“Ha-ha... He can scold me too. But, Lilah, you have got my back. I doubt he would say anything too harsh."

Effie stretched out and sat next to Lilah. "It's been a while since I last showed up in public. I've been busy recording songs since the press release. This is the first time I've sung for an audience in weeks."

"Effie." Karol, feeling ignored as the two talked, grew visibly upset and her face turned red with anger.

She stood up awkwardly and approached Effie, extending her hand. "Karol Morris."

"Hi." Effie acknowledged her with a brief nod.

Everyone in the entertainment industry was intelligent.

After being deceived by Tess, Effie became even more cautious.

She understood why Karol had invited her to the competition. Although she was unclear about the specifics of what had happened between Karol, Gerard and Lilah, she was sure of one thing. She would not like anyone Lilah disliked.

"Thank you for the invitation, Miss Morris. I hope my performance met your expectations."

She deliberately kept her distance from Karol, making the latter feel awkward.

Fortunately, Effie politely took Karol's hand for a handshake, softening the moment of tension.

“Lilah, I just went backstage. There are so many contestants in this competition. Do you like any of them? You could hire them for your company. I would even be your brand ambassador for free," Effie said.

Lilah laughed heartily. “That's very generous of you, but no, thank you. We're not planning to start a perfume line just yet. Besides..."

She gave Karol a meaningful look and paused.

She knew how eagerly Karol wished to have Effie become the brand ambassador for her company.

"Really? That's alright. I've had several other brands approach me recently to be their ambassador. Just let me know if you change your mind, Lilah."

Karol could tell Effie had deliberately embarrassed her. Flattering Effie would only earn her a cold shoulder.

To avoid further embarrassment, Karol sank back into her seat and directed her attention to the stage.

The judges for the fragrance contest were renowned in the industry, each one a figure of authority and expertise.

Karol had even sent an invitation to Windy, hoping she would serve as one of the judges. Unfortunately, Lilah had marked it as spam, fully aware of Karol's intentions.

If any perfume in the contest received Windy's endorsement, the Morris Group would reap immense profits with minimal investment.

Many talented perfumers entered the contest this year. Lilah anticipated contracting several of them, provided that opening a new production line would not be too burdensome.

However, she doubted that these skilled perfumers would choose to work for a company with no track record in the fragrance industry.

Lilah, meanwhile, kept her identity as Windy under wraps.