Chapter 262 - She Has Appeared!?

Lina snapped out of her trance when she heard Benji's tongue clicking in annoyance at her actions.

'Bad Lina!' She chided herself for what she had done and nodded her head at Steph.

"What is it?" She inquired and tilted her head to the side.

The employees were on pins and needles as they were terrified that what the interns under Stephen had said earlier in the morning would turn out to be the truth.

"I have canceled the Winter collection this year." His words came crashing down on everyone's ears.

Loud gasps were heard all around the room as they stared at the little devil with eyes opened wide.

Hearing this commotion, Stuart Bai stepped outside his office and frowned when he saw a mob gathered at the center of their floor.

When he was close enough to see who was at the center of the group of people, he hastened his steps, worried that something was wrong.

"What is going on over here?" He interrogated after making his way to the center, standing next to Lina in a protective stance.

"Oh, nothing, Director Bai. I just wanted to let people know that the new Winter collection has been trashed and will never see the light of day." Stephen sneered as his eyes went around the office.

Stuart could not keep his calm when he heard this news.

"Why would you do that? Think of the profit that we could make with this collection!" He began his attempts of talking some sense into the young man's head.

He had heard about the rumors concerning Lina but was not up to date with the new information that had been revealed today.

"Because the person who helped me with the collection is being targeted by people from your department and now the entire building hates her!" Stephen snarled at the older man.

Lina narrowed her eyes when she saw this disrespectful behavior of her cute puppy-like Stephen as she did not like it one bit.

"Steph, Director Bai had nothing to do with it. You better apologize!" She did not hesitate to make her thoughts known.

The puppy's ears drooped upon hearing these reprimanding words and he gave a reluctant nod before turning towards the man.

"I am sorry, Director Bai. I got carried away so please forgive me." He did as he was told right away.

'That's like my good boy!' Lina smiled at him with her eyes sparkling, causing him to blush.

"There is no need to cancel the latest collection." She retorted in response to his earlier declaration.

The people surrounding them were stunned that she had spoken up even though so many people had suspected her and hated her.

"They did not know the truth. Also, this is not the first time that I was targeted with such rumors so let's just forget all about this." She patted his head to cheer him up. 

Stuart was now up to speed on the entire incident after hearing their words.

"Noona, all of this is because of me! If I hadn't dragged you with me then… I am sorry!" Steph muttered with his head lowered.

Lina immediately shook her head to show that she disagreed with what he had said.

"Maybe it was my fault, Steph. Maybe I couldn't make a good impression in their hearts, causing them to believe that I was such a bad person." She replied as she bit her lip.

Though they were putting on an act, their skills were so overpowering that everyone who was watching it felt saddened that such a thing had occurred.

'Drama queen!' Benji looked away to hide the eye roll that was a subconscious reaction of his body.

When he had turned away, his eyes fell on the person who was standing at a distance and watching the show.

'Oh, so she has appeared!?' He sneered and then nudged Leon's arm.

This made the other assistant sneak a peak in the same direction and his smirk disappeared as he turned back in Lina's direction.

'Now it's my turn!' He cheered as he took a step forward.

"No, Lina, it's not your fault." Leon consoled as he stood next to her.

"In fact, it is sad how everyone started hating you because they thought you got the job because of your close relationship with VP Luo." He revealed the thoughts in many people's minds.

Lina and everyone else turned in his direction upon hearing his words.

"When in actuality, what they do not know is that Lina is just as qualified as anyone present in this room." He divulged the information that he had received after a little snooping around.

This came as a surprise to many as they had been under the impression that Lina was appointed as the consultant of the Marketing Department thanks to her connections with VP Luo.

"It wouldn't be bold of me to say that Lina Yang is more qualified than certain people here." He grinned as he mentioned this.

This statement made people curious about who he was talking about and they looked around in an attempt to figure this mystery out.

However, Leon was not going to let them mull over this as he was more than willing to give them the answer.

"Take Miss Kang for example." He announced in a loud voice which made the woman in question feel startled upon hearing her name.

"Why are you dragging me into the mess that I have nothing to do with!?" Maxene Kang snarled as she made her way to their position.

The sea of employees parted to make way for the woman who was striding forward with her heels clicking against the floor.

"Assistant Leon better watch his words. How am I any worse than this woman?" She sneered as she shot Lina a sideways glance.

She had been watching the show from the shadows until she was so rudely brought into the limelight.

Now that she was here already, she had no reason to shy away from their eyes.

'I can still turn them against Lina.' She believed and stood with her head held high to prove that she had nothing to be ashamed of.

"Director Bai, let them know who is more qualified so that they don't spread such nonsense about others just to save their friends." She urged Stuart Bai to speak up in her defense.

'Heh! I know for sure that Lina cannot be more qualified than I am!' She scoffed at this perfect opportunity that they had provided her to expose Lina's incompetence once again.

Everyone in the room turned towards the short man who was their Director and awaited the answer which might give them clarity on who was better qualified for the post they held.