Chapter 034 Shameless
"I quit," Grace calmly replied.
Madison thought she'd misheard. She paused and asked, "What did you say?"
She wondered, ‘How could Grace agree so readily? Wasn't she always determined to stay at Lewis Group?’
"You just want me to leave Lewis Group, right? I'll grant you your wish. But I'm not leaving because of you, I'm leaving because Lewis Group doesn't deserve an employee like me," Grace stated, cooly.
During her year at Lewis Group, Grace had seen how the company had decayed to its core. Such an organization wouldn't last long. Lewis Group had forgotten the vision it was built upon, no longer striving to bring a variety of scents to the world.
Especially after Grace joined the perfume department, she realized the severity of the issues there.
Without a backward glance, Grace walked away, leaving Madison behind. However, Madison didn't feel the satisfaction she'd expected with Grace's departure.
"You!" Madison yelled. She thought, ‘Something is off. Grace left too smoothly; she must be up to something. But where can she go after leaving Lewis Group? I bet she'll come back begging in a few days. Then, I'll demote Grace to the lowest position in Lewis Group.
Back at home, Grace wasn't angry, just disheartened. She had a plan in mind for a while but had been weighing her options before acting.
Looking at a bottle of water across the room, she suddenly felt emboldened. Now was the time to put her plan into motion.
Xavier had broken away from the Montgomery family at just fourteen and started from scratch to build a business empire.
Grace's ambitions weren't so grand. She simply wanted to pursue her passion for perfume blending.
It took two days for Angela to hear about Grace's resignation. By chance, Angela stopped by Lewis Group intending to invite Grace for drinks when she was informed Grace had left Lewis Group.
In a whirl, Angela drove to Grace's house, pounding on the door as if the sky was falling.
Grace had already spotted Angela through the surveillance camera at the door when she unlocked it and called out, "I'm here."
"Grace! Did they bully you? Are you okay? Let me see!" Angela said as soon as she entered.
Grace smiled a bit and replied, "It's nothing. I'm good."
"Why are you still smiling?" Angela was angry, thinking to herself, ‘How dare the Lewis family bully Grace? Grace's mother co-founded the Lewis Group.’
"What else should I do? Should I cry?" Grace replied.
The more resilient Grace appeared the more Angela felt sorry for her.
Angela thought, ‘At least I have a brother to support me. But Grace had been all alone since she was young, with no one to help her. On top of that, Taylor, Brittany, and Madison don't like her and even wish she were dead even though she had done nothing wrong. Why is the world so unfair?’
"So, what are you going to do? Are you really going to let them have Lewis Group?" she asked Grace.
"Lewis Group won't last," Grace said.
"What about you?" inquired Angela.
Grace beckoned, "I have my plans. Come here and look."
Angela gasped as Grace showed her a webpage, "You've started a new company!"
Grace smiled and said, "Yes, I've chosen a location for the studio these past few days and am in the process of hiring staff."
"Well done! You're the renowned Cynthia. If you're starting a studio, you won't have to worry about sales!" Angela was aware of Grace's identity.
"I don't intend to use the name Cynthia for it. The popularity of Cynthia was more than I ever expected. I want to start anew," Grace declared.
As her best friend, Angela naturally supported Grace unconditionally. "I don't understand how you think. Do you have enough funds? Do you want me to invest some?" she said to Grace.
Grace assured her, "My money is more than enough. Cynthia made a lot of it. Don't worry about me."
"I'm just worried that if the Lewis family finds out you've started a company, they will target you," said Angela.
Grace had considered this and figured Madison would indeed cause trouble for her, saying, "It's okay. I'm not afraid of the trouble they could cause. Besides, Madison's trouble is about to begin."
"What do you mean?" Angela was perplexed.
"Just check Twitter," Grace suggested.
Angela picked up her phone, opened Twitter, and immediately saw Madison's name and the trending hashtag, as quoted, "Madison accused of plagiarism."
Madison was exceptionally skilled at creating fragrances, so she had millions of followers and was somewhat famous on Twitter. Everyone knew she was a little princess from a wealthy family and that she worked for her family's company.
The new fragrance released by the Lewis Group that was personally crafted by Madison has been in the headlines since last year. It was rumored to boast an unparalleled scent. However, when the product launched today, people discovered that its formula was a blatant copy of Cynthia's previous fragrance creation.
Furthermore, netizens unearthed that several other perfumes by the Lewis Group were suspected of plagiarism. The composition of many of these fragrances also raised concerns, notably about the latest release. Marketed as safe for pregnant women and free of any chemicals before its release, the fragrance was found to contain ingredients deemed unsafe for expectant mothers.
Previous perfumes were also found to have an excess of harmful chemical substances. Now, the Lewis Group was facing severe criticism online.
Madison, the designer behind these fragrances, faced harsh criticism online.
Online comments were posted.
[Who made Madison a star? She's so terrible.]
[I remember her using a different brand of perfume at a public event. Doesn't she use her own company's products?]
[Why doesn't the Lewis Group explain? How dare they do such a thing?]
Angela felt a surge of joy upon reading these comments.
"So, you knew about all this stuff going on with the Lewis Group?" Angela looked up at Grace, who showed no sign of surprise.
"I didn't before," said Grace, who used to work in the planning department and wasn't privy to core company secrets.
It was only after she moved to the perfume formulating department and reviewed past designs and submissions that Grace realized how deep the Lewis Group's problems ran. So, that day at the company entrance, when Madison told Grace to leave the Lewis Group, Grace walked away without a second thought.
Angela, smiling at the latest comments and even considering adding her own, suddenly froze. Her smile turned to anger.
"Grace, Madison just posted an announcement on Twitter. She's putting all the blame on you. She's shameless!"
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