Chapter 343 Tony's Workplace Suppression
Mira used to be a college student, all thanks to Samuel's sponsorship.
She managed to leave the mountains with the help of Samuel and Grace. Grace was always saying she had to get out of there!
Being the least favored child in her family, and a girl at that, Mira was almost married off to some old guy in the village for a few thousand bucks.
Grace met her during a research trip and sponsored her all those years!
When Grace couldn't be directly involved because of her secret experiments, Samuel stepped in to fund Mira's college and graduate studies.
In Mira's eyes, Samuel and Grace were her lifelong heroes!
Given how amazing Samuel and Grace were, there was no way Catherine could be just some ordinary person.
Even if Catherine was just a clueless college girl, Mira wouldn't let anyone in the company disrespect her!
"Tony! Let's not forget your design department meetings are on the third of every month, and this month's meeting already happened. Ms. Windsor is gonna own this company one day. Where do you get off excluding her from meetings?"
"Plus, you've seen Ms. Windsor's design drafts. Are you seriously saying she doesn't get design?"
"You've been here for over a decade. Don't you get these basic principles?"
Tony, technically Mira's subordinate, always thought he was the company's backbone and never really respected Mira.
"Ms. Collins, you're being a bit harsh. Who knows if those drafts are really Ms. Windsor's work? She doesn't know the company's affairs or design direction yet. She needs time to adapt."
"We're a top company in Imperia City. I think we need to review this month's meeting and hold an interim one. Shouldn't we report to Secretary Hai?"
"I'm just thinking of Ms. Windsor's best interests. Meetings are usually so dull for young girls! But if Ms. Windsor wants to attend, of course, she's welcome!"
Mira was fuming at Tony's lame excuses!
Just as she was about to speak up, Catherine stepped in.
"Let's go. I'll attend."
Tony's face froze for a moment!
He had indeed planned to give Catherine a hard time when she arrived.
Seeing Catherine's jewelry design drafts, Tony broke out in a cold sweat!
Such talent and skill were not to be underestimated!
If those designs were truly Catherine's, Tony could imagine his influence in the design department dwindling.
Tony always believed that in a jewelry company, the design department was the soul. Samuel wasn't a design expert, and Charles never interfered with the design department after taking over.
If a design-savvy boss came in, Tony's days of throwing his weight around might be over!
Just the thought of it kept Tony up at night.
Seeing that Catherine was still a college student and likely inexperienced in the workplace, Tony decided to marginalize her in the company!
With that in mind, Tony gritted his teeth, "Welcome, Ms. Windsor, right this way..."
Catherine didn't even glance at him, walking into the meeting room with Mira and sitting in a corner to observe.
Tony led the design team into the meeting room, momentarily stunned to see Catherine sitting there!
Despite wearing a typical student outfit of a pleated skirt and blouse, with a fresh, youthful face, Catherine's calm, icy gaze made everyone uneasy!
She was clearly still a student, yet her eyes reminded them of... Marcus?!
The authority of someone used to being in charge was evident in her every move.
Tony swallowed his words under Catherine's gaze!
She's just a college student; she probably won't understand a word of the meeting!
Tony handed the water kettle to a designer next to him.
"Hugo, go fill this up and boil some water."
Catherine glanced at Hugo, a man in his forties, whom she had seen in the company files.
Hugo Graves, forty-five, studied jewelry design in Françaisia, a second-tier designer in the industry.
By experience, Hugo should have been the design director, but Tony had always overshadowed him.
Hugo looked at Tony, picked up the kettle, and silently left, returning with it filled.
His honest face showed displeasure, "I won't do this again. I'm a designer, not a gofer."
Tony chuckled.
"It's just fetching water, not hard work."
"Then why don't you do it yourself? It's not hard."
Tony's smile vanished instantly!
"Are you saying you won't do these things anymore? Do you have any results in your other work?"
Hugo didn't engage.
"I've been with the company for fifteen years. If I hadn't achieved anything, I'd have been fired long ago. As a leader, if you don't know my design achievements, I'd like to know what you're doing as a director."
The room fell into an awkward silence!
Tony's expression was downright embarrassing!
He gritted his teeth, "So you're saying you won't do anything but design?"
"I can do either design or odd jobs. If you want, I can transfer to be a janitor."
The implication was clear: designers don't do menial tasks!
And janitors don't do design work!
The atmosphere in the meeting room became bizarrely tense.
Mira, worried Catherine might not understand, whispered an explanation in her ear.
"In the workplace, it's usually assumed that interns and newcomers do these tasks as a form of training. But Hugo is a seasoned veteran, and Tony is suppressing him."
Catherine nodded.
Such blatant suppression was immediately apparent..
No company would have a design deputy director with over a decade of experience doing menial tasks.
Catherine glanced through the design department's drafts. The final drafts typically bore Tony's name, but the initial drafts showed Hugo's superior talent.
Tony's submitted final drafts borrowed elements from Hugo's initial ones.
Designers are sensitive to these things!
Tony's own drafts weren't as impressive, but with elements borrowed from Hugo's, they became perfect designs.
Charles didn't have much time for personnel management, and Radiant Treasures' staff were mostly long-term employees, so he hadn't focused on management.
Now, it seemed that the company her grandfather left her had some issues.
Tony shot Hugo a hostile look!
Making him lose face in front of the new boss, Hugo's future wouldn't be easy!
Catherine spoke coldly.
"What about the actual meeting content? Tasks like fetching water should be handled by support staff, not wasting time. If Mr. Gibson's meetings are just about this, I wonder if you're holding a meeting or playing games."
"If Mr. Gibson's personal games require so many people, are you looking for playmates? I didn't expect Mr. Gibson to be so childlike!"
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