Chapter 814 Do It Over
Hayley’s POV:
“No, no, no,” I said, waving my finger to clarify. “I’m not that noble. I only care about our own business. That’s what I meant when I asked you to build a signature brand. As long as we have our label, even if customers can buy the same design elsewhere, if it’s not under our brand, it’s just knock-off trash. It makes them look cheap, not us. And don’t forget, we’ve got Cynthia. We have brand and design—double insurance.”
If the Bennetts want to play dirty, fine. I’ll go high while they go low. Let them bring it on.
Humbert looked convinced. His expression regained confidence. But after a moment, he frowned again. “Still, creating a brand from scratch…it’s a big investment.”
“And I’ll say what I always do—if money can fix it, then it’s not really a problem. Just focus on being Mr. Byrd, run the company, follow my instructions, and keep things on schedule. The rest? It’ll be taken care of.” I remained calm.
“Got it! Ms. Carson, don’t worry. As long as I’m here, Byrd Jewelry will be solid!” Humbert gave me a serious promise. Then he paused again and looked a bit troubled. “But what about the stuff online…”
“Let it be. They’re giving us free advertising—on their dime. We should be thanking them.” I gave a faint smirk.
Humbert nodded hard, stood up, and disappeared from the screen.
“Mr. Byrd?”
I blinked, and he was gone. “Hello? I mean, we’re pretty close, but isn’t it basic manners to say goodbye before walking off a call?”
Just as I finished, his tilted head popped up at the top of my screen. “Huh? I’m still here, Ms. Carson!”
I clicked my tongue, a little speechless. “Then, what are you doing?” As my subordinate, his behavior rubbed me the wrong way. Aside from when I went into the Midnight Pack to hide my Alpha identity, I’ve always been the one in charge. No one’s ever dared be disrespectful to me.
I was just about to remind him to watch his manners when he dragged a plank of wood into frame, walked a couple of feet from the computer, flipped it around, and showed it to me. “Ms. Carson, this is the signboard I had custom-made by a designer, just like you asked. It cost me a pretty penny, too.”
He sounded so proud. But I couldn’t even fake a smile as I stared at the neon swirl of artsy fonts on the sign.
UO OU
“Mm. The design’s… creative. It has a vintage flair. I can tell a lot of thought went into it. Do it over.”
Humbert thought I was complimenting him at first. He even ran his hand across the sign with smug delight. A few seconds later, it finally occurred to him what I meant—I wanted him to redo it.
“Huh?” He craned his neck forward, confused. “But why, Ms. Carson? This is already our sixth version. Ms. Jefferson and I both think it’s pretty good.”
Folding my arms, I raised a brow and sighed. “It’s because you didn’t even spell the words on the signboard right. And don’t get me started on the color scheme—it’s ancient.”
“Ah? Oh? Hahaha—right, I see… sorry about that…” Humbert scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
After wrapping up the call with him, I stayed seated for a while, then dialed Cynthia for a video chat. She picked up after about 30 seconds. Meeting my eyes on screen, she hesitated, clearly flustered and unsure of what to say.
“No need to be so awkward. I just want to take a look at your design drafts first.”