Chapter 126
Ailie was on the verge of flipping the table.
She shot to her feet, her voice trembling with emotion. “Curtis, do you even know who McNeil is?”
She was *this* close to blurting out that McNeil was Victoria’s husband.
Curtis fixed his gaze on Ailie. Of course he knew who McNeil was-and he knew exactly why she was upset on Victoria’s behalf.
But before things could escalate, Victoria spoke up.
“Ailie, Mr. Garcia didn’t do anything wrong.”
McNeil had always been the man behind Violet’s success.
Ever since Victoria had recovered from her illness and was ready to return to work, McNeil had been tirelessly paving the way for Violet at every step.
Once upon a time, that had been exactly what Victoria wanted.
She’d told McNeil she wanted to join the company, to fight alongside him as equals.
But McNeil had just smiled and said, “Victoria, you’re my wife. I want you to stay behind the scenes and support me. I don’t like seeing my woman in the spotlight. Let me take care of you for the rest of our lives-will you let me do that?”
How laughable.
Now that Violet had appeared, their relationship out in the open, Victoria had watched McNeil run around trying to make the world a better place for his new lover, doing anything and everything for her.
And that was when the difference between love and indifference became painfully clear.
Looking back, those words that had once touched her deeply now seemed like a cruel joke.
“Victoria?” Ailie was stunned. She couldn’t believe Victoria was taking Curtis’s side.
Curtis cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s just business, Victoria. There was no other way.”
Ailie slammed her palm down on the table, making everyone in the restaurant jump.
Curtis quickly stood and pulled the booth’s curtain closed, trying to contain the scene.
“Mr. Garcia, is money really worth losing your dignity?” Ailie snapped.
Curtis, a man who prided himself on recognizing talent, flushed, guilt written all over his face as he glanced at Victoria beside him.
He tried to change the subject. “There’s something else internal news.”
By now, Curtis treated Victoria as one of their own, but Ailie just downed her water
in one go and raised a hand to stop him.
“Wait, whatever you’re about to say, is it going to push us over the edge?”
Curtis spoke with caution. “Ailie, you and Mr. Langford-nothing ever happened between you, right?”
Victoria had just taken a sip of her lemon water and nearly choked.
“What? Don’t slander me he’s not exactly my type,” Ailie shot back, glancing at Victoria before lowering her voice. “Forget it. But Mr. Garcia, don’t let your imagination run wild.”
Curtis still looked skeptical. Ailie’s reaction was so intense-it was hard to believe it was just about the credit for Victoria’s game. She was acting like she’d caught McNeil cheating.
“I know the game was Victoria’s work,” Curtis admitted. “There was a mix-up in the tech department. Violet happened to help them fix a few bugs, so they assumed she wrote the code. When Ailie went to the tech team, she didn’t clarify, and if we dig into who’s responsible, things could get ugly. Besides, the product launch has already happened. If we try to set the record straight now, the media will only blame our company for poor management. As CEO, thinking about the bigger picture, I had no choice but to let it go.”
Victoria regarded Curtis coolly, her expression unreadable.
“How much did McNeil invest?”
The partnership between The Langford Group and Quantum Core Technologies was all over the news. The live-streamed signing ceremony had made it clear: anyone would have sacrificed Victoria in that situation.
Curtis hesitated, searching for words, when the topic of their conversation made his entrance.
Outside, a server’s voice rang out: “Mr. Langford and Ms. Marchand, your private room is this way. Please follow me.”
Ailie yanked the curtain aside.
Victoria found herself face-to-face with McNeil. Violet clung to his arm. Their eyes met across the room.
Curtis wished he could disappear.
He’d always thought McNeil didn’t even recognize Victoria. But now, it was clear: Violet had stolen all the credit that belonged to Victoria.