Chapter 9

The next day, Zora sat in her office at Vienna Jewels, reviewing the design work done over the years, and tossed a file onto her desk. "There is zero creativity in the designs. All of you don't even understand the fundamentals of design. Has Vienna Jewels been spending money on producing those jewels just for show?" Celine looked awkward. "Ms. Zora, it was Ms. Jacobs' instruction for Vienna Jewels to stick to its original style." With her arms crossed, Zora leaned back in her chair and smiled. "Stick to the original style? What style are we talking about here?" She lifted the jewelry pieces' photos from the file. "These are nothing but a pile of junk in the jewelry industry. Ms. Jacobs is really something else. She got rid of all the elites after taking over. Now, Vienna Jewels can't even produce its own jewelry. We can only afford to sell copies, and the losses aren't something she can bear." Celine kept quiet. Zora then stood up. "Take me to the raw material warehouse." "Sure," Celine said as she nodded. As Zora and Celine walked toward the raw material warehouse, they ran into a man whom Zora did not want to see at the elevator. Jay was annoyed at Zora purposefully ignoring him. He turned around and said, "Aren't you gonna to greet me?" Zora paused. After recalling that Jay invested 140 million dollars, she clenched her teeth and turned around, offering a faint smile. "There you are, Mr. Sullivan." "Ms. Zora Jacobs, where are you headed?" She was stunned for a moment. 'How did he know I'm one of the Jacobs?' Jay walked up to her. "Where are you going?" 'She looks like she has nothing better to do.' Zora sneered. "Do I need your permission to visit the raw material warehouse, Mr. Sullivan?" 'Isn't Winona's lover a little nosy?' "Great! I'm curious to see what you can find in the raw material warehouse." Zora was speechless. The raw material warehouse was where the ores and jewelry-making materials were stored. When Celine turned on the lights, the vast warehouse was filled with stacked boxes in the corners, and the shelves were filled with uncut ores of gemstones. There was also a cutting machine and all the necessary materials on a table. Zora picked up an ore from the shelf and examined it. Then, she walked over to the cutting machine. Celine was puzzled. "Ms. Zora, what are you doing?" Zora did not reply. Then, she used the machine to cut open the ore. Immediately, she noticed something unusual. "Really? Vienna Jewels now use counterfeit materials?" Zora picked up the cut ore and walked over to Celine. "Who is in charge of the raw material warehouse?" Celine nervously replied, "Mr. Bydlon manages it." Zora was infuriated. "Tell Mr. Bydlon to see me. Right now!" Jay walked up to the cut ore and ran his signet ring worn on his index finger across the diamond, leaving a shallow scratch. With her arms crossed, Zora walked over to Jay and raised her eyebrows. "Mr. Sullivan, this is your girlfriend's company. Shouldn't you be concerned when semi-synthetic gemstones are found here?" Jay suppressed his emotions and turned to her. "Isn't this also a company that your mother founded?" Zora froze. "It wouldn't benefit you if this thing blows up. Let's handle it privately," he said calmly. 'Handle it privately?' 'Ha! Winona must have given her approval on these ores. Based on market prices, genuine ores are high in value, but the semi-synthetic ones are priced lower.' 'If Winona didn't know better, then she could be excused. But, if she intentionally procured a batch of semi-synthetic ores just because she couldn't afford the high production costs, I must say something.' "If Winona turns out to..." "She doesn't know anything about jewelry and could have been deceived. Don't jump to conclusions before finding out the truth," Jay said monotonously. Zora sneered to herself. 'His behavior of defending someone at fault is somewhat like Bobby…' 'Wait, what am I thinking?' "Mr. Bydlon is here." Celine led Mr. Bydlon into the warehouse. At first, he was speaking to Celine indignantly. However, as soon as he saw Jay, his face changed instantly. "Mr... Mr. Jay, what are you doing here?" Mr. Bydlon's face turned slightly pale. Jay approached him. "Explain these semi-synthetic ores?" Mr. Bydlon was extremely nervous. 'Shit! These ores were customized according to Ms. Jacobs' request. If they were discovered…' Winona was Jay's girlfriend. Mr. Bydlon would have gotten himself into trouble if he were to expose her. "These... These gemstones weren't initially my responsibility. These ores have been managed by Mr. Putnam who has left. I had no idea these are semi-synthetic." Since Mr. Charlie Putnam had already left the company, Mr. Bydlon thought he could use him as a shield. "You're lying." Zora questioned sternly. "When Mr. Putnam was still around, semi-synthetic ores have never appeared in Vienna Jewels. He's worked here for 15 years. If he were to make such a grave mistake, he would have been fired long ago, don't you think so?" Mr. Bydlon was stunned. 'How did Zora know that Charlie's worked here before?' "I... I really have no idea." "Are you covering up for someone?" Zora fixed her sharp gaze on him. Jay glanced at her but remained silent. Suddenly, Winona appeared at the door.