Chapter 11
“Yes,” Andrea Cole, who had served Muriel for years, replied gently. “This is Ms. Wise. She’s been living with Mr. Moody.”
As soon as Muriel heard this, her face lit up with excitement. “Well, that’s great.”
“Madam, Miss Julia Martin also called this morning and wants to meet with you,” Andrea added.
“Julia Martin?” Muriel felt neutral about her–after all, they were family. “Set up a time. I’ll meet with her.”
“Understood, Madam.”
When Chelsea Wise arrived at Amber Jewels, she was stopped by the assistant manager. “Chelsea, come here for a sec.”
She walked into the office and was caught off guard when Assistant Manager Abe Peters himself poured her a cup of coffee and motioned for her to sit down.
Chelsea raised an eyebrow, a little suspicious. Since she started, the whole department had basically ignored her, and Abe had done nothing but make her life difficult.
This sudden attention, plus a cup of coffee? Yeah, something was definitely up.
“Mr. Peters, what do you need?” Chelsea asked carefully, making sure not to touch the coffee.
Abe smiled, clearly enjoying the power he had over her. “Mr. Watts signed off on the project. You did a great job, and your commission will be added to your paycheck. But…”
Chelsea’s gut twisted. She could already sense where this was going.
Just as she suspected, Abe’s next words made her uncomfortable. “The project was originally Julia’s, and honestly, I think she deserves the credit.”
Chelsea kept her cool, replying calmly, “Well, Mr. Peters, Mr. Watts already approved it. Maybe we should just credit the entire design team at Amber Jewels if we’re so concerned about fairness?”
There was no way she was just handing over the credit to Julia.
Abe slammed his hand on the desk, his tone turning sharper. “Chelsea, you’re new here. Don’t push me. We both know about your past. If the director hadn’t been insistent, do you think you’d even have a chance at Amber Jewels?”
The mention of her past made Chelsea’s face momentarily flicker with anger, but she quickly regained her composure.
Seeing her reaction, Abe softened his tone, though his words were still meant to warn her. “Julia is from the side branch of the Moody family. Amber Jewels is basically owned by them. Why go against her? It’s not worth it.”
“You’ll still get your commission, but if you make waves now, it’ll only hurt you in the end,” he added, trying to pressure her,
Chelsea knew better than to cross Julia–not now, at least. She bit her lip, clearly weighing her options. After a long pause, she finally said, “Let me think it over,”
By now, everyone in the design department knew about Chelsea’s connection with Cecile, and the office was buzzing with gossip.
“Wow, didn’t see that coming. Chelsea really managed to land Mr. Watts‘ project,” someone commented, sounding
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Chapter 11
impressed.
“Pfft!” someone else snickered. “Please. She probably just got him into bed.”
“If Chelsea didn’t have that pretty face, how the hell would she even have a job here?” another person muttered with a jealous snter.
Julia, always thinking Chelsea had only landed the job because of her relationship with Heath, was now boiling with resentment. Seeing Chelsea succeed with Cecil made her blood boil even more.
Most of the office was aligned with Julia, and the snide comments only got worse.
Chelsea walked out of the office, her face pale and tight with frustration.
Julia swayed her hips over to her, dripping with fake sweetness. “Chelsea, congratulations on landing Mr. Watts‘ project. Impressive.”
Chelsea shot Julia a cold glare, her lips curling into a tight, almost mocking smile. “Piss off.”
She didn’t believe for a second that Julia didn’t know exactly what had happened with Abe.
“Do you know?” Julia said, her tone dripping with mock seriousness, clearly enjoying herself. “Heath brought you in, and now the whole consortium’s pissed. If you keep causing him trouble, you might just ruin him for good.”
Early this morning, Heath had been dragged away by the Nova Group’s staff. The office was buzzing, saying it was all because of Chelsea–that the higher–ups were pissed and had hauled him off for questioning.
When Chelsea heard that, her heart sank. No wonder she hadn’t seen Heath this morning–he’d been taken away by the
consortium.
She clenched her fists, her insides twisting. If it was really her fault that Heath’s future was on the line, she could never live with herself.
Seeing her hesitation, Julia smirked, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Mr. Moody’s my cousin. If you play nice and agree to my terms, Heath will be just fine.”
It was just a cheap tactic to manipulate Chelsea, and as for the real reason behind Heath being hauled away, Julia had no idea.
But she had been scheming with Abe for a while, plotting to grab the authorship rights.
Chelsea wasn’t buying it. She squared her shoulders. “Julia, I’m not giving up on the authorship. I’m going back to work now.”
Julia laughed lightly. “Fine. Do your thing.”
‘She really is one of those who couldn’t take a hint!‘ she thought.
After Julia left, Chelsea quickly texted Heath: [Mr. Carson, are you okay?]
At Nova Group, Heath was deep into a report on Amber Jewels‘ financial situation.
Winston, sitting at the head of the table, adjusted his gold–rimmed glasses with a slight weariness in his expression.
“So, Amber Jewels is in debt?” he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.
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“Yeah,” Heath replied.
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Winston took off his glasses and set them down. “If Amber Jewels doesn’t turn a profit within a year, you better get ready to explain yourself.”
Heath had been poached from Amber Jewels with a hefty paycheck, and Winston had high hopes for him.
“Mr. Moody, I’ll do my best,” he said.
Winston and Heath had known each other for years, so once the business talk wrapped up, the mood lightened.
“So, how’ve you been all these years?” Winston asked casually.
“Same old, same old,” Heath replied.
Just then, a phone pinged. Heath smiled and picked up his phone. It was a text from Chelsea. [Mr. Carson, are you okay?]
His eyes softened, a hint of warmth in them.
Winston glanced over, sharp as ever. “Girlfriend?”
Heath shook his head with a smile. “Nah, just a junior. Still a friend for now.”
“A friend,” Winston said, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like you’ve got something going on. Why not ask her out for a meal sometime?”
They were college roommates and got along really well. So, when one of them had a crush, it was totally normal to take them out for a meal.
Heath hesitated for a moment. “She doesn’t know how I feel yet. I’m just waiting.”
After their business conversation wrapped up, Heath stood up to leave, and Winston walked him to the door.
As they were walking out, Kate Meyer walked into the building, holding a contract, and immediately noticed Winston.
He was tall, handsome, and those gold–rimmed glasses gave him that mix of intellectual charm and bad–boy appeal. His grey shirt hugged his perfect body, and the way he carried himself was pure power.
“That’s Mr. Moody.” A colleague whispered, lowering their voice. “Don’t get fooled by his looks. The guy’s ruthless. He’s cutthroat in business. You do not want to mess with him.”
“This is the legendary big boss?‘ Kate thought. ‘Hell, even in the entertainment world, he will be considered a total heartthrob!‘
Kate swallowed hard, eyes locked on him as she stepped into the elevator. She quickly typed a message to Chelsea: [Chelsea, I just saw our big boss. He’s ridiculously handsome! His looks are god–tier!]
If she didn’t need this job so badly, she would’ve snapped a pic and sent it to Chelsea.
Chelsea Wise, not interested, shot back one word: [Oh. Glad to know.]
Kate, still reeling from the hotness overload, kept talking about Winston with her colleagues.
Heath didn’t get back to Amber Jewels until late, looking like a storm cloud. He had a year to turn a profit, and the pressure was crushing him.
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Julia immediately saw this and jumped at the chance to warn Chelsea, “Look what you’ve done. You got Mr. Carson into trouble. If I were you, I’d get out of Amber Jewels right now.”
+23
Chelsea bit her lip, frustration bubbling inside her. She wanted to talk to Heath, but he was already buried in work, and the words she almost said just stuck in her throat.
After work, Chelsea headed back to her apartment. She’d been thinking about how Winston had planned to bring his grandma over, so she hit the store to buy ingredients.
Back at the apartment, Winston still hadn’t returned. After a while, she called him. “Mr. Moody, has your grandma arrived?”
Winston glanced at Muriel, sitting in his office, and calmly replied, “Yeah, she’s here.”
“I’ll get dinner ready. Please come home early,” she said softly.
Even though they’d probably eat out since his grandma was visiting, considering she hadn’t gotten paid yet and Winston was still getting settled at work, she decided to cook at home and give his grandmother a proper welcome.
“Thanks for doing that,” Winston said briefly before hanging up. “Grandma, let’s go.”
He helped Muriel out of the building, and they were just about to get in the car when a female voice called out from behind. “Mrs. Moody.”
Julia had been waiting for this moment, and she quickly stepped forward to greet them.
Muriel recognized Julia and smiled warmly. “Julia, what brings you here?”
“I heard from Aunt that you were coming to see Winston, so I thought I’d drop by and say hello.” Julia used her aunt as an
excuse.
Muriel wasn’t bothered by Julia showing up uninvited and actually thought she was a well–behaved, respectful girl—at least when she was around her.
“So, Mrs. Moody, where are you and Winston heading?” Julia asked with a smile.
“Winston got married, and he’s going to introduce me to my granddaughter–in–law,” Muriel said, her voice full of warmth.
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