<b>Chapter </b><b>204 </b>


    After leaving <b>the </b>restaurant,*


    :..


    Xylia shook Joshua’s hand a little, her tone yful and a bit curious.<b>* </b>


    Xylia asked, “Why did you tell them who you really are?“*


    ‘Was that really necessary?‘ Xylia wondered to herself.


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    Joshua’s <b>face </b>was still clouded with anger, his usually charming eyes shing with lingering irritation.


    “I wanted him to know I’m not someone you can just push around!” Joshua shot back, his tone unmistakably defiant.


    Xylia grinned and nudged him yfully, “Hey, remember, you were the one who hid your real identity from everyone in the first ce.”


    What she meant was, if Connor didn’t know Joshua was tough to mess with, it was only because Joshua himself had kept that a secret.


    Joshua frowned. ‘Wait, are you actually taking his side now?‘


    Xylia quickly raised her hands in mock surrender. “Hey, don’t get me wrong! I’m not taking his side at all.”


    Joshua caught the teasing glimmer in her eyes and let out a ‘tsk,‘ reaching over to pinch her nose and give it a yful tug.


    “Here I am backing you up, and you’re still teasing me?” Joshua said, shooting her a mock–offended look.


    Xyliaughed, feeling every bit like his pampered, proud girl.


    The next day, the Garcia Group’s official social media ount posted a statement.


    <b>It </b>stated that the rumors about the Ford Group cheating its partners werepletely baseless. The process had been fair and transparent, and the Ford Group reserved the right to pursue legal action against anyone spreading false ims.


    At the end, they attached a <b>list </b>of all the studios involved and the payments each received.


    Even Bridge Studio, which had pulled out halfway, still received a substantial payout.


    Almost immediately, the vibe in thement section totally changed.


    [‘Wait, Bridge Studio bailed and still got paid? Okay, I get not winning means no payout for the other studios, but Bridge dropped out and still bagged that much cash? Seriously?‘]


    [‘The Garcia Group’s always been crazy generous. Top three worldwide–they wouldn’t bother pulling <b>shady </b>moves on their partners, that’s way beneath them.]


    [‘Damn, where do I find a sugar daddy client like this? Everyone who showed up got paid, even if it wasn’t a ton. At least it wasn’t some freebie gig!]


    [‘Garcia Group mainly does jewelry, but this time they even brought in legit fashion design experts to review the work uniforms. Zero chance anything underhanded happened here.‘]


    [‘People online flip sides as fast as ever—it’s just like tucking your long johns into your socks: weirdlyforting.‘]


    This whole situation wasn’t all that serious.


    Thanks to the Garcia Group’s statement, Xylic Studio’s reputation was slowly bouncing back.


    Some of the orders they’d lost started trickling back in.


    And because of all the buzz, Xylic Studio’s name was getting out there. The ce was buzzing with activity these past couple of days.


    Xylia watched her team hustling around, thinking about whether it was time to expand.


    Josie said, “Yeah, hiring more people is a must, but for now, what matters most is the Garcia Group’s order. Once we finish the designs, I’m just worried Henry’s little factory might not be able to handle the workload.”


    The Garcia Group’s order wasn’t exactly urgent, but their deadline wasing up fast.


    More than twenty thousand uniforms–handing the entire job over to Henry’s tiny workshop was going to be a massive task and it’d definitely eat up a ton of time.


    And right now, they only had a preliminary concept, not an actual finished design. They still had to finalize the patterns, pick out the fabrics, get the garments made… There were so many steps left to go.


    “I’ll touch base with Henry soon and we’ll work out a n,” Xylia said.


    Josie nodded. “And I’ll get started on hiring more folks. Looks like our hands are about to be full these days<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    Just as Josie was about to dive back into work, something seemed to pop into her mind. She turned around and called out, “Oh, and don’t forget about the designpetition next month, alright?”


    “Don’t worry, I remember,” Xylia said.


    Josie finally looked reassured and headed out.


    Xylia knew Josie always had her back when it came to climbing up in the design game. After she decided to join thepetition, Josie couldn’t help but check in and remind her about it nearly every day.


    Xylia smiled and gave Henry a call.


    Henry had just finished up for the day, so they set up a meeting at the studio.


    7:38 Fri, Sep 19


    By the afternoon, Henry hustled over.


    In Xylia’s office, he epted the water Xylia offered him.


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    “Hey, Xylia, I’m telling you–twenty thousand units? Our factory can totally handle it,” Henry said, full of confidence.


    Spotting how anxious Henry looked–like he honestly thought she was about to rece him–Xylia shed him a calm, “chill out” smile.


    “Seriously, Henry, I brought you here to brainstorm solutions, not to break up the team. No need to stress,” Xylia reassured him.


    “I’d like to rx too, but this is the factory’s first major order. There’s no way I can bepletely at ease,” Henry admitted.


    Xylia smiled.


    “It’s the first big order for our studio too.”


    Xylia spoke gently, her whole vibe soothing.


    Henry let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, finally loosening up a bit.


    “Rx, Xylia. Our workshop can crank out ten thousand pieces a month. The deadline’s set for the end of next month–if my team works overtime, I’m sure we can hit twenty thousand in time,” Henry said, his confidence clear.


    After a second, Henry grinned, “We’ve been working together for ages–you know we’re solid when ites to both quality and keeping our word, right?”


    Xylia nodded. “Definitely. It’s just, the designs will only be ready by next week, and since it’s already mid- month, I’m a bit worried your schedule might get too tight.”


    “No problem!” Henry said, thumping his chest with a huge grin. “Just leave it to me, Xylia–I’ll deliver every piece right on time, and I promise the quality will be wless.”


    He looked ready <i>to </i>conquer the world.


    Of course Xylia trusted him. She never doubted Henry for a second.


    “Here’s to us crushing this order and teaming up for even more wins,” Xylia replied.


    Henry finally let out a breath, feeling thest bit of tension fade away.


    With a pile of chores waiting for him back at the workshop, Henry dashed off right after their talk.


    Xylia teamed up with Josie to get started on those design sketches for the Garcia Group order.


    The Garcia Group had its own set of hoops to jump through–they had to finish the first draft by the deadline, send it over, and wait for the higher–ups to sign off before moving to the next stage.


    That’s exactly why the designs wereing in <i>a </i>bitter than usual.


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    “I’ve shortlisted a couple of fabrics based on the advance payment Garcia Group sent over. You should double–check them with Joshua,” Josie said, passing thest task to Xylia for the day.


    After that, Josie stretched her neck and arms, trying to work out the knots—she couldn’t hide her relief that the workday was finally over.


    Finally, it was quitting time.


    Xylia nodded.


    Before they realized it, the clock had struck 11 PM–they’d both been lost in work all evening.


    Xylia had driven in today and wanted to give Josie a ride home, but remembering how Josie preferred to keep her ce private, she decided not to push it.


    “Text me when you get home so I know you’re safe,” Xylia said.


    “Will do!” Josie replied, giving Xylia’s head a pat like a caring big sis. “And don’t speed, okay?”


    After their quick goodbye, Josie was the first to head out of the studio.


    Xylia wrapped things up for the night. After locking up the studio, she headed over to the parking lot, ready


    to drive home.


    Norhill was pretty quiet at night, especially around the business district. Only a few streetmps lit up the area, leaving most of the malls shrouded in darkness.


    As Xylia made her way toward the parking lot, she spotted someone standing by her car, even from a distance.


    The lighting was pretty dim, but just from the silhouette alone, Xylia could tell it looked a lot like Joshua.


    Xylia smiled, already pretty sure it was him, and made her way over–her heart feeling a little flutter of anticipation.


    But as she got closer, Xylia realized that it wasn’t Joshua waiting by her car–it was Connor instead. ‘Seriously?‘ she thought, her heart sinking a little.


    Her smile froze instantly, lips tugging downward as her face fell, all the warmth draining away in a split second.


    Connor spotted Xylia approaching and stepped forward, moving into the glow of a streetlight.


    He lookedpletely drained–the kind of exhausted thates from more than just a long day. When he saw Xylia, he hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself. There was a hint of irritation darkening his gaze.


    “Xylia Schultz, you knew back in Jupiton that he was the heir of the Garcia Group, didn’t you?” Connor demanded, his voice tight and using.