All eyes were fixed on him. At this moment, he held the entire room in the palm of his hand.
There could have been no better finale. After his walk, the show was finished. All the models came onto the stage one by one. Under the lights, the logo of W Marks Studio gleamed proudly on the screen.
Zuri was left astounded by the whole show. She brought her hands together in a loud clap, and others followed. Soon, the room was drowning with the sound of applause.
Backstage, Zuri cleared her throat and said, “Natalie, you should go out and say something. I’m sure everyone would like to hear a few words from the designer of W Marks Studio.”
It was the right decision to let Natalie in today.
Natalie hesitated. It was no small matter to change Draco’s original design without telling him. She would have a lot of explaining to do after she got back. As things stood right now, she didn’t think she had the right to speak on behalf of the studio.
“Maybe next time. Mr. Wesley is not here and I don’t think I can represent him.” Natalie waved her hand.
Derek walked off the stage and stood in front of her. With a smile on his face, he said, “What are you being shy for now? That’s not like you. Where’s the woman from earlier? It’s tradition for designers to give a speech after the show. You can’t break it.”
Natalie took two steps back, but Derek had already grabbed her wrist and then carried her up.
“What are you doing? Let me go!” With a scream, Natalie covered her face with her hand.
The next thing she knew, Derek put her down and was handing her a microphone. Behind her, all the models who wore Draco’s designs stood.
Natalie was shaking with nervousness inside. She took the microphone and said, “Mr. Wesley couldn’t make it to the show, so I am here on his behalf. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope this collection reached your expectations. Since the founding of W Marks, integrating innovation and simplicity has always been the central direction of Mr. Wesley’s designs. In the future, he will stay true to this vision and create more original pieces.” The room was once again engulfed in resounding claps. After her speech, Natalie turned around and went backstage. The show had come to an end.
The live broadcast had concluded. Inside the W Marks Studio, the young designers hugged each other, ecstatic at the success of the show. “Natalie’s speech was great!” they cheered excitedly.
“Mr. Wesley made the right choice taking her in.” Tasha was also happy.
The whole studio was in a celebratory mood. None of them paid attention to Dalores.
She was sitting on a chair, her head bowed as she furiously sketched. Her hand gripped the pencil, drawing over lines again and again until the wood snapped.
Resentment chewed on her insides as she muttered, “It’s not fair… Why does she get to have everything?”
The Substitute Wife My Poor Husband is a Billionaire
Natalie had been sitting backstage in a daze even after the end of the show.
Everything she had just experienced was an incredible whirlwind. She was still wondering how she’d had the courage to take the stage and stand in front of those crowds just a few moments before. She was so nervous that her legs were still shaky.
“You and W Marks did such a great job. This is my business card. Would you please give it to Mr. Wesley?” “And this is mine! Could you tell Draco that I love his designs?”
Two editors-in-chief of top fashion magazines handed their business cards to Natalie on their way out the door.
After the show, many people from the fashion industry had come to greet Natalie.
W Marks had clearly left a lasting impression in the minds of everyone who had attended the Iridescent Show.
Natalie took all the business cards handed to her. She had never been to such a grand event in her entire life. Although her own work wasn’t displayed in the show, she just felt lucky to witness the spectacle.
“Are you tired?” Zuri handed Natalie a bottle of water.
Taking the water, Natalie smiled and said, “I’m fine. There was just so much running back and forth.”
Zuri smiled and said, “Well, now you know how difficult the job is.”
She took the earpiece out of her ear and stretched. “You should call your family or Draco to come pick you up. I’m off-duty.”
Since Draco was still receiving treatment at the hospital, Natalie didn’t want to disturb him.
But speaking of her family, she thought of Brandon.
With a smile, Natalie unlocked her phone and called him. “Brandon, what are you doing?”
After a few seconds of silence, Brandon answered, “I’m in a meeting.”
With a smile on her face, Natalie asked, “Did you see the Iridescent Show today?” Then she added, “How do you think I did?”
“Sorry, I’ve been in a meeting,” Brandon said blankly. “Oh, that’s right. Your meeting is more important.” A look of disappointment washed over Natalie’s face at Brandon’s words.
Brandon began to regret having blurted out what he said. In fact, he had actually just been watching the live broadcast of the Iridescent Show, but as soon as he saw a male model holding Natalie, he’d grown flushed with discomfort and jealousy. That was why Brandon had lied about not having seen Natalie in the Iridescent Show.
Who was that guy, though?
“It’s a pity that you missed the show. Mr. Wesley’s works are truly amazing. And today was my first time giving a speech in front of a big audience. I was so nervous that I almost couldn’t speak!” Natalie recalled the experience, trying to describe it to Brandon the best she could and as calmly as possible.
But deep inside, she was very disappointed that Brandon couldn’t witness her success.
Brandon sighed. He wanted to tell her the truth, “Actually…”
Before Brandon could say anything, however, Natalie noticed that her phone was about to run out of power.
“Oh, no! My phone is dying. Let’s talk after I get-” Before she could finish, however, Natalie noticed someone standing before her. She looked up only to find it was Derek.
“Your phone is dying? Do you need me to drive you back to the hotel to charge your phone, Miss White?” Derek drew closer her, so close that Natalie could catch his scent. “Why are you here?” Startled, Natalie took a few steps back to maintain a proper distance.
When she looked down at her phone again, she saw that it had entirely run out of power.
The Substitute Wife My Poor Husband is a Billionaire
Sitting in the meeting room, Brandon kept silent as his eyes darkened. The shareholders present wondered why his face had suddenly seemed to drop. They exchanged glances with one other and held their collective breath.
“The meeting is adjourned.” Brandon squeezed his eyes shut. He had heard a man’s voice on the phone with Natalie just now.
And when Brandon tried to call Natalie again immediately after, he found that he couldn’t get through to her.
He should never have let her go to the show. Damn it. Brandon silently cursed and shut off his phone.
Sean sensed that something was wrong with Brandon. He hadn’t intended to walk into the meeting uninvited, but he had a very important matter to report, and it couldn’t be delayed. Sean could only push the door open and enter, despite the anguished look in Brandon’s eyes. “What’s going on?” Brandon cast a harsh glance at Sean. Swearing to himself, Sean turned on a wry smile and said, “Sir, Jorge says he wants to see you.”
Rubbing his eyebrows, Brandon asked, “Is Jorge finally ready to crack? Call Frank and we’ll go see him together.” As it so happened, Frank hadn’t left yet. Maybe he could find something out about this mysterious pharmacist behind Jorge.
In the interrogation room of the Barnes Police Department…
Jorge’s cheeks were sunken and he looked haggard. “I said I wouldn’t talk to anyone but Brandon Larson.” Jorge lowered his head, looked away and said, “I won’t say anything else as long as anyone else is present.”
Through the interrogation room’s one-way mirror, Frank and Brandon could clearly see the arrogant look plastered on Jorge’s face.
“We have been kind enough to come, and he dares to make demands?” Frank sneered, “I’ve never seen such an arrogant criminal.”
New Book: Beginning with a Daring Encounter
Celsie was tired of being labeled as an introvert, workaholic, and dull virgin by her friends. Determined to prove them wrong, she made a bet that she would do something daring on her 25th birthday. Now that the day had arrived, it was time to fulfill her promise. On her daring to-do list, there was one task: a one-night stand with someone.
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