As soon as she finished speaking, most people followed up with quick self-introductions.
Still, a few didn’t bother hiding their attitude, straight-up throwing passive-aggressive shade at her.
Maria looked at them, her eyes cold and sharp.
She knew she had to make a statement—make it loud and clear, or they’d all walk over her later.
“I’m the Styling Director.
I’m your boss.
If you can’t show me basic respect, you’re fired.”
Her tone left no room for doubt.
She glanced around the room and added, “That goes for the rest of you too.”
With that, she turned and walked out of the office.
As the Styling Director, Maria’s position was just under Tina’s, meaning she had direct authority over all the stylists.
And if someone dared to challenge their direct superior, they were either fearless or clueless.
She hadn’t planned to play the domineering boss card—after all, everyone was just here to work—but some people clearly didn’t care for getting along.
Meanwhile, Michael Turner’s interview script turned out surprisingly well.
Instead of uncovering juicy gossip, The Late Night Scoop showcased a side of Charlie Cruz that few people knew—he’d been supporting kids in poor areas ever since two years ago.
The show dropped a short clip right after recording wrapped, and it went straight to the trending list.
Fans were raving, and even casual viewers praised Charlie’s kindness.
He didn’t just hit one trending topic today.
Another one, #CharlieCruzIsSoHandsome, shot up too.
A fan posted a photo of him heading home after work, and it gained him even more admirers.
After the interview, Charlie posted a selfie, which lit up a third trending topic: #CharlieCruzSelfie.
All that buzz?
Totally thanks to Michael.
But that was after hours.
No sooner had she stepped in than Amelia showed up.
Amelia had expected some drama between Maria and Charlie—and was low-key excited to watch it explode.
But somewhere en route, she heard that Charlie had quietly finished his makeup session like a complete gentleman, and oh, she was not happy.
The stylist who’d previously clashed with Maria saw Amelia as her last hope and immediately spilled everything Maria had said to her.
Listening, Amelia’s expression turned darker by the second.
And watching the stylist continue her rant, Amelia started to look annoyed.
Still, she gave her a few perfunctory words of comfort and warned her to keep her head down and avoid trouble for now.
At this point, she’d already made up her mind—it was no longer worth backing this stylist.
If Maria really did let her go, she certainly wasn’t going to step in.
When she left the office, Amelia was fuming.
She stomped her foot and muttered through clenched teeth, “Can’t believe she’s gotten this full of herself.”
Cody Phillips had followed Amelia for quite a while and knew her temper all too well.
He added, “She might act all high and mighty, but at the end of the day, she’s just a styling director.
As long as you hold onto Mr.
Bennett, she can’t stir up much.”
Amelia’s expression softened instantly, her mood lightening up.
“Come on, let’s go find James.”
Outside James’s office, Amelia stood gracefully at the door, gave a soft knock, and smiled.
“James.”
“What is it?” James didn’t even glance up, eyes fixed on his screen.
“Can’t I come without a reason?” she said as she walked behind him, gently kneading his shoulders.
“James, are you done working?”
James frowned in annoyance, reached for his water, and stood up to look out the window.
“What do you really want?”
“I promised your mom we’d go to the house for dinner.
Even if you don’t want to go, can’t you come with me just this once, for my sake?” Amelia said lightly.
James turned to her, and his eyes began to darken with frustration. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
“You know I hate going back.
And you’re still pushing it?”
Her heart skipped a beat at his tone, but she forced herself to respond, “Your mom’s asked me so many times to bring you back for a meal.
I’ve turned her down again and again.
This time, if I say no again, it’ll really hurt her.
James, come with me, just this once, yeah?”
She held onto his arm, eyes full of pleading.
Amelia was undeniably attractive, especially those eyes—they seemed to pull people right in effortlessly.
Too bad the one she was trying to charm was James.
Five years ago, James had no idea Maria had left the country—all he knew was no matter how hard he looked, she was just gone.
His mother kept pushing him to marry Amelia.
Back then, he had been divorced less than a month.
She sang Amelia’s praises while constantly criticizing Maria.
James might’ve been furious at Maria for using him and then walking away without a word, but hearing others talk down about her rubbed him the wrong way.
The more his mother said, the uglier his mood got.
He couldn’t take it anymore and moved out completely.
No matter how much she tried to talk him into coming back, he barely went home after that.
His mom never gave up on fixing things between them, but James was done.
They became strangers who happened to be family.
Eventually, she figured out that Maria’s leaving was the reason James had changed so much.
But she still hated Maria too much to admit it.
So instead, she kept pushing Amelia to get close to him, hoping it’d somehow pull him back.