Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1011

Truthfully, it wasn't as if smaller orders hadn't come knocking, hoping to use those two idle production lines for manufacturing. But the Mercer men had always been far too arrogant. They considered such deals beneath them. Given the slim profit margins, they would rather let the assembly lines gather dust than stoop to accepting minor contracts.

So, they had simply shut everything down.

Bella Ward, however, had no intention of letting perfectly good production lines go to waste.

After all, this was her old stomping ground. She knew the industry inside and out.

All she had to do was take one of her previous designs, tweak the specs, overhaul the exterior, and it would be ready to hit the market.

Bella didn't plan to look far for inspiration.

She would stick to what she knew best for now. Once Brandon Mercer inevitably came begging for her help—and assuming his terms were generous enough—she would graciously accept. It wasn't exactly rocket science.

Shortly after Bella joined the Mercer Group, the company started making waves.

She had hired a foreign designer, gone back and forth on a few concepts, and quickly finalized the blueprint for a brand-new smartphone.

Then, she brought it straight to the marketing team to drum up hype.

By the time this all unfolded, about a week had passed.

Lillian Mercer glanced over the draft Ethan Hayes had prepared for her and chuckled.

"I had no idea you were such a wordsmith, Ethan. This is actually incredibly well-written. There are a few nuanced details in here that I know aren't your usual area of expertise. Don't tell me you brought in outside help?"

"Why would I need outside help?" Ethan replied smoothly. "Victor Knight is a brilliant talent. Why wouldn't I utilize a resource like him when he's right here?"

Lillian smiled. "It's a great speech. I'm officially claiming it. I'll pull some of these talking points for the Centennial tomorrow."

The upcoming anniversary at St. Kingsley University was something Lillian took very seriously.

Lillian studied the promotional material on the screen. Regardless of her personal feelings, managing to create this much noise in such a short timeframe proved Bella was formidable.

However, to an industry insider like Lillian, the product itself looked incredibly rushed.

If they had spent a little more time refining it, the outcome could have been stellar.

But Bella was clearly desperate to prove her worth. Had she polished the idea further, it might have actually been a solid concept.

Emma continued, "Word on the street is that the Mercer Group practically emptied their accounts to hire this foreign designer at a premium. The exterior design is undeniably eye-catching at first glance. It's probably going to appeal heavily to female consumers."

Lillian shrugged. "This isn't really a threat to us. But I imagine Sebastian is going to have a very strong reaction when he sees it."

While Lillian watched the drama unfold with an amused smile, Sebastian Blake was staring at the exact same promotional campaign. Only, his expression was utterly thunderous.

His secretary, Julian Ross, leaned in closer. "Mr. Blake, isn't this the product our company was developing before we shelved the launch?"