“Then leave,” Caden said coldly.
Wendy bit her lip and reluctantly turned to leave. But before stepping out, she shot me a venomous glare.
I responded by turning to Caden with a look of approval. “Nicely done.”
Caden’s expression remained neutral as he replied, “I thought I was just a stranger to you? So why are you calling me your husband now?”
I laughed awkwardly. “Well … you’re into Tessa, right? I’m just helping you get rid of these annoying admirers. Wouldn’t want your precious Tessa to get jealous over all the women clinging to you.”
Caden stared at me for a couple of seconds before waving me off. I took the hint and promptly left his office.
But just as I stepped out, I heard Freya’s voice echoed in my head, issuing a warning
“Watch out.”
I glanced down in time to see Wendy sticking out her foot, clearly intending to trip me.
I hopped lightly, dodging her clumsy attempt with ease.
“Ms. Crawford,” I said, steadying myself and turning to face her with a mocking smile, “didn’t my husband tell you to leave? What are you still doing here? Guarding the door?”
“Rosaline, what did you just say?!” Wendy froze for a moment before realizing I’d just implied she was like a guard dog. Her anger flared even hotter.
I glanced at Yale, who was standing nearby. “Yale, doesn’t our company have a strict policy against unauthorized visitors? Shouldn’t you escort Ms. Crawford out?”
“Rosaline, what right do you have to kick me out?” Wendy snapped, trembling with rage.
“I don’t, but he does,” I replied with a calm smile, nodding toward Yale.
“Ms. Crawford, please leave,” Yale said, coughing awkwardly as he stepped forward to block Wendy’s path.
“Rosaline, just you wait!” Wendy shouted, her face contorted with anger. She stormed off, turning back to glare at me every few steps.
I blew her a playful kiss and walked away without looking back, heading straight to the secretary’s office.
Dealing with pretentious women like her was always so satisfying.
But I hadn’t been back at my desk for long before Stella informed me that there was a meeting about the Lady Couture collaboration project.
I frowned. As the project lead, how could I not have been notified about the meeting in advance?
Rushing to the conference room, I saw that Caden was already seated at the head of the table.
He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, exuding a subtle but commanding presence. His sharp, chiseled features and cold, refined demeanor made him look like a high-born king surveying his court from on high.
Stella, Sabrina, and the project’s designer, Winnie Larson, were also present.
As I entered, everyone’s gaze shifted to me.
“Don’t be late to meetings in the future,” Caden said coolly, his sharp eyes sweeping over me before gesturing for me to sit.
Late?
I glanced at Stella, who was wearing a smug expression. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this was her doing.
Without saying a word, I walked over and found a seat.
Caden signaled for the meeting to begin. Stella cleared her throat and said, “I’ve been overseeing the early stages of the Lady Couture collaboration project, but for the next season, Rosaline will take the lead. Rosaline, why don’t you brief Mr. Holbrook on the project’s overall progress?”
She smiled at me as she spoke, and I immediately understood her game.
How devious.
She deliberately withheld the meeting details from me and was now throwing me under the bus by announcing, in front of everyone, that I would be in charge of the next season. Worse still, she hadn’t given me any of the internal project files. All I had were some surface-level documents – hardly enough to give a proper presentation.
She was trying to humiliate me in public.
Nice try, Stella. But you’ve underestimated me.
I smiled and stood up, speaking with calmness, “Apologies, but I was only informed of this meeting five minutes ago. As a result, I haven’t prepared anything.”
“No one told you about the meeting?” Caden asked, frowning slightly.
“Ms. Sinclair, I personally make sure my assistant emails out notices for every meeting. There’s no way you weren’t notified,” Stella cut in, feigning innocence. “Are you sure you didn’t just forget? This is an important meeting – you can’t afford to make such a careless mistake. As the CEO’s secretary, how could you commit such a basic error?”
I returned her fake smile with a cold one of my own. “I didn’t receive the email. Email records don’t lie – even if deleted, they can be recovered by the IT department. I’m not stupid enough to make this up. But I don’t mind having IT retrieve the records so we can clear this up right here and now.”
Stella’s expression faltered for a brief moment. She quickly turned to Caden for support. “Mr. Holbrook, since Rosaline isn’t prepared, should we reschedule the meeting?”
“No need,” I interrupted before Caden could respond.
Caden’s expression remained indifferent as he raised an eyebrow, giving me an almost amused glance. “You’re not prepared, but you don’t want to reschedule?”
“It’s true I wasn’t prepared, but that doesn’t mean we can’t proceed,” I replied confidently.
Under the skeptical gazes of everyone present, I walked calmly to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and said, “As the project lead, it’s my responsibility to fully understand it. I should be able to explain the project at any time, without needing special preparation.”
My words left Stella wide-eyed, and the others exchanged puzzled looks.
They all knew Stella had set me up.
She’d been managing the Lady Couture project for nearly a year, and even she wouldn’t dare present the entire project without preparation. I’d only taken over less than a week ago – how could I possibly do it?
Caden leaned back slightly in his chair, crossing his legs casually as he watched me with mild curiosity from the head of the table.
He appeared to share their doubts about my ability to present the Lady Couture project without relying on a script.
It seems they all underestimated the inherent advantage of my Alpha memory.
Caden’s POV:
I was taken aback. Could Rosaline really present like that without any preparation?
Stella had been handling this project for over a year, while Rosaline had only taken charge a week ago.
Was she really up to this?
Rosaline cleared her throat, a confident smile on her face as she began. “Now, I’ll walk you through the overall situation and progress of the Lady Couture’s project.”
With a pen in hand, she explained as she drew a detailed flowchart on the whiteboard, covering every aspect of the project.
Her speech was clear, structured, and easy to understand – leaving no room for confusion.
She wore a soft pink business suit – blouse on top, pencil skirt on the bottom. The gentle lighting in the conference room highlighted her, making her appear both professional and graceful.
Her cherry-red lips spoke with such passion and fluency, once again tempting me to kiss them.
“Well, that’s my presentation. Any questions?” Rosaline finished, smiling and looking toward the table.
The others were still captivated, completely absorbed by her insightful explanation.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
She really pulled this off?
Her poised speech, that air of nobility, the way she carried herself with such elegance and confidence – it was as though she was some regal figure on a pedestal.
Wasn’t she from a small, rural place, Frostmoore?
How did this Omega learn to present like that?
Her eloquence was astounding!
It seemed like my supposed fiancée was far more impressive than I had initially thought.
“Mr. Holbrook, do you have any further questions?” Rosaline asked, her smile still warm and gracious.
I kept my focus on her, responding with just two words, “None.”
“Since there are no more questions, let’s have Winnie, the designer for this issue, present the specific designs,” Rosaline said, sitting down and signaling Winnie to show the design sketches.
Winnie snapped out of her daze and spread out the sketches one by one, explaining them to me. “This issue’s theme is ‘Ice and Fire.’ We’ll be launching a collection of fine jewelry, including necklaces, rings, and bracelets. These are my designs.”
I skimmed over the designs but wasn’t impressed.
I turned to Rosaline and asked, “Ms. Sinclair, what do you think?”
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