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The conference room gradually filled up.
All the high–level executives from various departments of FY and the employees from the PO department
were present.
Caleb Lockwood was a guest, and Peter had originally arranged a front–row seat for him. However, upon
seeing ire Shaw was present, Caleb voluntarily sat next to her, causing Chantelle Stone and Megan Ross to
gossip in hushed tones.
ire pretended not to care, but inside, she was secretly delighted.
She couldn’t wait for everyone in thepany to know Caleb Lockwood was her boyfriend.
Peter pulled down the blinds, and the conference room wentpletely dark, except for the glow of the
projector.
Serena Jennings stood at the front, facing a crowd of people, with Caleb and ire still conspicuously
whispering to each other.
This meeting was specifically convened by Peter for Serena, projecting her ten designs onto the big screen
for all thepany executives to score.
Initially, Caleb dismissed Serena’s designs with a sneer.
He had heard from ire that none of Serena’s designs had been approved, and keeping someone like her in
apany full of elites was just self–humiliation.
As design after design appeared on the big screen, ire noticed Caleb wasn’t talking to her anymore. His
eyes were glued to the screen, and he didn’t even notice when she tugged at his suit sleeve several times.
When the presentations were over, Peter reopened the blinds, filling the conference room with light.
“Let’s score now. Above 90 is considered passing.”
As soon as these words were spoken by Peter, the designers from the PO department were in an uproar.
Heather Monroe’s requirement was that a score above 60 was passing, yet Serena couldn’t even meet that, let
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23 Chapter 23: Improper Rtionship
alone 90.
Initially, many thought this scoring was just a show by Peter.
Rumors were flying around thepany, saying Serena was Peter’s fling, only there because she slept her way in,cking real talent, which is why her designs were stuck with Heather.
But now, Peter’s demand seemed iprehensible to them.
Not just the design department, but the sales, PR, advertising, and operations departments – all high–level leaders from every FY department scored Serena’s designs. All ten designs scored above 90.
This oue didn’t surprise Peter at all, but Serena wore an expression of disbelief.
However, people in the conference room weren’t looking at Serena; they were all looking at Heather.
Unable to withstand the pressure, Heather stood up to exin, iming that while Serena’s designs were good, the PO product line primarily dealt with gold jewelry. The low hardness and soft texture of gold made
tooplex designs and mounts too risky with current techniques.
“But as the head of the PO design group, your responsibility is to select the best designs. Whether the craftsmanship can realize them isn’t your concern. You should submit the best designs to your leaders, who
will determine their feasibility for production, not you.”
Sophia Shepherd bluntly rebuked Heather, whose face turned red with embarrassment, leaving her at a loss
for words except to apologize.
“Now that 5G technology for gold is maturing, while Serena’s designs are somewhat challenging to achieve, they aren’t flights of fantasy. They migh
even drive ourpany’s technological innovations. After all, gold
jewelry has always been a weak spot for FY.”
After Sophia spoke, Serena couldn’t help but chime in.
“I have some thoughts on gold hardness and craftsmanship…” Serena began illustrating on the whiteboard,
exining her newly invented technique to everyone.
Unnoticed, people from other departments left the conference room, leaving only Sophia and a few design
sub–division heads.
They were seriously discussing and researching the craft improvements for the new product line with
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23 Chapter 23: Improper Rtionship
Serena.
Even though Serena was part of the PO department, her colleagues there felt more embarrassed than proud.
Including ire.
“What’s wrong?” Caleb noticed ire’s mood was off.
ire suddenly grabbed Caleb’s hand and pulled him into a corner.
“Caleb, I’m only telling you… actually… the new technique Serena mentioned… I came up with it.”
“What?” Caleb was taken aback.
ire deliberately hushed him, “Serena asked me for help with her designs. Without thinking much, I talked
about this new technique I had in mind, never expecting her to present it as her own idea in the meeting…”
Seeing ire’s eyes redden, Caleb turned to leave.
“Where are you going?”
ire grabbed Caleb’s hand.
“I’m going to help you get justice,” Caleb said resolutely.
“No… please don’t go…” ire held Caleb back desperately. “You know, Serena… has a close rtionship with
Director Peter. There are rumors in thepany about their improper rtionship. A colleague even saw
them hugging at her workstation during today’s lunch break. I don’t think anyone would believe us, and once
you’re gone, I don’t know how Director Peter might target me…”
The more ire spoke, the quieter her voice became. Just then, Serena finished her meeting and walked out
of the conference room.
Turning her head, she saw Caleb and ire in the corner, holding hands.
Caleb was also looking at her, his eyes full of disdain.
Serena had thought that after seeing her designs, Caleb would at least slightly recognize her capability
beyond being a housewife.
But now it seemed she had thought too much.
23 Chapter 23: Improper Rtionship
Holding her stomach, Serena silently returned to her office.
Calebforted ire for a while before leaving FY.
Mr. Miller came by fashionablyte, carrying the millet congee and shrimp dumplings Caleb had asked him to
buy.
“President Lockwood, this…”
Mr. Miller handed the takeout to Caleb, noticing his boss’s foul mood.
This was not Caleb’s usual fare. Mr. Miller knew it must be for someone else, though he wouldn’t ask for
whom.
Caleb took the takeout and casually threw it into the trash can beside him.
Mr. Miller was stunned but said nothing.
Caleb had originally bought that takeout for Serena.
During the meeting, he had heard her stomach growling and saw her rubbing her stomach multiple times.
As someone with a stomach condition himself, Caleb assumed Serena was suffering from stomach pain and
hadn’t eaten lunch, prompting him to order the tummy–soothing millet porridge.
But after hearing what ire said, he felt his gesture had been unnecessary.
FY eventually developed a new technique andunched Serena’s ten designs to the market. The FY–PO series
became a huge sess, selling worldwide. As a high–end luxury brand, FY not only solidified its position in
luxury jewelry but also made a significant impact in the mid–to–high–end gold jewelry market.
However, within FY Company, rumors unfavorable to Serena continued to spread.
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