“Yes, Isabelle.”
Isabelle had no clue what was going on.
Wasn’t that woman on a hunger strike almost to the point of dying?
How did she get discharged and come straight to the company?
And why on earth did Mr.
Sinclair let her join, let alone give her a position?
What’s even weirder—his attitude toward her did a whole 180.
Just what the hell happened over the past few days?
Fuming, Isabelle marched to the CEO’s office.
She was about to knock, but remembering Marcus wasn’t inside and Audrey was alone, she didn’t even bother.
As soon as she stepped in, she saw Audrey zoning out in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
Without even trying to hide her annoyance, Elaine said, “Mrs.
Sinclair, this way please.”
Elaine flinched—clearly startled.
The two women locked eyes, the air instantly turning tense.
Isabelle wasn’t about to back down in front of her, so they silently squared off.
Elaine recognized her—Marcus’s secretary.
From what she’d gathered, the two might be…
more than just coworkers.
No wonder she’s so aggressive.
Not even knocking before barging into the CEO’s office?
Obviously, it was on purpose.
While staring back, Elaine gave her a quick once-over: stylish, pretty, sure.
But still, a homewrecker is a homewrecker.
Some lines shouldn’t be crossed, no matter how good you look.
Back then, Audrey had always gotten the short end of the stick with her.
Isabelle used to bully her nonstop.
But from today onward, that was definitely gonna change.
Elaine straightened up, holding her chin a little higher, and gave a polite (but totally calculated) smile.
“Isabella, during work hours, just call me Audrey.”
Isabelle’s brow twitched.
What the hell?
Since when did Audrey get so confident?
Audrey used to hate seeing Isabelle.
They’d been clashing for a while, and Audrey had lost every time.
But now?
Now it felt like Audrey had finally come out on top.
Isabelle couldn’t figure out what had changed.
Swallowing her resentment, she forced a polite bow.
“Mrs.
Sinclair, this way please.”
Elaine held her head high and walked past her, the picture of satisfaction.
When they reached the secretary’s office, Isabelle visibly perked up—finally back in her own domain.
Her confidence returned in full force as she gestured.
“You can sit here for now.
Our assistant, Karlene, is on maternity leave.”
She added pointedly, “The computer’s got some pretty important files.
Take a look if you’d like.”
Elaine raised an eyebrow.
Something about that tone felt off.
Sure enough, another secretary, Natalie Collins, came over all sweet and friendly, handing her a glass of water.
But not two seconds later, Natalie “accidentally” elbowed her.
Elaine lost balance and spilled the water—right onto the laptop keyboard.
Natalie immediately put on a dramatic voice.
“Isabelle!
Oh my god!”
Elaine stayed cool as ever.
From the second she walked in, she’d sensed something was off.
These women were dressed more like they were heading to a beauty pageant than a place of business.
And Isabelle was obviously the ringleader of this mean-girl squad.
Whatever.
Elaine had been wondering how to deal with Isabelle.
Now she didn’t even have to lift a finger.
Isabelle handed herself over on a silver platter.
Seeing the soaked laptop, Isabelle stormed over, glaring at her.
“Audrey, can you be any more careless?
I told you that machine had super important stuff on it!”
Elaine didn’t even bother responding.
Isabelle, still playing up the drama, barked, “Aren’t you gonna clean it up?!”
“It’s already too late,” Elaine replied lazily, not even turning her head.