Chapter 4

Goldcrest was a financial powerhouse that threw its money across tons of industries. Even the live streaming project Sophie was working on was another deal with Goldcrest.

"Joanna, this is on you. I barely touched your computer. Don't you dare blame me." Sophie's voice went shrill, panic creeping in.

Classic human reaction. Whenever people knew they were in the wrong, they just got louder to make up for it.

Even those coworkers who'd been keeping their heads down and hoping not to get involved couldn't stay chill any longer.

"Sophie, don't push it. The meeting is about to start, and if this project tanks, you can never fix it," one of them said, voice sharp.

They'd turned a blind eye when Sophie was trashing me earlier. But now that trouble was coming for them, nobody cared whether Sophie was Charles's new darling or not.

"Sophie, if you don't deal with this yourself, no one's going to cut you any slack." I gave her a faint smile and watched her face crumble.

Sophie was a complete wreck. She cowered, tears streaming, terrified she might collapse, and apologized to the Goldcrest higher-ups over and over.

The live stream she was supposed to host got caught up in the mess, too. She was pulled from the show, and they grabbed someone else at the last minute to cover for her.

I waited until the Goldcrest higher-ups looked like they were about to explode. I'd had enough entertainment and then stepped into the meeting room.

"Sorry. My car was parked far, so I got held up for a few minutes. I really appreciate your patience," I said, flashing an apologetic smile and raising the external hard drive in my hand.

My computer was old, so I'd gotten into the habit of backing up all my work, just in case.

If I hadn't, I'd probably be in the hot seat over this mess, too.

The Goldcrest higher-ups were fed up with Sophie bawling her eyes out, but since she was Charles's personal pick, none of them dared to lose their cool at her.

But as soon as I showed up, their expressions eased up right away.

Lewis, my go-to contact at Goldcrest, shot Sophie a sideways glance. "You might want to come back down to earth. Just because Mr. Grant put in a good word for you doesn't mean you've made it.

"You still need to buckle down and actually do the work. Honestly, you've got a long way to go.

"I hear you and Ms. Fuller go way back to college. Maybe you should try learning a thing or two from her."

Sophie was shaking all over, whether it was from tears or sheer frustration. Right now, Sophie didn't have a choice but to nod and accept it.

The meeting ended on a tense note, but no disasters came crashing down. The project proposal sailed through without a hitch.

In the end, Sophie was the only one left picking up the pieces.

I patted her on the shoulder as I walked by. "Oh, right. Did you notice that tiny scratch on the car key you picked up? Charles's last girlfriend made it."

Sophie, who'd wiped away her tears, instantly broke down again.

It wasn't like I didn't know how to get under her skin. And the real show hadn't even begun.