Chapter 230: Recruiting The Sublabel Team
<🎧 Song Recommendation: Gut Genug by KITSCHKRIEG, Blumengarten, Shirin David>
...
After the meeting was wrapped up, Von left the hall to meet a really tall neatly dressed man waiting for him just outside the doors.
His name was Jake, Vanguard’s Head of Human Resources and Operations. Arthur had already messaged him the details of the new arrangement.
"Mr. Varley," Jake said, extending a hand with a smile.
"Congratulations on the new sub-label. Arthur instructed me to give you a tour of the design floors so you can pick your capsule team."
"Cool, lead the way."
As they walked down the corridors, Von decided to inquire to get a hang of the specifics.
"How exactly is this going to work?"
Jack immediately faced him as if he’s been waiting for that question.
"Because you are operating a sub-label, you don’t need a fifty-person team. You need an agile strike team. Specifically, three core roles."
Von nodded, walking in step with the executive. "Break it down for me."
"First, you need a Sourcing Manager," Jake explained.
"This person’s only job is to hunt down the exact fabrics and materials you want from our global factories and get them shipped fast. Second, you need a Sample Maker. A master tailor who can sew your first prototypes together. And finally, a Technical Designer. They are the architect. They take your rough ideas and turn them into the exact blueprints the factories need to mass-produce the clothes."
"And the workspace?" Von asked. "I’m not staying in New York. I live in Miami."
"Arthur already approved the logistics," Jake replied.
"We are renting a fully furnished studio space in Miami for you. It will be stocked with everything your team will need. Vanguard will cover the relocation flights and housing for the three staff members you pick today. They will report directly to your Miami studio within forty-eight hours."
Von smiled. Everything was falling perfectly into place.
As they stepped out of the elevator and onto the main design floor, Von’s eyes narrowed.
The floor was large, filled with hundreds of cubicles, whiteboards, and racks of colorful Vanguard clothing.
"I’ve pre-selected a few candidates who have the schedule and availability to join your sub-label," Jake said, leading Von down the main aisle.
"Arthur wants to make sure you have reliable people to get your project off the ground."
Despite Arthur’s words, Von could already guess that he won’t be given the best talents of the organization. But it was to be expected, so he couldn’t be bothered.
’Hopefully, I discover some rare gem with Inspect,’ Von prayed inwardly as he followed behind.
"Here is the first stop," Jake said, pausing outside a glass-walled office in the sourcing department.
"For a Sourcing Manager, you need someone who won’t take no for an answer. This is Marcus."
Inside the office, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline was pacing back and forth, holding a phone close to his mouth.
He looked stressed, arguing loudly with whoever was on the other end of the line.
Von quickly used [Inspect] but was disappointed to find out he had zero skills.
"He’s a bit loud," Jake explained nervously, thinking Von was about to reject him.
"He’ll do."
Von turned his back after his words. He didn’t need a magical genius to order fabric.
He already had the future knowledge in his head. As long as Marcus knew how to dial a phone and pay a factory, Von could work with him.
Jake looked slightly surprised by how quickly Von agreed, but he quickly tapped his tablet and nodded.
"Excellent. Let’s move over to the tailoring department to find your Sample Maker."
They walked past rows of drafting tables until they reached an area filled with industrial sewing machines.
Jake stopped near the edge of the room and pointed to a woman in her late forties.
"That’s Elena," Jake said softly, not wanting to interrupt her work. "She’s been with Vanguard for six years. She’s very quiet, but shecan put together whatever blueprints your technical designer draws up."
Von looked at the woman and silently called upon the system. Unfortunately, no skills again.
Von wasn’t too disappointed. "I’ll take her."
Jake stared at Von for a second. "Are you sure? You don’t want to look at her portfolio or ask her any questions about her construction methods?"
"No need," Von shrugged. He couldn’t even request for something he barely had knowledge about.
"If you say she’s good, then she’s good. Let’s get the last one."
Jake cleared his throat, a faint smirk appearing on his face. He clearly assumed Von was just an arrogant kid who had no idea how fashion actually worked and was just rushing through the process. That worked out perfectly for Vanguard.
"Alright then. That just leaves the Technical Designer," Jake said, tapping his tablet one last time.
"I have a very experienced guy named Thomas in mind for you. He is very strictly by the books. He knows exactly how to format Vanguard’s standard templates so the factories can mass-produce them without any errors."
"Lead the way," Von said.
They walked toward the far corner of the design floor. As they passed a row of cluttered cubicles, Von heard a faint, familiar sound.
It was the heavy bass and melodic hum of his own track, Masquerade, leaking out from a pair of headphones.
Von glanced over.
Sitting in a cubicle that looked like a complete disaster zone was a young woman in her early twenties. Her desk was an absolute mess compared to others.
She was aggressively drawing something on a digital tablet, nodding her head to the music.
Jake let out a tired sigh, intending to walk right past her. "Ignore the mess here, Mr. Varley. Thomas is just a few desks down—"
At the sound of the name ’Varley’, the girl at the messy desk froze.
She pushed her headphones down around her neck and spun her chair around. When her eyes locked onto Von standing right in front of her cubicle, her jaw dropped.
She shot up from her chair, accidentally knocking a stack of papers onto the floor.
"Oh my god. You’re... you’re Von! Von Varley!"
Von offered a smile. "Yeah, that’s me."
"I am a big fan!" she blurted out, her energy suddenly completely making others to look in their direction.
"I literally had your song on repeat just now! All your songs are the best!
Jake frowned and facepalmed, stepping forward to intervene.
"Clara, please. Contain yourself. We are in the middle of an executive tour."
"Right, sorry, sorry!" Clara’s cheeks quickly flushed red. She quickly bent down to pick up her scattered papers, but she couldn’t stop looking up at Von with stargazed eyes.
"It’s just such an honor. I’m Clara. Clara Hayes."
She wiped her hand on her jeans and held it out.
Von chuckled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Clara."
Jake immediately stepped between them. He gently grabbed Von’s arm and pulled him a few feet away from the cubicle, lowering his voice so Clara couldn’t hear.
"Listen to me, Von. Do not pick her for your team. It wouldn’t be the right choice."
Von raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because she’s a fan?"
"No, because she is a liability," Jake said, looking over at Clara with clear annoyance.
"She is a junior assistant, but she refuses to follow instructions. She is too stubborn to do things the normal way. Between us, HR is already finalizing her paperwork. She will likely be fired before the week is over."
Von was surprised to hear that. He liked crazy people like her, and her stubborness was something he believed he could control.
Von didn’t argue with Jake. He simply turned his head, looked back at Clara, and activated his system one last time.
[Inspect]
[Name: Clara Hayes]
[Skill: Wild Visionary (B)]
● Capable of translating abstracts concepts on a better level than normal. Performs below average when working on a design that isn’t unique]
Von’s eyes gleamed.
Jake had tried to hand him the most boring, average employees the company had to offer.
And in doing so, Jake had accidentally walked him right past the exact genius he needed to build his empire.
With Von’s future knowledge providing the concepts, and Clara’s special skill turning them into reality, they were going to be unstoppable.
Von completely ignored the HR director. He stepped away from Jake and walked right back to the messy cubicle.
Clara looked up nervously. She probably thought Von was going to scold her for being unprofessional, just like her bosses always did.
Instead, Von looked at her and smiled warmly.
"I’ll be looking forward to working with you, Clara. Welcome to my team!"
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