The One He Dismissed Became The One He Died For novel Chapter 40

The entire room erupted into an uproar.

A long-term partnership with Crescent Moon Couture was the holy grail for any designer.

"Mr. Zorn! That is a breach of protocol!" Jefferson shot up from his chair, his face livid.

Jefferson's entire plan was to banish her to Westhaven Mill to break her spirit, forcing her to crawl back and beg him for mercy.

Not hand her the opportunity to climb the ladder and slap him across the face in front of the entire industry!

"Mr. Zorn, any partnership must go through the Sterling Design Department first!"

Finn raised an eyebrow, his tone dripping with blatant mockery. "Mr. Sterling, there is a limit to how shameless you can be."

"For this exact project, your design department submitted twenty drafts, all of which I rejected. Now that I've found a design that will actually make money, you want to force me into a losing business deal?"

Under the judging eyes of the entire room, Jefferson was completely cornered.

He ground his teeth. "That's not what I meant. In that case, Mr. Zorn, I look forward to your collaboration."

His icy, venomous glare sliced toward Claire like a physical blade.

As the presentation concluded, the crowd began to disperse.

"Claire!"

Julian chased after her once again, sheer panic written all over his face.

"Claire, wait! I really need to talk to you."

She came to a stop.

"Claire, OCHH Luxury has been doing terribly these past few years. Since you left, they haven't put out a single successful new release. They are literally surviving off the legacy of your old Nova Collection..."

Nova.

The collection she had designed seven years ago, sweeping over thirty international awards. It was a masterpiece that had yet to be surpassed.

"Claire, I ran into Quinn a while ago, and she looked awful. I think she's looking for someone to buy OCHH Luxury. The only reason she held on this long was because she was waiting for you..."

"Julian." Claire interrupted him softly. "OCHH Luxury has nothing to do with me anymore."

"I had no idea you were so well-versed in fashion design. That question you asked was incredibly technical."

Finn strolled over, casually slinging an arm over Miles's shoulder, a gossipy grin on his face.

"Oh, he's basically an expert!"

"A while back, I got scammed on an investment, and Crescent Moon Couture was on the brink of bankruptcy. He saw a New Chinese design featuring Artisanal Silk Embroidery that I liked, and he dropped fifty million dollars on the spot!"

"Fifty million dollars in seed money for seventy percent equity. I'm literally just the boss working for him now."

Finn rubbed his chin, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Honestly, I could never figure it out. He's a doctor. A guy who holds a scalpel. Even if he wanted to invest, why would he ever pick fashion design?"

"But then we went drinking one time, and he got a little too wasted, and he mumbled something..."

He leaned in, lowering his voice conspiratorially.

"He only dropped that fifty million dollars because of a girl. I think her name was..."