The Unforgivable Husband

Chapter 4

Flutter...

A large stack of drawings was flung into the air and scattered around the room.

Asher Taylor glared coldly with his arms crossed and then asked, “Is this what the company’s designers can come up with?”

Owens, the head of the design department, stood nervously in front of him with trepidation and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Just as he was about to explain, Asher continued frostily, “I want the industry’s best designs on display at the design exhibition hall. Then get all those good-for-nothing designers to come and see what a good design means!”

Owens nodded repeatedly and scurried away from the CEO’s office. He selected some of the best designs in the industry and displayed them on the glass cabinets. Owens was satisfied with what he had done, noticed someone walking past, and yelled, “Hey you, come over here.”

“You. Yes, you, the janitor! Come here!” Owens yelled at Olivia.

Olivia turned her head and looked around to verify that she was the only janitor in the area. She then walked briskly over to Owens.

He looked at her work ID and said, “Olivia? Here’s an important job. You will make sure that these cabinets are spotless every day. You’ll be fired if I find this place in a mess!”

At that moment, Olivia was focused on the various jewelry designs on the display cabinets. It was a collection of the Taylor Group’s best-selling designs since it was established!

Olivia remembered the days before she was incarcerated when she used to design jewelry. However, Aiden was very dismissive of her creations as he felt that they were a waste of time. It was faster if she could just imitate the latest designs on the market.

Owens left after instructing Olivia what to do. She saw the fingerprints on the glass and immediately went forward to wipe the glass.

At this moment, a few well-dressed employees came into the exhibition area.

“Why are these outdated designs on display?” one of the employees asked.

“This is a classic! Look at the Ocean’s Heart which was designed by Christy Moore! He had been producing great designs in recent years,” another replied.

“It’s normal to display Christy’s work, but why was Jackson Stiller’s Angel’s Eyes in the show? His works have caused so many controversies, not to mention that his other designs are so average. How can they be displayed here?”

“Yes, since the controversy over the Angel’s Eyes, Jackson hasn’t produced any notable works in the past couple of years.”

“Maybe he had been discouraged by the bad reviews.”

Olivia, who had been listening quietly, could not help herself and said, “You can’t say that! Jackson Stiller’s jewelry designs are very unique and innovative. It’s just that his personal style is very provocative that not everyone could accept him for who he is.”

What she said was akin to a slap in the face of those who criticized Jackson Stiller. It was as if they were not artistic enough to appreciate his works.

Vivian, who was the most vocal in her mockery of Jackson, sized Olivia up and sneered, “My oh my. Never in my wildest dreams have I imagined being lectured on art by a janitor!”

The rest of her colleagues came to her defense and said, “To think that we all graduated from Ivy League colleges and now we are being lectured by a janitor. We should let this janitor teach us a thing or two.”

“Hey janitor, care to share your opinion on this?”

Olivia blushed nervously but did not let them affect her thoughts. “Jackson’s designs were never shackled by the traditional designs. He remains steadfast in his ideas regardless of what is the current trend in the market. He does not follow the popular works of the day and allows himself to be distracted by his critiques. His Angel’s Eyes were very unique as he used loud colors to make a point and bring attention to the wearer. Although the Angel’s Eyes did not command a high price in the market like the Ocean’s Heart, it managed to gain many positive reviews in major jewelry magazines!”

“Yo, listen, guys, this janitor does know her jewelry! She must have collected all the magazines that we throw away!”

Vivian crossed her arms and sneered, “If Jackson is as good as you say, why hasn’t he produced any interesting designs in recent years? I’m afraid he’s just a one-hit wonder!”

“If you follow Jackson’s design history, you would know that he tends to reveal his masterpieces once every two years and he typically designs custom jewelry for direct customers. Furthermore, he mentioned this in last month’s Glitter magazine. As a jewelry designer, you should have read this article which is from the leading magazine in this industry.” Jackson Stiller is one of the jewelry designers who she adored. Elena brought her the latest copy of Glitter magazine each time she visited her in the prison. That was how she was able to keep abreast of the developments in this industry even when she was imprisoned for years.

Someone on the side nodded and said, “That’s true, I saw it in the magazine the other day.”

Vivian’s expression froze. She usually browsed through the magazine without reading the articles. Who would take those magazines seriously?

However, she could not admit that she was less informed than a cleaning lady.

“Meh, she’s just a mere janitor. Do you think that you are an expert just because you read some magazines?” Vivian rolled her eyes scornfully and sashayed out of the exhibition hall.

Olivia was a bit confused. She was just telling the truth and sharing her opinion. There was no reason why that designer had to be so angry. Regardless, she quickly put it behind her and continued with her work.

“Okay, I get it. Thanks a lot. The freelance designer you recommended to me before was rather good. I’ve submitted that freelancer’s design as my work this time,” Vivian said as she checked on her makeup. “How’s my day? You shouldn’t have asked. It was infuriating! There was this new janitor who put me on the spot when she yapped about what she read in the magazines. To think that she thought that she was an expert just because she read a thing or two about...”

Vivian stopped before she could finish her sentence when she noticed Olivia standing at the entrance of the bathroom with a mop in one hand and a bucket in the other. She looked at Vivian and then left to do her chores.

“Hello? Vivian, so what happened next? Vivian?” the caller asked.

Vivian came to her senses, hung up the phone, and went back to her work.

The Taylor Group’s design department was on the 16th floor and the staff had gone for their lunch break.

The janitor who normally cleans the 16th floor had taken leave today and the supervisor had arranged for Olivia to take over her duties.

“Why isn’t this the janitor who reads Glitter? Why are you cleaning this floor? Where’s our regular cleaner?” a designer asked.

Olivia looked around and saw a designer who she met at the display cabinets this morning. Before she could say anything, she heard the clattering of high heels approaching her.

Vivian walked into the office and narrowed her eyes the moment she saw Olivia.

She quickly returned to her desk and then grinned sinisterly. She then suddenly shouted, “Hey, where’s my Cartier bracelet?”

“What? What’s wrong?” Her other colleagues rushed over when they heard her.

“I placed my bracelet in this drawer before I went for lunch. Now it’s gone after I return from lunch!”

Everyone turned and looked at Olivia. She was the only one in the office during lunch so she immediately became the prime suspect.

Vivian looked at Olivia and said, “Are you getting back at me just because I said something unpleasant to you at the exhibition hall? That bracelet is very precious to me as it was a gift from my boyfriend, can you give it back to me and I’ll buy a new one for you?”

At this point, Olivia would be a fool if she did not know what was going on.

“I didn’t take your bracelet or anything here. Just watch the surveillance videos if you don’t believe me,” Olivia said calmly. Her conscience was clear which was why she was not worried at all about the accusations.

“Return it now and we will forget that this happened. If you don’t, you’ll be fired if we report this to your supervisor.”

“That’s right. Everything was fine with our regular cleaner. Now we get things stolen from us as soon as we get a new janitor.”

“You must have known that the surveillance system on this level is faulty, so, you took advantage of this opportunity to steal from us!”

Olivia panicked when she heard this. She was all alone in the office during lunchtime and if there was no video surveillance to exonerate her, then it would be close to impossible to convince others that she did not steal anything. What should she do now?

Vivian saw the panic in her eyes and snickered. She then pressed on her attack by saying, “If you don’t admit it right now, then I’ll call the police to investigate! I’m sure that the company won’t tolerate employees who steal!”

Olivia bit her lower lip and endured the injustice as she knew that Vivian had done this because of this morning’s incident. However, she had nothing to prove her innocence.

Amid the tense situation, a deep and manly voice said, “What’s going on here?”

“Mr. Taylor!” Everyone gasped in unison.

Olivia was startled, immediately looked up, and saw that pair of mesmerizing eyes.

“This cleaning lady and I had a disagreement, so she stole my bracelet to get back at me!” Vivian blatantly accused.

Asher looked at Olivia and asked, “Is that so?”

“I did not steal from her,” Olivia said confidently.

Olivia calmly related what happened in the morning. She then continued, “Today’s the first day I am cleaning this floor and I don’t even know where this lady is sitting. Besides, I had just finished cleaning the conference room next door before I came to this office. That’s when I met this designer and then everyone else came back after lunch. There simply was no time for me to commit the crime that she accused me of. Since the surveillance inside this office is not working, you can check the security footage of the corridor and see if I’m telling you the truth.”

With Olivia’s logical explanation, Asher immediately sent his assistant to check on the security footage.

“Now I’m curious, what opinion did this cleaner express that managed to antagonize a highly paid and educated designer that could result in this?” Asher asked curiously as his eyes alternated between the accuser and the accused.

“It’s normal for designers to have a different opinion on aesthetics and the unique styles of renowned designers,” Vivian calmly said.

“Oh? Then which designer’s work caused the dispute?” Asher asked in amusement as he tilted his head playfully. “Who else was there, tell me what they thought about the designs.”

“The cleaning lady thought that Jackson Stiller’s work was excellent but Vivian felt that Jackson’s works were mundane and uninteresting...” One of the designers explained.

Asher raised an eyebrow and asked in bewilderment, “Why do you think Jackson Stiller’s work is excellent?”

Olivia sensed Asher’s probing gaze and replied confidently, “Jackson’s works don’t follow the trend of the moment. For him, each design is very personal. His color scheme is bold, and the design of the jewelry piece is very classic and eye-catching.”

Asher grinned in satisfaction and handed a design in his hand to Olivia. “Look at this draft, what do you think?”

Everyone gasped when they saw this.

Since when had the CEO ever asked anyone for their opinion on a design? Who the hell was this cleaning lady?