Following Mrs. Tong's line of sight, Lina turned towards Wade who was rubbing his forehead at this moment.

'This old lady surely is troublesome.' He sighed and glanced at his little sister who had her brows raised in question.

​​

'Who the hell is she and why does she treat you this way?' Her doubt was too apparent on her face.

Mrs. Tong had called Lina haughty but the way she had glanced at Wade, expecting him to speak on her behalf was haughty in Lina's eyes instead.

Both Lina and Mrs. Tong were looking in Wade's direction for the same reasons.

Lina wished to know who this lady was and what was her reason for behaving this way while Mrs. Tong delegated the duty of introducing her to VP Wade Luo.

Therefore, the young VP of Obsidia Designs had no other option but to do as he was told.

Turning towards his little sister who was not so amused with what she had just experienced, Wade cleared his throat.

"Mrs. Jasmine Tong is the lead designer of traditional wear in Obsidia. She has a large clientele and many seek to wear her designs." He disclosed the identity of the stern-looking woman seated with them for this meeting.

Lina nodded her head, grasping what her brother had just said before turning towards the woman who was right opposite her.

Jasmine Tong raised her chin and it was clear for everyone to see that she was looking down on Lina without even trying to conceal her thoughts and opinions.

The older lady did not visit the headquarters too often but she was up to date regarding everything happening in the company.

Therefore, she was well aware of this younger lady's identity.

'The heiress of the Yang family and the VP's cousin.' She recalled what her subordinates had informed her before this meeting.

This only made her mood sour as this woman had come into the company through the back door by using her connection with the VP to get hired.

Incompetent and a result of nepotism.

This was how she saw Lina Yang which only infuriated her further.

This woman was the reason the VP had fired her close acquaintance, Maxene Kang.

Maxene was someone whom she held in high regard and had a close relationship with, even outside of the office.

Therefore, she received a shock when she received news from her assistants in the clothing department that Maxene had been fired.

While Jasmine was away on a mini-vacation with her husband, she had heard about this news.

To gain some clarity on what had taken place, she called the one at the center of the incident.

Therefore, she was sure of this information as she had heard it straight from Maxene's mouth that she had been fired from her job due to this woman's instigations.

Maxene made it sound like Lina and the higher-ups of Obsidia were the villains and she was the innocent victim who had to pay the price of offending someone who came from a powerful background.

She had consoled Maxene at that time and promised to get her the job back once she returned from her vacation but the other woman refused straightaway.

Maxene had declared that she would not return to a place where she had been kicked out so ruthlessly as that would hurt her self-respect and dignity as a human being.

However, she had failed to reveal a tiny piece of information stating that she had already acquired a job at Talia's jewelry which was also the reason why she had caused the entire scandal in the first place.

Ignorant of this fact, Jasmine began harboring a grudge against Lina, the cause of Maxene's dismissal ever since.

Today when she saw that same woman entering the conference hall as though she owned the place, Jasmine could no longer keep her thoughts concealed and gave her a piece of mind.

Even now, there was a scowl on her face as she fixed her gaze at the unlikeable young lady sitting before her.

Lina had already discovered that the older lady before her seemed to dislike her but she could not figure out the reason that might justify such behavior.

'We met just minutes ago and she is already so hostile towards me.' This thought made her frown.

Nevertheless, she steadied her emotions and nodded her head at the woman as well.

"Ohh, I see. Hello." Lina acknowledged the other person in the most professional of ways.

Her mother had always taught her that not everything needed to be dignified with the same reaction as one received.

For people like Mrs. Tong who seemed to have a prejudice against her without any valid reason, she did not have to care too much about them.

'She works here so might as well not push this conflict any further.' She decided that ignoring this lady was the best that she could do right now.

They had all assembled here for a purpose and she was excited to get to it at the earliest.

After all, this meeting was to discuss the next step in the preparation of the Winter Collection that she had collaborated with her little puppy, Stephen Jin.

Thinking about the young man who had designed those beautiful gowns for the Winter Collection, Lina's lips curved into a subtle smile as she raised her head to scan around the room.

Earlier, she had seen many familiar faces in this conference hall so she was sure that he too would be here.

However, at that time, her attention had been diverted by the snarling older woman who had a lot to say about her coming late to the meeting which had not even begun by then.

Her apology for being late was also snubbed which had made her focus her attention on Mrs. Tong, forgetting to greet the rest present in the room.

Now that she had completed her short yet displeasing interaction with this lady, she could search for her puppy and also the other acquaintances who should have arrived before her.

To her immediate right was the Director of the Marketing Department, Stuart Bai who also was wearing a gloomy expression ever since he had witnessed Mrs. Tong's antics.

Lina smiled at him then her gaze fell on the Asst. Director, Irene Zhou beside whom sat Manager Anthony Shen.

They were already looking in her direction so when their eyes met, she gave them her sincere smile which had been absent while interacting with Mrs. Tong.

Before she could look further in that direction to find where her puppy was seated, she heard something which made her turn away almost immediately.

"People who gained their position without any qualifications and by using their connections and family background think that they can speak to me?" Mrs. Tong sneered before letting out a loud snort.

"Laughable!" She narrowed her eyes, exuding her threatening aura in an attempt to put some fear into the eyes of the woman seated before her.

Earlier she had believed that this woman would behave after realizing who she was dealing with but to her utter and unexpected surprise, Lina acted as though she had just heard something trivial.

She was Jasmine Tong and numerous Madams from wealthy families sought her out to get customized dresses made from her.

Yet this young lady had disregarded her identity and did not give the respect that she gained everywhere she went.

The reason she held her head high in this company was due to her capability which even the VP acknowledged.

But today, she was miffed with the behavior of this ignorant woman who did not know who she was offending.

"Mrs. Tong!" Wade snapped at this older lady who had just been so disrespectful to his sister.

He knew that due to her experience and skills, she behaved in this haughty way but she was digging her own grave by offending Lina right now.

The others might not know it but he knew exactly who the true boss of Obsidia was and this woman had just scoffed at her.

Before he could speak in Lina's favor, his little sister glanced his way which was an indication that he needed to stop talking right this instant.

Wade's next words came to a halt but Mrs. Tong had misunderstood his actions.

'So you are mad that I am exposing your secret?' She smirked, assuming that his anger was for revealing the strings that had been pulled for letting a woman like Lina enter Obsidia.

The one being scorned sat in silence, observing the meaning hidden in those glances that the older lady was sending her and Wade's way.

Having seen enough, Lina straightened her back, unaffected by the feeble aura that Mrs. Tong had used, in an attempt to suppress her.