Chapter 52
Chapter 52
“Ms. Slater, are you alright?” Stella’s voice, laced with barely contained amusement, interrupted Jessica’s daydream. Jessica turned, confused, and caught the hint of concern on Stella’s face. “What’s wrong?” Stella asked.
“Nothing,” Jessica replied, shaking her head as she stopped in front of the doorway. “Ms. Spencer, this is the shared workspace for designers. Honestly, with your skills, I’m sure you’ll have your own studio soon.”
“Thanks,” Stella said with a smile, nodding as she walked in.
The door shut with a sharp click, echoing through the hallway.
Left alone, Jessica’s smile faded, turning into a malicious sneer. “Noreen, I was going to let you stick around a little longer, but if you’re determined to dig your own grave, don’t blame me.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper, but even through the wooden door, Stella could hear every word.
Stella had no idea what Jessica was scheming-and frankly, she couldn’t care less. It wasn’t her problem.
Seven years of Noreen’s ungratefulness had long since erased any goodwill Stella had for her. Stella wouldn’t go out of her way to harm Noreen, but she wouldn’t shed any tears if things went badly for her either.
With a faint smile, Stella felt a weight lift from her chest. She didn’t think about it further and picked up her pen, focusing on sketching the ideas that had been building up in her mind.
That night, the moon was shining bright overhead. It was already nine-quitting time for the whole office.
The lights were off on most floors, with only a few dim lights still flickering-likely employees working overtime to earn extra pay.
But the design department was a whole different world. Even though it was well past time to go home, no one had left. All eyes were fixed on the studio down the hall.
They were all waiting for the outcome-a result no one knew whether they should be excited or worried about.
If Stella won, Mr. Nunn would definitely leave. And once the department lost its star designer, the perks would vanish quickly.
But if Mr. Nunn came out on top, then it was game over for all of them-just like Stella, they’d have to pack up and
Honestly, losing some benefits was nothing compared to getting kicked to the curb with nothing at all. Realizing that, everyone started quietly wishing for Stella to win.
Ethan yawned loudly, shooting Jeremy a resigned look. “Mr. Ford, seriously-who can whip up a real design in just half a day?”
Before he could finish complaining, the studio door swung open. After half a day of relentless designing and making, Stella felt utterly drained. Her body was heavy, every muscle aching.
She shuffled out slowly, meeting everyone’s hopeful eyes as the tension hung in the air. She walked up to Cameron and said,
“It’s done.”
Cameron took the box from her, not expecting much. But when he opened it, he was completely stunned.
“Come on! Tell us-what does it look like?” someone called out.
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Chapter 52
“All I see is this sort of hazy glow. Actually, it looks pretty awesome,” another chimed in.
“Mr. Nunn, snap out of it. Hurry up and show the rest of us,” someone else shouted.
The room was instantly buzzing with excitement.
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The fashion editor, Julian Harrington, couldn’t ignore Cameron’s stunned reaction anymore. She stood up, leaned over, and looked closer. Her eyes widened in awe.
“Oh my god! Out of all the designs I’ve seen, this earring is absolutely perfect,” Julian exclaimed.
“Hold on!” Ethan interrupted, craning his neck to get a better look. “Is there a bracelet too?”
He knew Stella only had half a day, but she had designed and made two flawless pieces of jewelry in that time.
At first, he was worried about that new jewelry prodigy Lloyd Group was hyping up, but after seeing Stella’s work, all his concerns vanished.
“Talent? Let’s see them crank out two perfect jewels in just half a day,’ Ethan thought.
Stella was about to speak when her legs buckled from exhaustion, and she nearly collapsed. Designing took mental effort, but actually making the jewelry was a whole different level-far more physically draining.
Luckily, Jeremy was quick to catch her, preventing her from falling. “I told you a sketch would have been enough-why did you push yourself to make the real thing?” Jeremy said, his voice full of concern.
Stella gave a tired smile and joked softly, “I already had the designs, but leaving them on paper. How sad would that be for them?”
To Stella, jewelry was more than a career-it was her passion, every piece like a child crafted by her own hands.
Jeremy understood perfectly. He simply helped her down into a seat, letting her catch her breath.
Seeing how pale and drained Stella looked, everyone quieted down. The results were already out, so waiting a few minutes more wouldn’t make any
difference.
The room was thick with tension when a deep male voice suddenly broke the silence. “I lost,” Cameron muttered.
He stood with his head down, defeated. The two pieces of jewelry he held in his hands were impossible to ignore-ant earring and a bracelet, clearly designed as a matching set.
As everyone watched, scrutinizing the materials and craftsmanship, Stella-after catching her breath-began her explanation. “This is a matching set. I’ve named it Kiss of Dawn.”
Stella looked around, her voice clear and certain. “To me, light isn’t simply something that bounces off a gemstone-it radiates from deep inside.”
Her words struck a chord, leaving the crowd captivated. Without giving anyone time to question her, she went on, “That’s why the main stone in these pieces is a high-clarity, colorless sapphire. Compared to diamonds, it refracts light in a gentler
way.
“I chose a matte starburst cut too, so the light scatters into a soft halo, just like the dreamy brightness in the early morning mist. And for the earring, it’s designed to spin a full 360 degrees, catching the light in a completely new way with every
movement.”
Cameron stood frozen, clearly shaken. But Julian was all in. She snatched the earring from his hand and started turning it slowly, her eyes glued to the way the light danced across the surface.
The crowd watched in awe as the soft, misty glow of the earring began to shift and change.
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Each new angle revealed a different sparkle, a different mood-like having a whole collection of jewelry all in one piece.
‘If I were a customer, I’d definitely pick this, Ethan thought. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he instantly sensed the commercial potential-already scheming about the best way to spin this into a killer campaign.
“Lannière Group-giving you a different kind of experience. Ugh, no way. That’s way too played out.” Ethan dismissed it, rolling his eyes at his own cliché.
He kept running ideas through his mind, and eventually circled back to Stella’s very first line. Official source is
The more Ethan mulled it over, the better it sounded-if he weren’t worried about cutting into her presentation, he’d have begged Stella to throw him a few more lines right on the spot.
“I also used micro prisms in the bracelet’s setting.” Stella said, smiling at Julian. “Try pointing it toward the light and see what happens.”
Julian did just that, and in the next moment, rainbow spots flickered out from the prism, each one dazzling.
“Exactly,” Stella continued, “The light’s strength determines how long you need to wait before the rainbow spots appear.”