Chapter 343


    At the Crossley Residence, Leanna was about to make her way upstairs when Georgina called her.


    Leanna turned around and asked, "What do you want?"


    "I just thought I''d remind you that Aidan is breathing down our necks right now. If you''re going to insist


    that you''re one of the Crossleys, then I suggest you stay away from him for your own good."


    Leanna sputtered at this. "New tactic, Miss Crossley?"


    Georgina snorted. "You can take my advice or leave it, but Dad will be very unhappy if you choose the


    latter."


    "I think you''ve mistaken something, Miss Crossley," Leanna said as she stopped in the middle section


    of the staircase. She borated steadily, "I''m only here at the Crossley Residence to take back what''s


    rightfully mine, and it''s nobody''s business whom I decide to be with."


    "As long as you live here in our house, you''ll have to y by our rules. I told you as much when you


    first came here. Guess you thought I was joking," Georgina bit out.


    "Were you the one who made the rules?" Leanna demanded. "Where do you think I stand in the


    Crossley Family, then?"


    A dark look passed over Georgina''s face when she heard this. Is she saying that I''m in no position to


    make up the family rules?


    Without missing a beat, Leanna added, "I''d rather we didn''t speak if we can''t stand each other, Miss


    Crossley. There is no need for you to feign concern for me. At least that would make putting up with


    each other a lot easier, don''t you think?"


    Another snort escaped Georgina as she taunted, "Let''s hope you bring that same confidence with you


    during thepetition."


    "Naturally," Leanna said, then walked up the stairs without casting the other girl so much as a second


    nce.


    When Leanna had disappeared around thending, Georgina scoffed and withdrew her gaze. It was


    then that she noticed Lloyd standing not too far away. "Dad, did you hear everything?" she asked.


    Lloyd hummed in response, then said, "Come with me."


    Georgina did as she was told and followed Lloyd into the study, then he closed the door behind them


    and perched on his desk. "I know you hate her, Gina, but you must be patient. She''ll leave on her own


    ord when the timees."


    She had no idea what he meant by this. "Is it because she has Mr. Jackson to back her up?"


    "That isn''t pertinent," he replied, his eyes narrowing deviously. "You''ll know when it happens.


    Everything will fall into ce in due course." When his daughter did not respond, he emphasized,


    "Anyway, don''t meddle with the designpetition. I have ns of my own for that."


    "I know," Georgina answered through gritted teeth. She was not so foolish as to pull a fast one on


    Leanna in front of many people.


    Besides, Leanna wasn''t exactly popr among the other contestants, either. It was only a matter of


    time before they got sick of her and decided to do something about it.


    …


    A week went by in the blink of an eye.


    Leanna had finished her design and showed up to deliver her work at the time and ce set by the


    organizingmittee.


    She had only just arrived when she saw a small crowd of designers standing outside, and they did not


    look happy at all.


    "I don''t know what''s wrong with the person in charge of thepetition this time. I mean, it''s bad


    enough that they came up with all these ridiculous requests, and now that we''ve shown up at the exact


    time and ce they told us to, they''re nowhere to be seen! All that''s here is a locked-up office. Are they


    trying to torture us or something?"


    "Calm down. They''re the organizingmittee, after all, so whatever they say goes. We''re in no


    position toin."


    "But don''t you think they''ve crossed the line? It''s like they don''t care about us at all! We''re here as


    contestants, but they''re treating us like monkeys who must dance at the snap of their fingers! This is an


    outrage!"


    As the seconds ticked by, the designers''ints grew even louder, and they looked even more


    agitated than they had been when Leanna first saw them.


    Just then, Leanna noticed the cubby holes set up outside the locked-up office. She counted them and


    realized that there were enough for each designer who was present.


    After a moment of thought, she spoke softly, "I think we can just leave our designs in here."


    When the other designers heard this, they looked at her incredulously, though most of them paid no


    attention to what she had just said.


    A majority of these contestants were older and more renowned than her. They had applied and gone


    through all the necessary rounds to get this far in thepetition, unlike Leanna, who was directly


    invited by the organizingmittee.


    The preferential treatment Leanna received did not sit right with any of these designers. Nheless,


    they refrained from picking on her because of her rtionship with Aidan.


    However, there was always a leader in every pack that started the fight.


    This belongs to N?velDrama.Org - ?.


    Presently, Queenie gave Leanna a skeptical look, then crossed her arms and asked, "How do you


    know where we shall put our designs?"


    Leanna shrugged and said frankly, "I just guessed."


    Queenie snorted. "You guessed it? Do you think we''re gullible? How could you say something so


    irresponsible?"


    Someone else started chiming in after hearing Queenie confront Leanna. "She''s right. How could you


    make wild guesses about apetition as important as this one? Besides, I believe the organizing


    committee wouldn''t be so stupid as to set up doorless cubby-holes for us to put our designs in. Are you


    suggesting that we just leave our work in any cubby-hole we want? And there isn''t even a single


    employee in sight! What if someone steals our designs?"


    Queenie added, "Good point. The organizingmittee has made a ton of changes for thepetition


    this year, and we don''t know what they''re ying at either. Come clean with us, McK. Did President


    Pearson tell you that the organizingmittee wants us to leave our work inside these cubby-holes? If


    that''s the case, then we''ll do as you say."


    Everyone else fell quiet when they heard this, but their eyes were filled with contempt and disgust when


    they fixed their icy gaze on Leanna.


    However, Leanna was unfazed as she said cidly, "Paranoia can be such a crippling illness. You


    should see the doctor. The key to recovery is early treatment." Having said that, she shoved her design


    into a random cubby hole and turned to give Queenie a mild look. "Basic legal knowledge would tell


    you that insinuating that someone from Pearson Group has leaked trade secrets is a crime. You


    wouldn''t want thepany toe after you and demand reparations, would you? Because if you


    work hard enough, you might find yourself getting a free stay in prison."


    At that moment, Queenie looked so thunderous that it was a miracle that a lightning bolt didn''t shoot


    out of her eyes.


    After Leanna left, the rest of the designers exchanged pensive looks. Over ten minutes had passed


    since the time the organizingmittee had set for them to submit their work. Surely the person in


    charge would not be so tardy.


    Regardless of whether Leanna had received any confidential information from Aidan, the designers


    were convinced that her rtionship with him would save her from elimination before the preliminary


    rounds. Nothing would go wrong if they just did what she had done.


    With that in mind, each of them shoved their work into the cubby holes and left the scene.


    They weren''t worried that their work would be mixed up with the others, seeing as the sketch and final


    product would ultimately be mailed to the organizingmittee.


    Once the scene was empty, a few employees walked up to the cubby holes and emptied them. They


    sequentially ced the designs into boxes and hauled them into the car, then brought them over to the


    panel of judges.


    Just like that, the designs were all arranged at random. No one knew who had designed what except


    for the organizingmittee. The judges would appraise each work from a neutral standpoint, and the


    winner would be decided solely on the merits of his or her work.