Chapter 96 Plagiarized Design
Margaret should've seen this coming ages ago. If it was that simple, William wouldn't have spent years without a peep about Marjorie.
But seriously, what went down after Marjorie took that tumble off the cliff? Whether she was alive or not, there should've been some breadcrumbs. How could she just vanish into thin air like that?
Margaret was stumped but had no leads, so she had to put it on the back burner for now. In the next few days, she dove headfirst into her work and wrapped up the location shoot for "Ice and Fire" in no time.
In a few days, there'd be a big press conference to officially launch the "Ice and Fire" jewelry line. Margaret was totally sure that the "Ice and Fire" jewelry would be a smash hit, pushing the Fisher Group to the top of the jewelry game. But then, outta nowhere, something crazy happened two days before the press conference.
Early that morning, Margaret rolled into the office to get everything ready for the big day. A news alert on her phone made her stop in her tracks.
[Royal Radiance is about to drop the newest jewel collection, "As You Wish".]
She muttered, "As You Wish?"
Margaret tapped on the news, which read: [Royal Radiance, a top domestic jewelry company, has snagged Fleurancia's chief designer, Marilyn. The new "As You Wish" collection features jewelry that changes colors under different lighting, making sure you stand out anywhere.]
Margaret skimmed through the article. The jewelry pieces looked a lot like her designs, with the same color-changing feature.
Margaret had come up with this idea, which was already in her "Ice and Fire" series. The Fisher Group had kept it under wraps until the big reveal at the press conference. But now, someone had beaten her to the punch.
It was clear that Royal Radiance had ripped off her design.
As a long-standing jewelry giant, Royal Radiance had always ruled the industry. But with the Fisher Group stepping into the game, Royal Radiance's edge had dulled. Especially since Margaret was sure that once the Fisher Group launched "Ice and Fire," it would totally crush Royal Radiance and grab a bigger market share.
In this tight spot, Royal Radiance made a desperate move. And to top it off, an internationally famous designer like Marilyn had copied her design?
Just then, Margaret's phone rang. It was William. "Get to my office."
Margaret replied, "On my way."
After clearing things up with William at the Fisher family estate that night, Margaret felt way more comfortable around him.
"Did you catch today's news about Royal Radiance?" William asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah," Margaret nodded.
William's brow furrowed. "How did this happen?"
Margaret bit her lip. "If I say Marilyn stole my design, would you believe me?"
"I believe you," William said, cool as a cucumber. His unwavering trust made Margaret's heart feel all warm and fuzzy.
"But right now, things are looking pretty grim for the Fisher Group," William said, his fingers drumming on the desk, adding to the tension.
"Yeah, I get it." Margaret rubbed her temples, her voice low. "Royal Radiance has already dropped this design online, and our press conference is in two days. By then, everyone will think we ripped them off."
Even though Royal Radiance had only put out a few sketches and some descriptions, they got the jump on them. Everyone would think Royal Radiance was the original.
This was clearly a calculated move against the Fisher Group. But what Margaret couldn't wrap her head around was how Marilyn got her hands on her design idea. Could there be a rat in the Fisher Group?
William was on the same page. He smirked. "I'll get someone to dig into how Royal Radiance swiped your design, but we might have to push back the press conference."
Going ahead without solid proof could blow up in their faces, hurting the Fisher Group's rep.
Margaret, though, stayed cool. "No need to postpone."
William raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised. Margaret grinned. "If you trust me, let's roll with the press conference as planned."
Almost without missing a beat, William's lips curled into a slight smile. "Alright, it's your call."
"Got it," Margaret said, smiling back.
As she left the CEO's office and headed back to her desk, she saw Olivia storming her way. "Margaret, did you seriously plagiarize?" Olivia accused her, not holding back.
Margaret shot her a cold look. "What makes you think I did?"
Olivia slapped a newspaper onto Margaret's desk and yelled, "Look, your 'Ice and Fire' is a total rip-off of Marilyn's design."
Margaret glanced at the newspaper, which echoed what she'd seen on her phone earlier. So even Olivia thought she was a copycat?
Margaret smiled faintly and said calmly, "I didn't."
"The proof's right there, and you're still denying it? Do you have any idea how much trouble this will cause the company?" Olivia's voice rose, making sure everyone around heard her accusing Margaret of plagiarism.
As the head of the design department, Olivia had been humiliated by Margaret's critique of her previous designs in front of William. Margaret had even bypassed their department's work and sketched the "Ice and Fire" design in front of Bruce, making both William and Bruce very happy.
Olivia had always thought, how could an outsider like Margaret know anything about jewelry design? Turned out, everything was stolen from Marilyn!
"I don't know if our company will have trouble, but I think you might," Margaret said with a hint of sarcasm as Olivia kept accusing her.
Olivia was taken aback. "What trouble?"
Margaret said calmly, "As the head of the design department, you can't even tell what's original and what's plagiarized. Don't you feel embarrassed?"
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