Chapter 254
Georgia ignored Victoria, letting her come and go as she pleased.
It wasn’t until half an hour later, when Violet’s office door finally opened, that she looked over at her assistant.
“Where’s Victoria? She’s not here yet?”
Georgia, looking put out, stepped forward. “Victoria was here. She waited ten minutes, but when your office door didn’t open, she got impatient and left. Said if you’re too busy, she’ll come see you when you have time.”
As she spoke, Georgia couldn’t resist stirring the pot. “Ms. Marchand, I tried to persuade her to stay, but Victoria doesn’t take me seriously at all. If she wants to leave, there’s nothing I can do to stop her-“
Violet’s hands, resting on the edge of her desk, curled into fists for a moment before she forced herself to relax.
“Understood.”
Georgia watched as Violet walked into her office and shut the door-harder than usual.
Suppressing a smirk, Georgia thought to herself: Some people just don’t know their place. Victoria might be a deputy manager, but she’ll learn soon enough who she shouldn’t cross.
Inside, Violet sat at her desk, a knot tightening in her chest.
Last night, Gwyneth had been a handful crying and restless, tormented by nightmares after getting lost earlier in the day.
McNeil had stayed overnight at Winding Peak Lane for the first time, just to help look after Gwyneth.
Trying to play the perfect wife and mother, Violet hadn’t slept a wink. Every time Gwyneth whimpered, she’d scoop her into her arms, gently rubbing her back and soothing her until, finally, the little girl drifted off around four in the morning. By then, Violet’s own exhaustion felt bone-deep.
She arrived at work with dark circles under her eyes-no amount of makeup could hide them. The frustration simmering inside her was thick enough to choke on. All of this should’ve been Victoria’s responsibility in the first place.
And yet-
She’d cared for Victoria’s daughter all night, and now Victoria couldn’t even be bothered to show up for a meeting.
Grimacing, Violet grabbed her office phone and dialed straight through to the executive suite.
“Connect me to Mr. Garcia’s line, please. I need to speak with him,” she said.
The call was answered quickly, and Violet’s tense voice spilled through the line. Curtis had just been interrupted mid-task, annoyance flickering across his face, but he held it back.
“What is it?”
“Can’t you do something about Victoria?” Violet launched in, wasting no time. “Do something about what?” Curtis asked, brow furrowing.
“I asked her to come to my office. While I was talking to a department head, she disappeared. All I wanted was for her to transfer to another department-isn’t that within my authority? She completely ignores directives! Mr. Garcia, no matter how capable she is, we don’t have to tolerate this.”
Curtis listened to Violet’s complaints, his tone cool. “Didn’t she already agree to move to the tech department?”
Last time at Vertex Dynamics, Victoria had said she’d transfer if her conditions were met. Violet paused, knowing that was true-but Victoria’s demands were steep, and even though McNeil had agreed, she hadn’t relented.
Violet let out a cold laugh. “She wants a five percent stake from three companies, Mr. Garcia. Even you’d hesitate to make that offer.”
Curtis went silent, the pause stretching on. Violet realized she might’ve gone too far and rushed to correct herself. “I mean, she’s just a deputy manager. Who does she think she is, making demands like that?”
She was still simmering with resentment from the night before.
Curtis gave a short, icy chuckle. “If she’s as good as she claims, she can name her price. We have no right to mock her value assessment. This ends here—I’ll have her speak to McNeil directly. You don’t need to get involved.”
The line went dead. Violet stared at the receiver, stunned. Was Curtis really talking to her like that?
She remembered how, not so long ago, he’d gone out of his way to avoid offending her, always so careful, so deferential. Surrounded by McNeil and his friends, Violet had felt untouchable.
When had all that changed?
Later that afternoon, Victoria received a call from McNeil. “You and Mr. Garcia- meet me at Vertex Dynamics. We need to finalize the proposal you made last time.”
Victoria held her phone, her eyes turning cold. “McNeil, I’ve changed my mind. I want five percent.”
If they wanted her expertise, she was going to make them pay for it.
After the divorce, she and McNeil had gone their separate ways-whatever belonged to the Langford family wasn’t hers. She had no reason to do him any favors; she needed money, too.
“Victoria, don’t push your luck.”
She was getting bolder by the day.
“I did agree to three percent last time. But since Mr. Langford was too busy with his love life to follow up, the offer’s changed. If Mr. Langford isn’t serious about this partnership, then frankly, my time is more valuable than his—I actually need to make a living.”
“I work for Quantum Core Technologies. If you want to negotiate a partnership, there’s no reason to bypass Mr. Garcia and come straight to me. It makes The Langford Group look unprofessional, and frankly, it raises questions about your company’s internal procedures. I might have to reconsider whether I want to work with you at all.”
McNeil’s breath caught; even his assistant could feel the tension radiating from him.
“Oh? And how do you suggest we proceed, then?”
He hadn’t even brought up what happened yesterday, yet she had the nerve to hike up her price.
“I’ve already said: please don’t contact me directly. Speak to Mr. Garcia first-if he agrees, then we can talk.”
Victoria had managed to keep her emotions in check-she saw no point in exploding.
“Curtis, you really do love playing errand boy for him, don’t you? Or is that monthly deposit from The Langford Group still not enough for your spending money?”