Standing Right Next To You - Chapter 450

Leon was stunned by the command he just received from Lina but the fierce glint that had passed through her eyes reminded him of an incident he had witnessed in the past.

When Maxene Kang was still an employee of Obsidia, she had provoked Lina after a meeting which had brought a similar scary expression onto her face.

That memory was enough to make him obediently nod before clearing his throat to ensure that he could explain things to her in a proper and audible manner.

“Jasmine Tong was one of the first traditional attire designers the VP had signed for Obsidia.” Leon began as soon as he was ready.

“You see, she was sort of a star designer from the moment she entered the company.” He expanded his statement, followed by a brief explanation of what he had just said.

Obsidia had many types of designers, some were star designers like Stephen and Mrs. Tong who mostly created custom pieces or pieces of high value.

While the others were the designers who collectively created the brand’s off-the-rack line of clothing which were slightly expensive but still not unattainable for the general populace.

Lina knew of this division as she was the one who had come up with it for this company which was hers to begin with.

However, she did not interrupt him and only sat still while nodding to show that she was paying attention to whatever he had to say.

Benji too had stopped typing by now and was also focusing on the topic at hand while Stephen was the only one whose head was still lowered, appearing to be uninterested in what was being revealed.

“It was understandable because she was already a famous designer before joining us.” Leon waved his hand as though Jasmine Tong being named a star designer right away was not something that bothered him.

“But after signing with Obsidia her fame grew by leaps and bounds.” He continued disclosing the information he had obtained using his skills over the past year.

Obsidia Designs had been established in this country for two years now but Mrs. Jasmine Tong had become its designer only in the later part of the first year.

Since she had brought her previous clientele consisting of rich older women over to the company, she made the VP very pleased with her performance.

‘More profit is always good.’ Lina agreed as this was a business focused on profit which was the only way for her to keep it running.

While Lina hoped to bring her designs to the world and bring a smile to everyone who purchased her work, she would be pretentious if she said that she was not in it for the money.

The effort and time that went into creating her designs, the rare and precious resources like the jewels incorporated in them, labour utilized, and various other charges that were required to create a single piece were what made it so expensive.

The same could be said for the clothing lines as she always wished to get the best materials so as to keep up that level of prestige and not sully her brand’s name.

All of these needed money so she hoped to see the cash incoming as that was what they needed to keep going forward in their line of business.

Therefore, it would be a lie if she said that she did not care about the profit she made through this company.

Obsidia was her baby but she wanted her baby to be a profitable one at the same time.

Thus she was confident in Wade’s decision of hiring that old lady as she had indeed brought in a huge chunk of income according to what she had heard until now.

“But Mrs. Tong wasn’t too satisfied with the heights she had reached within the company.” Leon’s next words brought her back from her train of thoughts which had been heading in a different direction.

This made both Lina and Benji frown as they were curious to know more and Leon was happy to comply.

“Rumor has it that she has tried to buy shares of the company on numerous occasions only to be rejected every time.” He divulged the information he had gained from the whispers echoing in the office.

Obsidia was a close-knit office so it was obvious that people would hear what was going on within the building.

If the old lady had spoken to the VP in private regarding this matter then no one would have even heard a word about her growing desires.

However, being constantly rejected by the VP had made her impatient as time went by.

Thus on an important event where Mrs. Tong’s designs were set to be launched, she had mentioned something in passing to those who were around at that time.

“She made it sound like it was a joke that the VP was keeping everything a secret so that he might make the most profit for himself.” He leaned closer to Lina while whispering this part.

The employees were attending a small gathering within the company for the launch of the lady’s new line of clothing when she uttered those words.

“But anyone who heard it could make out that her words had a deeper meaning to it.” He revealed what he had heard from those who had witnessed this incident firsthand.

Since the VP, a reticent man who only focused on his work and never stayed behind after work hours, was not present at this tiny event, no one was able to verify or deny the accusations she had made.

As curious as everyone was, they later did a little digging and this was how they had deciphered the reason why the old lady would often insist on visiting the VP.

Every time her meeting with the VP ended, she would leave in a huff indicating that she had been unsuccessful in achieving her goal.

Being an older woman and an experienced designer in the industry, VP Wade had always respected her whenever they met.

She was also a major contributor to the cash inflow of their company so it was obvious that the VP treated her better than the rest.

However, it appeared that this special treatment had gotten to her head, making her talk down even to the very man who had hired her.

He would not reveal the identity of the shareholders or even allow her to set up a meeting with them.

This was causing her attitude towards him to grow worse with every passing day.

‘Why did Wade not correct her then?’ Lina frowned as she did not like what she was hearing.

While she prefered greater profits, she did not want Wade to lower himself before someone who did not even respect the hierarchy followed in the company.

“You must be thinking why the VP did not kick her out, right?” Leon’s scoffing question made her nod in a dumb daze as her thoughts were somewhere along the same line.

This response brought a chuckle from him which only deepened the frown on her lips.

“If only things were that simple, Lina.” He sighed before explaining what he meant by those words.

The first reason was that Mrs. Tong was a star designer of the company who brought in major money and customers as well.

“I heard that she signed a ten year or something contract with the company so she cannot be dismissed before that.” He added with another sigh following soon after.

Lina’s frown turned to confusion as she never sanctioned such long contracts to any of her employees.

Ten years was a really long period and she did not promote keeping the same people for so long.

The fashion industry was an ever-changing realm where items popular today would become obsolete tomorrow.

At best, she preferred five year contracts as they safeguarded the rights of both the parties in the legal binding document.

‘I should talk to Wade about this…’ She decided as this was not something she was okay with, especially if it was someone like Jasmine Tong.

“But that’s not the reason why the VP never thought of firing her even when she had gotten so haughty and condescending.” Stephen finally spoke up as he looked right at his Noona.

Lina and the others whiplashed in his direction as they had forgotten that he was even present in this room thanks to how silent he had been until now.

Stephen maintained a firm gaze at Lina, preparing for what he was about to say.

He did not wish to reveal this to her but now that things had gotten to this point, he found no reason to remain silent any longer.

It made no difference at this point as that other assistant had done a pretty good job at filling her in on the details about the situation concerning that vicious old lady, Jasmine Tong.

Lina was stunned at first but if he knew something and was finally willing to share then she would not stop him from doing so.

“Do you know why Wade tolerates her ridiculous behavior?” She inquired and raised her brow when she saw him nod in reply.

“To understand that, you should know something about her personal life first.” He muttered in a reluctant tone which was beginning to make Lina eager and impatient to know more.

Leon had only heard from various sources but wasn’t too sure of the whole truth about the old lady’s ‘personal life’.

Therefore, he chose to step aside and let the youngster who seemed to know more take the wheel from here.