-she''d adopted the alias "S." After all,


    she''d already been expelled from the Designers'' Guild.


    The other shareholders couldn''t care


    less about ethics. giarism, copying it was all the same to


    them As long as Mitchell and Suzan kept the profits rolling in, nothing else mattered.


    Ironically, the controversy with The Etheridge Group had brought them record- breaking sales and pre-orders. For E&M, business had never been better.