The Versatile Master Artist

Beep...

The chubby assistant held his work laptop, staring at the elevator display as the numbers silently jumped rapidly. He shrank into the corner of the spacious VIP elevator, terrified, like a husky who had strayed into a wolf pack’s territory.

Even though he hadn’t been working for long, he knew he was probably caught up in the legendary workplace political struggle.

Although Osborne was the overall head of the ”Little Prince” project, the chubby assistant had never had the honor of interacting with this top-tier senior manager, and had barely even seen him a few times.

As the regional vice president responsible for such physical publishing businesses in the European Region, he was busy with numerous tasks, and usually just lent his name to various large projects as a matter of routine.

Circumventing the Art Department’s review to directly submit an illustrator’s draft to the president was rather unconventional.

It was even a clear violation of many company Internal Affairs Department regulations.

The supervisor was evidently aware of this.

Otherwise, they could have simply sent an internal email; sending someone upstairs with a laptop was merely to avoid leaving a trace in the company system.

The chubby assistant, nervous, felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead, his small eyes fixed on the elevator doors in front of him, afraid they might suddenly stop and he’d be caught.

He knew that according to principles and regulations, he should have firmly refused the supervisor’s request and could even report his superior’s violation risk to the Internal Affairs Department.

However...

The chubby assistant wasn’t a naïve university student fresh out of the Ivory Tower anymore.

Violating Internal Affairs Department regulations might lead to salary deductions, dismissal, or losing one’s job, but the supervisor was his direct superior.

Getting fired might still grant him severance pay, but offending a superior could make life unbearable even if he kept his job.

The powerlessness of a lowly worker.

In his anxious apprehension, the elevator finally stopped on the 41st floor.

”Have a seat.”

Osborne looked up at the chubby assistant, who was glancing around the luxurious office like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, and pointed to the sofa.

”How’s the draft?”

He asked in a deep voice.

He had already heard from his secretary about the assistant’s purpose: the web illustrator named Detective Cat had submitted a draft sample.

Osborne had indeed hinted at the supervisor previously.

If Detective Cat’s work was really good, he should be informed ahead of time.

The Art Department’s review was notoriously difficult.

Given that it was Anna’s first time personally calling with a request, if Detective Cat had indeed delivered an impressive performance, Osborne was keen on completing the task well as a personal favor.

Conversely, if the work was atrocious and beyond salvation, he wanted to be notified ahead of time too.

Osborne would then simply reject the contract directly, avoiding embarrassment by not handing it to the Art Department.

He had given them the opportunity, his duty was fulfilled.

If they lacked ability, they couldn’t blame others.

In his heart, he felt that given the Ilyena family’s reputation, the painter they recommended shouldn’t be too bad. The problem was the Painting Knife Painting style... which really didn’t inspire confidence.

Few managed to master it well, yet poor impersonators were rampant.

Low skill level was likely.

When he saw someone had indeed been sent to find him, Osborne’s gut reaction turned sour.

”Uh... I, I’m not too sure, it should be quite beautiful, right? Specifically... specifically, I can’t really say...” the chubby assistant stammered.

The last time he saw the president was at the company’s annual report meeting, and now talking face-to-face with the big boss, he was too nervous to speak coherently.

Osborne shook his head with a dumbfounded smile, thinking to himself, why was he soliciting opinions from a mere assistant.

Painting Knife Painting inherently had a deceptive quality to ordinary people, making it easy for laymen to find it impressive at first glance but increasingly bizarre upon further inspection.

The assistant’s words were not reliable.

Still, for an illustration, making a good first impression was already a decent achievement.

He lowered his head and turned on the chubby assistant’s laptop.

”I’ve got to admit, it’s truly quite beautiful.”

The thought sprang to Osborne’s mind at first glance at the image on the laptop.

His background was in visual arts from a prestigious Art Academy and he was once classmates with Anna’s aunt. Even though he later switched to business studies, his art foundation remained.

Having worked at Scholastic for many years, the number of top artists and high-end illustrators he collaborated with was countless.

In terms of judgment, Osborne was not inferior to some senior illustrators in the company’s Art Department.

He easily discerned that

the level of this painting was definitely above par, and not just simply above par.

Its visual impact was in no way inferior to some renowned illustrations he had seen.

The color palette was luxurious yet restrained, the Painting Knife’s strokes were exquisite and detailed.

”This level, these lines...”

Osborne clicked his tongue in amazement.

”No wonder Anna personally called me about this, the Ilyena family’s taste is indeed remarkable.” The president nodded slightly.

Osborne felt a bit regretful; his earlier attitude towards Anna had been overly dismissive.

He had greeted Anna’s request more as a favor than anything else.

Now, as he gazed at the illustration on the computer, his perspective changed slightly.

Interesting.

With this single illustration—Detective Cat outclassed most of the illustrators in the Art Department.