Chapter 103 Celebration Banquet
"What the heck do you mean by that?" Marilyn's already sour face got even worse.
William's brows furrowed a bit, and his cold eyes got even darker. "Besides changing colors with the light, a bunch of other things in your 'As You Wish' design are just like 'Ice and Fire.' That's 'cause you straight-up swiped Margaret's design sketches, tweaked 'em, and turned 'em into the 'As You Wish' jewelry line."
Hearing this, Marilyn couldn't help but shake under William's intense vibe. She took a few deep breaths, trying to chill out. "What proof do you have?"
William's sharp gaze cut through Marilyn, his voice icy and detached. "Vincent Merrick already spilled the beans. He swiped Margaret's design sketches and sold 'em to you."
Margaret was a bit taken aback by William's words. If she remembered right, Vincent was just a design assistant in the department, and he'd only been with the company for less than a year. Vincent hadn't even worked on the "Ice and Fire" project, so how the heck did he swipe the sketches and sell 'em to Marilyn?
Hearing this, Marilyn's face went pale.
The "As You Wish" design sketches were indeed sold to her by Vincent. At the time, she thought the design was super creative and heard it was made by some unknown secretary at the Fisher Group, so she had a sneaky idea.
After chatting with Royal Radiance's CEO, they decided to drop the "As You Wish" jewelry line early to mess with Fisher Group and keep Royal Radiance on top in the jewelry game. They even arranged someone to trash Fisher Group for copying at today's press conference.
But today, she got totally wrecked. Not only did Margaret bring Juniper to bluntly point out that Leo was the original creator of the concept, but William also figured out who swiped the Fisher Group's design sketches and sold 'em to her.
"And I just had someone check this 'Vogue Vision' magazine. It's confirmed to be fake." William's thin lips curled slightly, calling her out. "You got Margaret's design sketches a month ago, so how could you have published that article two months ago?"
"I..." Marilyn bit her lip, about to say something, when the big screen in the center of the conference room suddenly lit up.
A bunch of evidence popped up, showing that a lot of Marilyn's works were rip-offs; even her college graduation design was copied from a dorm mate. But because Marilyn's dad was powerful and had connections, Marilyn easily smoothed everything over, using money to build her image as an international jewelry design master.
With the evidence out there, Marilyn's face turned super sour, and she yelled, "Turn it off! Turn it off!"
But no one paid her any mind.
"I never thought that the so-called international designer Marilyn would be such a fraud, not only ripping off others but also accusing them of copying. How shameless!"
"Ugh! I used to look up to her, thinking she was a master in design and studying her works. But it turns out they were all rip-offs!"
The crowd buzzed with chatter, and the image of the jewelry design master that Marilyn had worked so hard to build over the years was instantly trashed.
Looking down at Marilyn, who was now like a total outcast, Margaret couldn't help but curl up her lips. She didn't think William would dig up so much dirt on Marilyn in just two days. This time, Marilyn was toast.
Marilyn's face twisted as she faced the flood of accusations and criticisms. Seeing she couldn't turn the tide, she just pretended to faint right there on the ground.
Security came and hauled Marilyn away.
"Alright, about the plagiarism issue, we're done here. Let me make it clear: our Fisher Group always puts the customer first, strives for excellence, and would never stoop to something like plagiarism that would trash our reputation!"
Margaret's speech got a round of applause from everyone. After this so-called plagiarism scandal, the "Ice and Fire" press conference was a massive hit. As soon as the press conference wrapped up, tons of companies showed interest in "Ice and Fire," hoping to snag the agency rights.
Bruce was also super pleased with how the press conference went.
"We're throwing a celebration dinner tonight, and we hope everyone can make it," Margaret said with a smile.
William nodded slightly and whispered in Margaret's ear, "I'll pick you up tonight."
Margaret turned and smiled, her lips almost brushing against William's. Their cozy interaction was especially annoying to Lucy.
Marilyn was totally useless. She thought Margaret would be nailed for plagiarism today, but she didn't expect her to flip the script so perfectly!
A flash of ruthlessness crossed Lucy's eyes. No worries, she had a "big surprise" planned for Margaret at tonight's celebration dinner.
She thought, 'Margaret, just you wait!'
The celebration dinner was set at the swanky Royal Palace Hotel in Ravenford, where Bruce happened to be staying.
After the press conference, he went back to his room to chill for a bit and was about to change for the dinner when the doorbell rang. Bruce thought it was housekeeping and opened the door, only to see Annie standing there.
"What are you doing here?" Bruce's blue eyes flashed with impatience. "I've made it very clear, we're done."
"I know." Annie lowered her eyes, looking all meek. "Bruce, I'm not here to bug you today."
Bruce looked puzzled. "Then why are you here?"
Annie bit her lip and said softly, "I know I messed up big time before, especially with Margaret. I shouldn't have hated her. She called me out because I was in the wrong first. I feel really bad about what I did."
After a pause, she continued. "So, I'm begging you to take me to the dinner tonight. I want to formally apologize to Margaret."
"I see." Bruce pondered thoughtfully.
Seeing Bruce was considering it, Annie quickly added, "I really know I was wrong. Please give me a chance to apologize to her, okay?"
"Alright!" Seeing Annie's remorseful look, Bruce finally agreed in a deep voice.
The dinner was set for eight o'clock. By seven, a bunch of social elites had already shown up at the banquet hall, along with various reporters with their cameras.
This afternoon's press conference was already wild enough, and who knew, the dinner might have even more drama? No one wanted to miss the scoop.
"Mr. Fisher is here!" someone shouted, and the previously noisy banquet hall suddenly went silent.
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