Shattered Vows: Call Me Auntie Now novel Chapter 45

"Save your lectures, Mr. Hayes. I don't work for you."

Quinn didn't even look at Dante, her tone completely unyielding. "My lease isn't up yet, which means I still call the shots here. Now, all of you, get out."

Vivienne wrung her hands together. "Alright, Quinn. Just make sure you move out on time when your contract ends. I'll need to send a crew in to remodel."

Quinn's eyes were lethal. "These petty little tricks won't save you, Vivienne. I guarantee it right now: you are going to lose to me at the Lumina Couture Awards."

It wasn't that Quinn was simply arrogant. She just knew that Vivienne had never possessed real talent.

Without actual skills, Vivienne always resorted to dirty tricks to secure a win.

That might work once or twice, but in this massive design competition, Quinn was going to completely crush her.

Vivienne bit her red lip and stayed silent, but her assistant instantly fired back, completely offended on her behalf.

"You're delusional! Vivienne was the top talent in her design program. She got accepted into Central Saint Martins! The moment she graduated, luxury brand design teams were fighting over her. What gives you the right to compare yourself to her?"

Quinn knew perfectly well that Central Saint Martins was hailed as the undisputed champion of creative design, often called the 'cradle of genius designers.'

Their admission process was notoriously brutal.

It was exactly because Vivienne had polished her resume there that the domestic industry always put her on a pedestal.

That degree was Vivienne's greatest point of pride, and she straightened her spine at the mention of it.

Quinn's expression remained completely neutral. Yet her words struck with the weight and clarity of a seasoned professional, radiating an unshakable confidence.

"For a true designer, a degree has never been the foundation of their career."

"Prestigious schools teach templates, formulas, and cookie-cutter commercial aesthetics."

She turned to the man beside her, her voice trembling with grievance. "Dante... listen to her. That's taking it way too far."

"I studied tirelessly for years, perfecting my craft abroad day and night, and she just dismisses it all as dirty tricks and an empty diploma?"

Her shoulders shook slightly, putting on a flawless performance of a deeply wounded, victimized woman.

"Besides, my designs have always stood on their own merit. I've never cut corners. How can she smear my hard work like that..."

Dante's face turned completely thunderous.

The air pressure around him plummeted to freezing, radiating dark hostility.

"That's enough, Quinn!"