Chapter 416 Different Paths.

If Christina didn’t know about the heinous things Yerck had done, she might’ve been misled by that hypocritical man before her, thinking he was a gentleman.

Seeing Christina approaching, the few people he was talking to dispersed to go about their business.

“I waited a long time for you yesterday.” Yerek lifted his hand and twirled a lock of her hair with his fingertips, gazing intently at her as he spoke.

Christina unceremoniously swatted away his hand. She was overwhelmed by the urge to purchase a bottle of disinfectant to sanitize the hair he had touched.

“What matter do you have in mind? We can talk about it now too.” She was curious about what he had to discuss but didn’t want him to fathom her intention.

Instead of coming clean, he uttered profoundly, “Nathaniel is keeping you by his side because you’re valuable to him, and he wishes to use you. You two aren’t meant to be together.”

Christina’s gaze darkened as she remained rooted to her spot.

Yerek moved a little closer to her. “We are supposed to be a couple.”

Hearing that, Christina scoffed, “You can give that idea up. We walk different paths.”

She strode into the shop to handle the arrangement of the displays.

By the time she was done with work, it was already late.

The shop’s official opening was set for Saturday.

Upon returning to her office, Christina and Rayne verified the information about the models for the fashion show, checking several times before finally implementing it.

After finishing all the tasks, she sat in front of her computer to rest. Suddenly, a piece of financial news. popped up on her screen.

A new plot of land Nathaniel invested in had encountered a development plan-related issue, leading to a dispute and a delay in construction. The resumption of work had to depend on the situation.

A professional analyst estimated that a single day of delay could cost Hadley Corporation millions, and the longer the delay, the greater the loss.

After reading the news, Christina was overwrought. She hastily left the room and went to the CEO’s office.

Meanwhile, inside the conference room, Nathaniel was holding a meeting with the other senior executives to discuss strategies to tackle that predicament.

Looking in through the glass window, she could sense the heavy atmosphere inside the conference room.

Christina waited anxiously inside the CEO’s office. She didn’t really understand business, but she had a feeling that crisis could have a significant impact after reading the news.

An indeterminate time passed before the tightly shut door was pushed open.

Nathaniel entered, his extraordinary temperament accentuated by the extravagant black suit. His emotionless handsome face showed no warmth.

Noticing Christina, he walked over and placed down the documents in his hand. Then he leaned closer to her and uttered gently.

“Are you waiting for me to go home? I need to work overtime tonight”

Nathaniel didn’t mention anything about his work, which made Christina feel even more distressed “Nathaniel,” she called out softly, her voice filled with the utmost tenderness.

“I saw the news about the company. Is it serious? Unfortunately, I don’t understand these things and can’t provide you with any help” Christina spoke like a child who had made a mistake Nathaniel’s dark eyes glinted as he pulled her into his arms. “Silly girl, what are you talking about? This kind of thing happens often. Don’t worry. I can manage.

Feeling his warmth seeping into her skin through their clothes, she was no longer as perturbed as before Saturday arrived in the blink of an eye.

The shop attracted a crowd as soon as it was opened. Moreover, with Coco making an appearance, her fans alone already filled the entire first floor.

Coco was dressed in the main fashion piece, which was a pink and graceful suit that matched her image perfectly.

She sang and danced on stage and even interacted with her fans after finishing her performances, invigorating the crowd and lifting the atmosphere to its liveliest state.

The sales on the opening day exceeded expectations as almost all the stock in the store was sold out.

At the end of the day, Rayne enthusiastically reported the sales performance to Christina, “All the clothes in the shop were almost sold out today. As expected of the quality products by you.”

“Did you remember to restock? The factory should have already completed the order,” Christina reminded.

“Yes. The stocks should’ve arrived by now.” Rayne made a call to confirm the delivery. However, when the call connected, her smile gradually froze.

“What’s the matter?” Christina sensed something was off.

“Something terrible happened at the shop!”

As ten o’clock approached, the mall was cleared, and almost all the other shops had closed.

Ten minutes later, Christina and Rayne reached the shop in a hurry.

Christina furrowed her brows at the sight of the low-quality, unevenly colored clothes that emitted a foul smell. “What’s going on?”

The shop manager wore a grim expression. “I don’t know. The stocks arrived in this condition. We reported this issue immediately.”

“What should we do? Our shop has to open for business tomorrow. What should we do if we don’t have any clothes to sell to the customers? This will definitely tarnish our brand’s reputation!”

Rayne paced in front of the store in a panic.

In contrast, Christina remained level-headed and composed. She took out her phone and dialed the number of the textile supplier. “Sir, I’ve been ordering fabric from you for so long. Why is the fabric you provided this time of such poor quality?”

Since the production faced no issue, Christina figured the material was problematic. She immediately suspected the problem stemmed from the fabric supplier.

Upon hearing that, the other party quickly explained. “Don’t wrong me, Ms. Steele. I’ve never delivered substandard goods in all our dealings. The factory you introduced to me only ordered high-quality fabric from me once during the start of our collaboration.

I never heard from them since.”

“You’re saying the factory hasn’t been sourcing materials from you afterward?” Christina probed further in disbelief. I paid the production factory the cost of procuring textiles from Rainbow Factory. That means the factory manager has been pocketing the difference.

“That’s right. They never ordered any fabric from us after that. My textiles are priced according to the quality, and since they complained our goods are too expensive, I didn’t insist.”

“All right, I got it.” Christina’s gaze darkened as she hung up the call. No wonder the factory manager never brought me to inspect the situation at the production area whenever I went to check on the end products. He feared I would find out he had secretly switched the fabrics.

Christina didn’t expect the other party to be so audacious.

“Should we inform Mr. Hadley?” Rayne asked worriedly.

“Don’t say anything.” Christina uttered indifferently while sweeping her eyes across the others present. “Keep this a secret for now. This matter must not be made known to others.”

“We got it,” the other employees replied obediently..

Christina turned around and left, intending to confront the clothing factory manager about the situation Rayne chased after her.

Christina entered the car, and the door to the passenger side was also opened. Rayne got in, closed the door, and buckled her seat belt.

“I’m worried about you going alone. It’s better if there are two of us to watch each other’s back.”

“Okay.”

Christina started the car and drove off.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the factory. The security guard recognized Christina’s vehicle and let them in.

Christina walked in and headed straight for the garment production workshop, only to find the place deserted.

A foul smell, identical to that of the clothes that were just delivered to the shop, lingered in the air.

Frowning and pinching her nose, Christina scanned her surroundings and finally rested her gaze on the source of the odor. She saw a heap of dirty, gray fabric piled up in the corner of the room.