Chapter 440 - Be More Confident

When Lina exited the VP's office, Asst Kirk Douglas smiled at her before leading her to another room situated on the same floor.

This was a place where the guests who had come to meet the VP could lounge until it was time for their appointment with the busy man.

The lounge was often used by people from other companies but for the first time, it had seen someone from the same company.

Kirk did not enter the lounge as he had other tasks to complete soon after escorting Lina so holding the door open for her, he waited for her to enter first.

Lina nodded in gratitude at him before entering the room whose door was swiftly shut once she was in.

She did not mind the secretive nature of Kirk's actions but turned to look at the one who had come to meet her for some urgent purpose.

"Steph?" She called out the name of the young man whom she found inside.

'He was the one who asked to meet me?' She chuckled at Kirk's vague behavior before taking her seat next to him on the couch present in this room..

The decor was simple which made it comfortable for the people who might be seated here while waiting for their turn with the scary VP of Obsidia.

In this cozy corner of the VP's floor, Lina and Steph sat next to each other without any words being said among them.

Tilting her head, she wondered what it might be that he wished to say to her because she could sense apprehension and even worry coming from his body language.

The Steph she knew was confident and arrogant which was part of his innate charm.

However, today she had seen a new side of him.

'Even in the conference hall.' She recalled how he was silent without uttering a word when Mrs. Jasmine Tong continued to talk down to him.

Just the thought of how that lady had behaved with her and her staff, Lina felt her anger rising once again.

'I have to find out what makes her think that she can behave that way in my company.' She decided that she needed to gather proper information about that old lady before the end of the day.

Coming back to the present, her eyes landed on the young man who continued to remain mum.

"Are you mad at me?" She muttered her inquiry as that was the only explanation she could find for his silence.

He had come here to speak to her yet did not utter a word which made her wonder if she had gotten on his wrong side somehow.

'Is it because I did not contact him during my closed-door cultivation period?' She tried to figure out what the cause of this silent treatment might be.

It was true that she had not answered any phone calls during this period and only attended the calls which arrived on the hotel room's landline.

Her phone had been switched off throughout her stay in that hotel room and when she had turned it on last night, there were numerous missed call notifications from various sources.

One of them was this young man who had tried to get in touch with her but had failed.

She had only sent him a text this morning, informing him of her return and the meeting which would be held.

Other than that, she had not said another word to him which could have led to this outcome.

'He's hurt because I treated him poorly.' She blamed herself for not keeping him in the loop about her plans.

Hearing her doubtful words, Stephen Jin finally raised his head to look at her with his eyes widened in surprise and also in refusal at her baseless speculation.

"How could I be mad at Noona when she worked so hard for me?" He was quick to dismiss her worried thoughts.

Clutching her hands in his, he shot her his sweetest smile to prove that he truly wasn't mad at her and never could be.

Lina felt her heart melt at his adorable actions and she too smiled in return.

"Then why were you so silent when I first entered the room?" She retorted with another question as she wished to gain some answers for his strange behavior.

When his Noona had entered the room, Steph was lost in his thoughts about what had taken place during the meeting earlier.

The way she had brought out the designs created by LY and even stood up for him before that old hag who caused him trouble every time they met at the office.

"Noona was so valiant today!" He chirped in eager excitement while explaining what had caused him to be in a daze earlier.

The more Lina listened, the more she chuckled at his words.

She had only done what she thought was right because Mrs. Tong had rubbed her the wrong way and she believed in Steph's designs.

"Steph, you should be more confident in yourself and your designs." She cheered him up while patting his head.

Mrs. Tong had been in this industry for a while now so it was understandable that she had a larger clientele when compared to him.

Meanwhile, Steph was still a student in university and also worked at Obsidia as one of its star designers.

He had a bright future ahead of himself and endless possibilities and opportunities to surpass the old lady in terms of clientele, sales, and profit.

"LY liked your designs too so you shouldn't let someone else's mean words get to you." She reminded him in an attempt to boost his confidence.

After all, she wasn't lying when she said these words.

'I, LY, do like your designs.' She smiled mysteriously as she kept this part of her thoughts concealed from him.

It wasn't yet time to reveal her other identity to him so she could only speak in circles right now.

"LY was impressed and you could see the result of that in the drafts revealed today, couldn't you?" She raised her brows at him and chuckled when she saw a blush rising on his cheeks.

Steph could not deny that he was filled with awe after witnessing the drafts that LY had created in collaboration with his designs for Obsidia's Winter Collection.

When his Nonna had asked him if he would like to work with LY, he was worried that LY would not agree because he was still a novice in the industry.

The boost he would receive by working with LY could cause his popularity to soar but he did not know if LY would be willing to work with a newbie like him.

Thankfully, his Noona had somehow gotten LY to work with him and had even brought back the fruit of that hard work for them to view today.

He did not know how much she must have worked hard for his sake which only made his heart flutter harder for her.

"Thank you, Noona!" He finally got the chance to tell her what he was feeling.

Lina's eyes widened in surprise when her puppy engulfed her in a tight hug to express the joy buried deep within his heart.

"Thank you for convincing LY to collaborate with me." He muttered, still stuck close to her.

He had his arms around her waist and his chin on her shoulder with no signs of letting her go.

Lina was startled by his sudden gesture but hearing his words made her smile as she patted his back to calm him down.

"I did nothing more than take your designs to LY and bring back the drafts." She repeated to assure him that it was LY's choice to work with him and she had nothing much to do in this matter.

She even went ahead and said that she was merely the messenger between the two parties.

However, Steph did not agree with her and shook his head immediately.

'Why is Noona so humble?' He sighed at her simple ways and worried for her sake, that she might be bullied if she continued to be so kind in this unforgiving world.

He felt that she was only trying to be modest so that he would not feel burdened by the efforts she had put in for his sake.

Lina did not know how to prove to him that she truly had not suffered much throughout this whole ordeal.

'And neither did I have to convince myself to work with you on your Winter Collection.' She thought to herself yet could only pat his back instead of saying those words out loud.

Just a look at his designs had brought her inspiration to create new jewelry pieces to complement them.

Her creativity bubbled up the moment she laid eyes on his drafts back at his workspace but she could not say anything about it as it might expose her secret identity.

Unfortunately, her silence was taken as her acquiescence, making Steph more firm in his thoughts and there was nothing that Lina could say to change his mind.

Therefore, she shook her head at her adamant puppy and did not try any further.

While this pair of Noona and puppy were lost in their little hug, no one noticed that the door to the lounge had been pushed open and there was someone who had caught sight of this scene.

Looking at the two on the couch, the one who had entered scoffed.

"Tsk!" A loud click of the tongue resounded in the silent room, announcing the presence of a third soul which made the two on the couch turn in its direction.