Chapter 34
Whitney was curious why the big–time corporations would choose her. She had faith in her skills but wondered if Charles was giving her a sneaky assist. And when Louis brought up the art show, she figured maybe Hayden had put in a good word for her too.
Louis replied immediately, “Well, the big boss really digs your talent. Thinks you’re the only fit for this gig, so he handpicked you.”
Whitney felt pleasantly surprised. “So, what are your requirements for this project?”
Louis stated, “I’ll send you the project requirements, but the deal–breaker for us is the tech crew. Without ace players, even a sweet design won’t cut it.”
we just
Whitney nodded, “No sweat. We just snagged a hotshot IT pro.”
Louis replied, “That would be great. We’re all set, then.”
“Okay, thank you,” said Whitney.
After ending the call, Whitney looked at Cindy and handed her the contract. “That’s pretty much settled. You can proceed to arrange for the IT specialist we poached to work here.”
Cindy nodded, “I’ll be on it.”
As Cindy split, a secretary swooped in with a stack of papers, playing it cool but eyeballing the contract from before. With the secretary lingering, Whitney looked up. “Need something?”
The secretary, caught off guard, kinda froze. “Nope, all good. I’m out.”
Whitney nodded and put the contract in the drawer.
As
As soon as the secretary was alone, she ducked into a private spot to make a call to Jeremy. Whitney didn’t know that Jeremy had turned her own secretary into a spy, watching her every move. Whitney was too smart for that, though. She only gave the secretary small jobs and kept the big stuff between her and Cindy.
The secretary said, “Mr. Quaker, I just heard about the thing you told me to pay attention to. As expected, Whitney has got the cooperation, and I also heard that the talent poached by her and Cindy is ready to start work. They’re estimated to be here in two days.”
Hearing the secretary’s explanation, Jeremy thought Whitney must have poached his company’s core talent, which led to her cooperation with that company going smoothly.
Jeremy went to Thiago and reported, “Mr. Mackenzie, the person keeping an eye on Whitney has gotten some news. Whitney called the project manager and confirmed their cooperation. Moreover, she really poached an IT specialist. I suspect she’s purposely poaching talent from our company to go against us.”
at she was not such a
Thiago’s gaze darkened. Although he didn’t know much about what Whitney had gone through, he firmly believed that she person after a period of interacting with her.
With Whitney’s aboveboard personality, she would act fair and square openly if she truly wanted to compete with Thiago.
“It shouldn’t be like what you think, Thiago replied. “As far as I know, she couldn’t have done such a thing.”
“But from
n my understanding, she did all these. If it wasn’t her, who else would it be?” countered Jeremy.
Thiago took a sip of water. “If it’s really her, I won’t let her off the hook.”
Chapter 34
His eyes darkened with no focus in his gaze as he thought, ‘What kind of woman are you, Whitney? What’re you trying to do? You act cold to me, yet you did so much secretly.”
Back at the office, Whitney let out a random sneeze and rubbed her nose, puzzled. Lina had the day off and was bored, so she popped by Whitney’s office. Seeing her bestie all stressed, she rapped on the desk. “Girl, you’ll crease your forehead worrying like that.”
“I’ll take wrinkles any day if it helps me solve this mess,” said Whitney, closing her laptop. “Sometimes, I wish I could just chill like you do.”
Lina had it rough growing up. She and Whitney go way back to junior high. When things got real at home, she skipped college but didn’t quit on herself. She hustled, learned on the job, and caught the eye of a boss who got her into company investments. She made bank. Now, she had stakes in bars and who knows what else–work was optional.
Lina shook her head, watching Whitney put herself through the wringer when she could’ve had it easy.
“You can lean on the Greene fortune forever. Why make life so hard?” Lina asked.
Whitney bit her lip. That hit a nerve. She wasn’t about playing the damsel, depending on anyone.
Seeing that worried look linger, Lina tugged on Whitney’s arm. “You need a break! When’s the last time you took a day off? You get your best ideas from living a little. Let’s get out of here.”
Whitney tried to protest but Lina cut her off. “Nope, no buts!” Before Whitney could say another word, Lina swiped her laptop and handed it off to Cindy. “The boss is clocking out early today. You got this,” she told Cindy, pulling Whitney out the door.
Hopping into the car, Lina whipped out her phone and flashed Whitney a picture of a hot tourist spot. “Check it. This place is a hit with everyone. Even celebs posing for the Instagram.”
“I’m not interested. All attractions look the same anyway. There’s no originality at mind fully occupied with the company’s designs.
whitney was reluctant to look at
at the photo, having her
Lina shook her head. “This place is different. It’s this cool old–fashioned street that all the retro fashion lovers hit up.”
That caught Whitney’s attention. “Old–school styles, huh?” She peeked at Lina’s phone. “Got any of those classic buildings?”
“You bet. Knew you’d dig it,” Lina said
a said with a grin. “See how I look out for you? Bet you don’t even notice.”
Whitney smiled helplessly. “Why would you think that? I’m here, aren’t I? I’m always down to hang when I can.”
Lina grabbed Whitney’s hand. “Busy or not, you gotta make time for me,” she said, resting her head on Whitney’s shoulder. “You’ve been my rock for years.”
