Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Then, Maxton's gaze fell on the clothes that Rhonda was holding.
“Who gave you the permission to rummage through my clothes? Leave them,” Maxton said icily.
Bailey had bought those clothes for him. He treasured the two sets of clothes and would alternate between the two sets of clothes every day. He could not help but wonder if Rhonda was trying to tear his clothes out of jealousy.
The little boy's face darkened at the thought. He strode forward and snatched the clothes from Rhonda's hands.
He inspected his clothes carefully. After making sure it was all right, Maxton glared at Rhonda and gritted his teeth. “Bad woman, what are you trying to do?”
Rhonda lowered her head slightly and discreetly hid the medicine bottle in her sleeves as she hurriedly explained, “I just heard the housekeepers saying that you really like those clothes. So, I just came up here to take a look, as I'm curious about your favorite style. I'm just trying to figure out what to buy when I go shopping next time.”
Maxton let out a snort and snapped, “I wouldn't be happy even if you were to buy the exact same ones. Who knows what rotten plans you have? I bet I won't even know how I died after wearing the clothes that you bought.”
Rhonda lifted her head and looked hurt. She sobbed and said, “Max, how could you say that? I'm your mother. How could you talk to me like that? How could you doubt my love for you?”
“Drop the act.” Maxton sneered. “You can't wait for me to die. You say that to fool my grandma, but you aren't fooling me with that. Do not come near my bedroom in the future. Do you understand?”
Rhonda tightened her fist and tried to suppress the boiling rage inside of her. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she cast a look of devastation at Maxton.
Maxton did not pay heed to her and averted his gaze. Then, he paused when he noticed a red mark on her neck.
Are those... hickeys? Why are they in patches?
“What's that on your neck?”
Rhonda was stumped and instinctively lowered her head to check it out. Only then did she realize that her collars were lowered, and her collarbone was in plain sight.
They were love bites left by Cadence when they made love in the morning.
D*mn it! This b*stard noticed it!
If Maxton found out about her cheating on Artemis, he would likely broadcast it for everyone to know.
Felicity would surely chase her out the Luther residence then.
“I-I was mowing the lawn at noon, and I was bitten by some insects. That's why my skin is all red,” she stammered before she reflexively tried to hide the hickeys.
Maxton was dubious about her explanation.
He had known the woman for years, and he knew how she would behave when she was plagued by guilt.
She's feeling guilty right now! There's surely more to this! She has done something really bad.
Maxton then decided it was time he found out who she had been in contact with and what she had been doing.
“Go out. Don't spread that thing to me,” Maxton said.
Rhonda heaved a sigh of relief and flashed him an amiable smile before turning to head out of the room. “All right, I'm leaving. I have not considered the fact that I might infect you.”
Maxton rolled his eyes at her.
As if insect bites are infectious. She is so guilty that she's muttering gibberish. I am no better than a fool if I can't even spot that she's lying.
Meanwhile, at the HR department of Luther Group, Victoria was busy with work.
“Ms. Saunders, the manager of the public relations department, Mr. Otto Cole, is looking for you.”
Victoria turned her attention away from the pile of documents and looked at the assistant standing by the door, saying, “Ask him to come in.”
“Okay.”
A young man in a suit walked into the office. After standing in the middle of the room, he spoke up. “Ms. Saunders, we have encountered some problems with the advertisement for LG Corporation. The person in charge of the project has come looking for me.”
Victoria's hand that was clutching a fountain pen paused in midair as she narrowed her eyes at the man. She furrowed her brows and asked, “You've encountered some problems? What kind of problems?”
Otto handed over the periodicals to Victoria.
She took over and skimmed through it. Her face turned ashen as she asked, “What happened? Why is the Les Cinq Series of the kidswear line of our company accused of plagiarizing the design of the kidswear line from Emmy Boutique two years ago?”
Likewise, Otto was baffled as he said in a low voice, “I've compared the drafts of Les Cinq Series with the kidswear design that was released by Emmy Boutique two years ago. I agree that they do share some similarities. This has been sensationalized by foreign media. Emmy Boutique has since approached LG Corporation and accused them of promoting the product that Luther Group plagiarized from them.”
Victoria shot up from her seat and demanded, “When did this happen? Why aren't our local media companies covering this?”
“This happened just two hours ago. Local media companies have not gotten their hands on this.
However, within half a day, this will make the headlines worldwide. Ms. Saunders, I think that it is likely that LG Corporation contacted our company after they had compared the designs of the Les Cinq Series with the kidswear design that was launched by Emmy Boutique two years ago. It is possible that they are of the opinion that we have plagiarized Emmy Boutique's design.”
Otto paused for a moment before continuing, “The CEO of LG Corporation, Mr. Lionel Gezmond, has been alerted of this. He has stopped all advertising activities of our products and claimed that he will terminate all collaborations with Luther Group if we have truly plagiarized Emmy Boutique's designs.”
Victoria sank back into her seat. LG Corporation wielded influence over two-thirds of the advertising market all over the world. Hence, LG Corporation would be the first choice of any company that wanted to market its products.
If Luther Group were truly involved in design plagiarism, LG Corporation would cease its agreement with Luther Group, which would cause irreparable damage to the marketed products of the group.
“I'm going to meet Mr. Luther on the highest floor. Please tend to the person in charge of LG Corporation and pass the word that Luther Group will give them an explanation for this. We will not tarnish their reputation in any way,” Victoria said.
“Okay,” Otto replied.
On the highest floor of the building, Artemis was flipping through the papers when Victoria entered his office. Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
“Ms. Saunders, you're here. I believe you already know what's happened overseas.”
Victoria stepped forward and nodded. “Mr. Cole has briefed me on what happened. Mr. Luther, the kidswear line was released upon Bay's authorization. If Les Cinq Series has truly plagiarized the designs of Emmy Boutique, how could she have not noticed it?”
Artemis pinched between his brows in exasperation and sighed. “Because you guys were tricked by someone.”
Then, he took out a few design drafts from an envelope and passed them to Victoria. “These are Bailey's drafts. Compare it against the released Les Cinq Series designs and see if there's a difference.”
Victoria took the drafts over. She did not look at the other four designs and went straight for the fifth design draft. After scrutinizing it, she exclaimed, “They're different! The marketed design is different from her draft. Someone's modified it!”
Artemis nodded. “Yes. Someone modified her draft. She was swamped when she applied for her leave and did not sign her design drafts. You signed on her behalf, and someone modified her fifth design draft, the Les Cinq Series, afterward.”