Chapter 408: A Little More Self-Awareness, a Little Less Wishful Thinking

Chapter 408: Chapter 408: A Little More Self-Awareness, a Little Less Wishful Thinking

Thea York was thrilled. She exchanged a glance with Mr. Carter, then feigned a coy expression and shook her head helplessly.

"Nathaniel... don’t be like this. Estelle is the one who was wronged today; you should be comforting her. I’m fine. Even though Estelle mocked my figure... it doesn’t matter. I’m very forgiving."

Nathaniel Sloan didn’t even bat an eyelid. Ignoring her completely, he spoke.

"That phrase about ’flattering yourself’ is quite accurate."

Thea York’s smile stiffened slightly.

Nathaniel nodded coolly. "Flatter yourself less, and have a little more self-awareness. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss York?"

Estelle Lockwood: "..."

Everyone: "..."

The entire studio fell silent. The surrounding socialites and wealthy ladies clamped their mouths shut, staring blankly at Nathaniel. Their minds couldn’t quite process his words for a long moment.

Flatter yourself less, and have a little more self-awareness...

Applied to Thea York, that actually... made a lot of sense, didn’t it?

He cast a cool glance down at Mr. Carter, who had been fawning over Thea, and issued a curt order. "Since you can’t even understand my words, it seems hy is no longer suitable for you, Mr. Carter."

"W-What? You’re firing me?!"

Mr. Carter’s eyes widened in sudden disbelief as he stared at Nathaniel. He considered himself a veteran of hy Studio, having weathered storms with the brand. Even if he hadn’t achieved massive merits, he had certainly put in years of hard work. Now, Nathaniel actually wanted to fire him!

Did he know how important he was? This studio absolutely could not function without him!

He understood now!

Mr. Carter suddenly whipped his head toward Estelle. "Mrs. Sloan, I have something to say!"

Estelle raised an eyebrow.

Without waiting for her reply, Mr. Carter started speaking on his own.

"I watched hy Studio grow up; it’s like my own child! I’ve been with hy for over ten years. Even if I lack merit, I’ve still put in years of hard work. Mrs. Sloan, you can’t be this capricious! Just because I offended you, you insist on firing me? This is a huge loss for the company!"

Estelle frowned. Wait a minute... who did he say was firing who?

Besides, Nathaniel would never completely give up on someone over a single incident. If he was firing Mr. Carter, it meant the man had definitely done something else besides "slighting her" to make Nathaniel dismiss him without any regard for his past service.

Mr. Carter grew frantic. "Mrs. Sloan, you should be forgiving when you can! I only made a small mistake. Why must you harp on it? Surely you understand the principle of leaving some leeway so we can still face each other in the future!"

Thea also bit her lower lip, her eyes turning red.

"Estelle, you can’t be so selfish. You need to be more tolerant of others. How can you fire a manager who has contributed so much to hy just to satisfy your own personal desires? How will others view Nathaniel if you do this?"

Nathaniel’s gaze darkened, but Estelle stopped him. She leisurely pulled out a voice recorder. "Speak. Let them speak. I’d love to hear what else you two have to say."

Mr. Carter’s face turned green the moment he saw the voice recorder, but he still argued his case.

"Mrs. Sloan, I know you hold a grudge against me! Yes, I got the dresses mixed up, and that was my fault, but didn’t I already apologize to you? Why are you being so petty and obsessing over this one little mistake?

"Is it because I mistook you for Miss York? But that’s only because Miss York carries the air of Mrs. Sloan far better than you do! You held a grudge over this and instigated Mr. Sloan to fire me. I refuse to accept this!"

Thea also tried to persuade her, "Estelle, it’s all my fault. If you want to blame someone, just blame me. Please don’t take your anger out on innocent people, okay?"

Estelle asked unhurriedly, "So, you want me to plead for leniency on your behalf?"

Mr. Carter gritted his teeth. "Not plead, I just think..."

"Mr. Carter, you’re acting a bit strange."

Estelle looked puzzled. "On one hand, you claim that I’m out of favor, that Nathaniel and I are only married in name, and that the person he cares about the most is Thea York. Because you looked down on me as Mrs. Sloan, you gave my dress to her.

"Yet, on the other hand, you want me to plead for you, believing that I can actually change Nathaniel’s orders... Doesn’t it seem like your logic is completely contradictory?

"Since you don’t dare to run your mouth in front of Nathaniel, you try to make me plead for you. You don’t honestly think I’m some kind of saint, do you?"

Nathaniel chuckled lightly.

Mr. Carter’s expression stiffened. "M-Mr. Sloan, you see? This is how unreasonable Estelle is. I just spoke a few words of truth, yet she’s acting so outrageously!

"Mrs. Sloan, I’m doing this for your own good. I know Mr. Sloan is angry right now and won’t listen to a word I say, so I’ll say it to you.

"I’ve served as the manager of hy for many years. You instigated Mr. Sloan to fire me, and he has agreed, but he hasn’t found a suitable successor yet. When hy loses me as its manager and descends into chaos, Mr. Sloan will realize how important I am. When that time comes, he will only think that you are ignorant and foolish!"

Luke White actually laughed.

It had been a long time since he had seen someone this stupid.

However, he could understand it.

This Mr. Carter had indeed been at hy for ten years. Having cultivated his own network and subordinates, he no longer took Evernight International seriously. He believed that Evernight International’s existence was merely a stumbling block for hy, always assuming that hy and Evernight International stood on equal footing.

That was why he was so confident.

Estelle chuckled. "Nathaniel, someone is threatening me~"

Nathaniel nodded. "It seems being fired isn’t enough for Mr. Carter. Luke, prepare to file a lawsuit."

"Yes, sir."

Mr. Carter’s face changed at the word "lawsuit." However, after ten years of comfort and enjoying a decade of flattery, he completely failed to realize how dire his current situation was.

"Mr. Sloan, you’re being foolish! For the sake of Estelle, you’re not only firing a veteran employee like me, but you’re also going to sue me! Do you think Estelle will have a good reputation if word of this gets out? Estelle, you need to think clearly too! A person should strive to be kind-hearted like Miss York. If one day..."

"Mr. Carter."

Nathaniel’s voice was as calm as ever. He stood beside Estelle, the two of them looking as though they had just listened to a stand-up comedy routine.

"The phrase I just gave to Thea York," Nathaniel said nonchalantly, "suits you quite well too."

The phrase he just gave to Thea York... What had Nathaniel just said to Thea?

Suddenly, both Thea’s and Mr. Carter’s faces changed.

Nathaniel had already lightly repeated it: "Flatter yourself less, and have a little more self-awareness."

Everyone: "..."

"Pfft, HAHAHAHA..." One of the socialites couldn’t help but laugh out loud. After laughing for two seconds, she noticed everyone turning to look at her and immediately covered her mouth, her face turning red from holding it in.

...How could they hold back from laughing at this?!

Mr. Carter never expected Mr. Sloan to react this way. He was so important, yet Mr. Sloan wasn’t even going to try and make him stay?

Mr. Carter instinctively looked toward Thea, silently pleading for help.

Thea bit her lip. This Mr. Carter was her accomplice. Her eyes reddened as she took a step forward.

"Nathaniel, I know Mr. Carter made a mistake, but there’s no need to fire him... If Estelle is unhappy, you could just demote him. If you fire him outright, how is he supposed to show his face in the future..."