Chapter 356 Madison Shot Herself in the Foot
Madison was floored, her jaw practically hitting the ground.
'Grace is Iris? No way! That's impossible!' she thought, still in shock.
Madison blurted out, "How could she be Iris? Everyone knows Iris is this genius perfumer, always so mysterious. Just because Iris never shows her face doesn't mean you can just pick anyone to be her."
Even now, Madison couldn't wrap her head around it. Or maybe she just didn't want to.
She'd always been envious of Grace's talent with perfumes. Just by borrowing a few of Grace's formulas, she'd become an internet sensation with a ton of followers.
Madison had even snagged third place in a perfume competition with one of Grace's scents. That kind of skill was rare.
Iris was Madison's idol. She adored Iris's perfumes. How could she accept that Iris was actually Grace?
"Why would I lie to you? Sure, Iris never used her real name, but the competition organizers can see all the info. If you don't believe me, check it yourself." Jett said, logging into the competition's admin site. All the data was there, clear as day, including the registration info and photos.
There it was, Grace's photo right next to Iris's name.
Jett went on, "She's been entering the competition since she was fifteen. As the organizer, how could I not know? She's always been the top performer. Her skills are legit. You guys just can't stand that Grace is actually good at this. You think she got here through connections, but it's all her hard work!"
Madison was left speechless.
Iris was Grace. Grace was Iris.
If this was true, then Grace really did deserve this project.
"This can't be real. If you really are Iris, why didn't you say so earlier?" Madison still couldn't accept it, even with all the evidence staring her in the face.
The others with Madison felt their faces burn with embarrassment, realizing they were outclassed.
"I'm not like you, always bragging. I don't go around telling everyone I'm Iris, the top perfumer. I'm just low-key, you get it?" Grace said.
Madison turned red. She was the one who'd been flaunting her third-place win, telling everyone and even posting it all over Twitter.
Even though her skills were fake and she'd copied Grace's work, she didn't care.
Madison, still in denial, said, "There must be something shady going on! I demand an investigation. You can't be the top perfumer!"
Iris had been the top for years, and now Madison was questioning it. Wasn't it a bit late for that?
Grace smirked, "I agree. Maybe there is something shady. Maybe some winners bribed the judges or stole others' formulas. It should definitely be investigated."
Grace's words made Madison's face go even paler.
Madison had been too worked up and ended up digging her own grave. If an investigation happened and Grace spoke up, she'd be done for.
Madison had actually asked Daniel to bribe the judges. Even though she thought it was unnecessary after snagging Grace's formula, if anyone found out, she'd be in deep trouble.
Jett, catching on to Grace's hint, nodded. "If you're questioning the fairness of our competition, we should definitely investigate."
"No, no! Don't investigate. I'm not questioning it!" Madison's panic was obvious, but it was too late. She'd already ticked off Jett, and there was no way she was getting out of this mess.
Jett had already set the wheels in motion for an investigation, and this whole charade was about to come crashing down.
Finally, the collaborating company brought out Grace's project proposal. The other companies, seeing Grace's work, were stunned into silence. Her proposal was flawless, way better than theirs.
They had no choice but to admit defeat.
One by one, they started apologizing to Grace. "We only came because Madison said there were unfair practices. She even bought our plane tickets and covered all our expenses."
Madison, despite losing miserably, wasn't ready to give up. She clung to the arm of the person at the head of the table. "You have to believe me, this Grace definitely has issues. She doesn't have this kind of ability. She's not Iris. You've been deceived."
But that person pushed Madison away and walked over to the young man at the end of the conference table. "Boss."
The young man, looking under thirty, had distinctly local features, a high nose bridge, naturally blonde hair, and very light-colored eyes.
He waved his hand, and the person who had been sitting at the head of the table got the message, ordering Madison to be thrown out.
Everyone else had assumed the person at the head of the table was the boss. Who would've thought the youngest guy sitting at the end was actually the boss, and also the brother of the princess of Aetheria?
Then he stood up and walked over to Grace.
He was a head taller than her.
He extended his hand, his eyes filled with interest as they landed on Grace's face. "That was impressive. I'm Robert York. Welcome to our company's collaboration, Iris. Looking forward to working with you."
Grace shook his hand. "Looking forward to working with you, Mr. York."
Robert had let someone like Madison come up just to see how things would play out.
He'd always been laid-back, choosing collaborators based on their abilities. He especially disliked those who used connections because, no matter what he did, people always praised him for his sister's sake, which he hated.
Even though it was his own ability, no one saw it, so he hoped more capable people would be discovered and recognized.
When initially selecting a collaborator, Robert had thought Iris Studio's proposal was very creative, and her perfumes were top-notch. Although it was a small company, its rapid growth was impressive, so he chose Iris Studio. He'd thought it was just a coincidence that the company had the same name as the genius perfumer Iris, but it turned out Grace was Iris.
Even Jett, who rarely made friends, admired her so much.
The mysterious Iris seemed quite interesting.
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