The one Mrs. Tong had just mocked and belittled was none other than Lina's little puppy, Stephen Jin.
The budding star of the clothing department was just put down by the veteran in the department.
However, Stephen had never been one to care about seniority and often acted like the little tyrant of Obsidia.
If Wade Luo, their VP was the big devil then Stephen Jin was known as the little devil in this company.
Everyone feared and steered clear of Stephen thanks to his abnormal personality and his powerful family background.
Lina had heard of these from Leon who was always ready to give her dirt about those working with them.
Therefore, she was sure that if this was any other instance, Steph would have already given the opposite person a big piece of his mind.
'They would not have dared to say such a thing in the first place.' She corrected her thinking as everyone feared Steph enough to not even be able to open their mouths before him.
However, this woman had just mocked him but he had not uttered a word and continued to be seated in silence, pretending that he had not heard the blatant ridicule being directed towards him.
This made her frown and wonder what was wrong with Stephen today.
Her curiosity to know why Mrs. Tong had the audacity to behave this way in her company had also grown by leaps and bounds.
'A senior designer would not have this kind of courage to go against so many powerful people in the company.' Lina surmised as she tried to figure out what she had been missing until now.
Thankfully, her angel of gossip had attracted her attention with his secret gestures.
Turning her eyes towards Leon, she saw him wink at her which was an indication that he would explain everything to her later on.
Gaining this assurance from her friend, all she could do was nod in agreement before turning back to the woman before her.
Mrs. Tong's earlier words implied that no matter how much lower her sales were in comparison to LY's, there was someone even lower than her.
Stephen Jin's sales could not match hers and she dominated the clothing department which was also why he could not utter a word in her presence.
She was superior in everything; in age, capability, and qualifications.
Therefore, she held her chin high and proclaimed it without fear as no one could prove her wrong in this matter.
"The highest profit earned by the clothing department comes from my designs." She boasted as her traditional wear cost more than Stephen's designer gowns.
Her single attire could cost higher than three of Stephen's designs so there was no way that he could gain more profits for the company than her.
Thus, she was waiting to see how Lina would react now as no answer could change the truth from what it was.
"Oh, don't worry about that." Lina chuckled with ease, not caring about what the others thought of her words.
This was because, in the next second, her jovial nature shifted to a more serious one as she stared right into the other person's eyes.
"That will change after the Winter Collection is released." Lina declared and there was confidence oozing from her every word.
Hearing her bold words, Stephen's dull eyes brightened while Mrs. Tong's darkened.
However, she had more than enough confidence in her ability and hence did not lash out this time.
"I'd like to see how far he can climb with his skimpy designs." She scoffed, obvious disdain for Stephen and his work until now.
Mrs. Tong's designs were elegant and reserved thanks to their conservative and traditional appearance and quite contrary to hers, Stephen's were modern and edgy.
However, they each had their own charm which was evident in the numerous patrons who returned every time new designs were released.
The only area where Stephen was missing out was that he was still a newbie in the industry while Mrs. Tong had already made a name for herself for quite some time now.
Not to mention that Mrs. Tong's clientele consisted of wealthy older women who would not hesitate to splurge on her designs even if they were more expensive than the rest in the business.
These women did not experiment with newer designers and often stuck to the ones they preferred.
This brought Mrs. Tong loyal consumers who women fight to purchase her every design.
Quite contrary to her customers, Stephen's clients were mostly young women who were not so rigid in their tastes and ventured to other brands as well.
Even his designs weren't exorbitantly priced and were easy for them to purchase which was why he was inching closer to Mrs. Tong's sales revenue each month.
However, he was still a long shot away from her who only had to sell one dress to make up the same amount that he would do after the sale of three of his designs.
Stephen knew of this disparity in them but he had been working hard to shorten the distance between their revenues.
No one had stood up for him until now but seeing his Noona speaking up in his favor, his heart warmed at her kind nature which brought him the confidence to glare at the old lady who often shot him looks of disgust and disdain.
Mrs. Tong was too caught up in trying to predict what Lina would say next that she had failed to notice this sign of rebellion coming from the young man she had suppressed until now.
Lina felt her gaze but was not too bothered about her now.
Her aim was to move forward in this meeting today and that was exactly what she did.
Ignoring Mrs. Tong and whatever she had to say next, Lina rose from her seat as she scanned the entire room to take in the sight of everyone present here.
Until now, she had been disturbed numerous times but this time she was able to finish taking a look at everyone assembled here.
This conference hall could easily fit around fifty people and was used when the meeting hall would not suffice due to a large number of attendants.
Therefore, she had to take her time to look around.
Of course, she knew the one seated at the head of the table, her cousin and the VP, Wade Luo.
She sat next to him and on the other side was Mrs. Tong whom she had been in conflict with ever since she had entered the room.
The next occupants in random order she could observe were the Director of the Marketing Department, Stuart Bai with Deputy Director, Irene Zhou next to him.
Then came Manager Anthony Shen followed by her puppy, Stephen Jin.
The assistants in this room were standing behind their bosses so Julia stood behind Irene while Leon was behind Anthony.
On the other side of the table, Lina caught sight of the handsome Director of PR, Ivan Zhou whom she had a major crush on earlier.
'But that was before I met Ruby!' She chided her lecherous heart and looked away from the man who shot her a smile, sweet enough to melt her heart.
Next to him was the Director of Finance, Oswald Wren while their assistants stood behind them whom she had never met before.
Then came a face she had never seen before which made her curious about her identity.
A lady in a black business suit and thick rectangular glasses sat with a neutral expression on her face as she tapped her pen against the table, waiting for the next part of the meeting to begin.
Her assistant was also the same as she stood behind her boss and their expressions were similar too.
Their faces screamed 'Stop wasting my time and move ahead' and Lina did exactly that.
Her attention fell on the next faces and she smiled when she saw that the Hitoshi family was here as well.
Aya smiled at her and she found Old man Hitoshi with Uncle Mitsuo and Nao were also seen present for this meeting.
'Good that they too are here.' She nodded at them as they would be able to understand the designs she had created after attending the presentation that would soon begin.
"Shall we begin?" She inquired once she was done scanning the large hall.
Nods were seen all around as they were eager to hear more about the reason why they had all been summoned to the office on this bright and sunny morning.
Lina smirked at their enthusiasm as she turned towards her assistant who handed something over to her.
Accepting the item from Benji, she raised her hand and was kind enough to display the object to everyone present.
A shining black flash drive came into their view after which they waited for her to reveal what was in it.
"The designs…" She smiled and she drawled out her words as her eyes traveled to the position where her little puppy was seated.
Steph's eyes were glued to the drive earlier but now he looked at his Noona with eyes filled with adoration and admiration.
Without making her cute puppy wait any longer, she handed the drive back to Benji who inserted it into the laptop which allowed its contents to be projected on the screen at the end of the room.
As the first image took shape on the screen, Lina finally disclosed the reason for this meeting.
"Presenting to you, Obsidia Designs' Winter Collection by Stephen Jin in collaboration with LY!" She announced in an excited voice as her eyes turned towards the spectators watching her every move.