Alessia curled her lips into a faint smile. “Ste, don’t pick up bad habits like <b>that</b><b>. </b>
It was hard to teil if she was talking about the person or the behavior.
At her words, Ste let go and shrugged, an exaggerated pout of regret on her face. “Alright, if you say so, Lessie, I’ll drop it. Some things really do take talent. Miss Winston clearly has more than me. Looks like I’ll never outdo the master.”
She sauntered back to Alessia’s side, just as Queenie stepped forward. Her eyes welled up, making her look all the more vulnerable.
“Every collection at Awe Studios is the result of countlesste nights, endless site visits, and endless rounds of revisions by our entire team. Each piece is precious to every designer here.”
Queenie blinked, and tears spilled down her cheeks.
The photographer immediately trained his camera on her, while several guests shot Sienna disapproving looks.
“I appreciate your recognition of our work,” Queenie continued, her voice steady despite the quaver, “but as a fellow designer, what I truly hope for is that we can learn from each other and strive to create even better work together–not to win through underhanded means like this.”
A few people nodded in agreement, their looks toward Queenie turning admiring. She was young, yet showed a level ofposure that was rare for someone who’d just been giarized.
“When I first saw your collection, I couldn’t believe it. Honestly, without this video evidence, I wouldn’t have known how to clear my name. You say you didn’t copy, but the proof is right here. Every Awe Studios sketch is digitally archived; giarism is crystal clear.”
Step by step, Queenie’s measured words sealed Sienna’s guilt in the eyes of the crowd.
“I don’t want to believe you would do this, but… the evidence is undeniable. I have no choice but to take legal action to protect myself and the other designers at Awe Studios.”
Sienna red at Queenie, but couldn’te up with a single word in her own
defense.
08.03
Ste seized the moment to <b>inject </b><b>some </b><b>levity</b><b>–</b><b>and </b>a <b>little </b><b>promotion</b><b>. </b><b>Luckily</b><b>, </b><b>our </b>Queenie has zero interest in dirty tricks and happens <b>to </b>be <b>a </b><b>genius</b><b>, </b><b>which </b><b>is </b><b>more </b>than I can say for some people. Even copying, they can’t get it right. <b>By </b><b>the </b><b>way</b>, tomorrow’sunch will be streamed online for anyone who wants to tune <b>in</b><b>!</b><b>” </b>
As soon as the guests left this room, word would spread through the industry <b>in </b>minutes. The journalists would have the whole story up online before the hour <b>was </b>
out.
Not to mention, Queenie already had a decent fanbase. This bit of drama alone was sure to set the inte abuzz.
In one fell swoop, they’d kept the designs under wraps, generated a wave of publicity, and ramped up anticipation for tomorrow’sunch–a triple win.
At some point, the doors had opened and staff were ushering everyone out. Sienna refused to move, but Fortune eventually dragged her away. She’d lost face in every possible way.
After this, if The Winston Group couldn’t turn their public image around, their high–end jewelry line didn’t stand a chance. After all, what woman of means would willingly wear an imitation? Price wasn’t the issue–in fact, sometimes they didn even care if a piece looked good. For collectors, owning it was all that mattered, even if it never left the safe.
A knock–off wouldn’t elevate their status; if anything, it would make them aughingstock over afternoon tea. No one with any social standing would risk bing the butt of the joke just for a brand name.
With the room finally empty, only Alessia and her twopanions remained.
As the mastermind behind the whole affair, Alessia savored the oue with quiet satisfaction.