Next One Is a Babe

How was she supposed to explain herself? There wasn’t anything wrong with having lunch together even if they didn’t know each other, right? Cindy hadn’t intended to clarify anything, but since these were her new colleagues, she felt like she had to build a good relationship with them even if she had to do things she didn’t want to.

So, she ended up answering them. “Miss Warhol saw me alone during lunch today. I didn’t know where to go, so she offered to show me around.”

Cindy hadn’t expected a simple meal to cause her so much trouble. Sometime in the afternoon, Cindy overheard others talking about her in the pantry. Her colleagues were claiming that she had entered the company by pulling some strings, and they said that she had a decent relationship with Serena. Furthermore, there were some who said that Serena was going to focus on guiding Cindy so that Cindy could take over the role as the main designer. The colleagues even brought up Ian’s name and said that he was the one supporting her.

Cindy was utterly speechless toward all these rumors. She knew that Serena only took in a limited number of students and that it was hard for one to get in if one lacked the skills. However, Cindy had been in the dark, and she had never expected to have connections that would get Serena to take extra care of her. Initially, Cindy simply applied for this company because of its fame. This is why people say that it’s bad to achieve things through the use of connections. It really causes a ton of unnecessary troubles.

In the end, Cindy had no choice but to return to her seat without getting a drink from the pantry. Most of the other apprentices at the office held negative opinions toward her as well. Although they were less verbal about their thoughts, Cindy could tell that they were eyeing her in a rather odd manner.

As Cindy sat on her spot and stared at the draft of her design, she felt rather uneasy. To be honest, I hate people who get in through their connections, and I hate unskilled people who are able to get good resources just because they know some influential people. It’s so unfair to others. I feel so helpless now that I’m in this situation. Yet, this is my only chance, and I don’t want to give up just yet. After thinking about this matter for a while, Cindy sat upright and took a deep breath before she started on her incomplete design once more. She figured that she would have to prove herself for those people to stop talking about her.

Ian came over to pick Cindy up from work that night. They met at the entrance of the company. “How was it? How was your first day at work?” Ian asked in an anxious tone. Cindy didn’t want to tell him about the troubles that she had encountered on the first day of work, as she didn’t want him to worry. “It’s pretty good. The designer I’m working for takes really good care of me, and the rest of my colleagues are nice too.” She had no choice but to emphasize the good parts of her day.

Ian wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “That’s good. You can always tell me if you have any concerns, okay?”

“Okay,” Cindy mumbled. They strolled along the side of the road, and Cindy heard whispers soon after they started walking. She couldn’t hear the exact words they uttered, but she figured that they must have spotted Ian. Cindy didn’t turn around and Ian was used to such encounters, so they simply headed to the side of the road to hail a cab.