Karol's cunning scheme had been laid bare, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words. She snorted disdainfully and positioned herself as far from Lilah as possible.

Observing the exchange, Laura silently opened the gift bag in her hand. She leaned over and smelled it. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"It's a Windy perfume!"

What?

Lilah also opened hers, revealing another fragrance from the same brand. It was indeed her creation.

"They're already leveraging Windy's popularity, even before the final round?" she muttered.

After today's event, there would likely be a surge of online publicity, spreading the word that the samples at this event were all from Windy's previous collections.

Then the Morris Group would have the press reporting on a potential collaboration between Windy and the Morris Group, stealing the limelight regardless of whether Lilah emerged victorious or not.

Karol likely aimed to stick Windy in a tight spot, trying to push her into cooperation with the Morris Group.

Compared to being a mediocre perfumer, Karol seemed more cut out for the business hustle.

"Here you go."

Not wanting to rain on the parade, Lilah handed the sample to Laura.

Laura was over the moon, slotting it into her Windy collection.

“What's got you so chipper?" Lilah asked.

"Of course I'm happy, but I haven't snagged the latest season's scent yet. You have a lot of connections. Any tips on how to nab Windy's latest scent? Could you score me a bottle?" Laura asked.

Lilah kept mum, but the word "Windy" seemed to prick up Karol's ears.

As soon as Laura finished her words, Karol's gaze bored into Lilah.

"So, you know Windy?"

Karol seemed a tad jittery.

Though Lilah's gig wasn't perfume-centric, if she were to dive into that realm, teaming up with Windy was a no-brainer.

"Don't let a smooth talker lead you astray. Watch out you don't end up losing the whole shebang," warned Karol.

"Thanks for the heads-up." With an unchanged expression, Lilah even managed a smirk. "You should watch your step too. Flirting with Windy's scent could land you in hot water. Aren't you worried about her coming after you for misappropriation?"

When Lilah sold perfume under Windy's banner, it was crystal clear in the fine print that no one could hawk it under her name.

While Karol didn't blatantly violate the right of publicity, she was definitely skating close to the edge.