Chapter 10
In the end, Justin didn’t kiss Nadine on the lips. He only lowered his head and pressed a light kiss to her
forehead.
Elena understood that Justin might have been drinking, but he still remembered who he was. He would never openly kiss Nadine in front of a room full of people.
But even that small kiss was enough. It was his way of declaring to everyone present that Nadine was his
woman.
She sneered. She remembered Justin once told her not to drag personal matters into the company. What
a joke.
Naomi texted again: “Looks like Ms. Riggs really is Mr. Riggs’ girlfriend. No wonder he handed her the
project we spent so long working on. I didn’t expect him to be so unprofessional. It’s outrageous.”
Elena quickly reminded her, “Don’t ever say that again.. Especially not at the office.”
Neither Justin nor Nadine was the type of person one wanted to offend. If Naomi slipped up, she would pay the price.
“Don’t worry. I won’t. But Ms. Miller… everyone saw how hard you worked for that project. You’re really just
going to let her take it from you?”
Elena replied calmly, “It’s fine.”
If Nadine wanted the project, she could have it. In the end, she would only end up tripping over her own
arrogance.
That morning, Nadine left the company to meet with the client. Before walking out, she glanced at Elena,
and her bold red lips curled into a mocking smirk.
The rest of the project team, who had worked with Elena from the start, kept sneaking glances at her. But
none of them dared to say anything.
After all, Nadine had Justin backing her. And he had personally announced that Nadine would be taking
charge of the project. They all knew it was wrong, but who among them dared to protest?
Elena, on the other hand, carried on with her work as if nothing had happened.
Everyone assumed she was just putting on a brave face. Their pity for her only deepened.
But what none of them expected was that only a few hours later, Nadine came storming back into the office, her face twisted with anger. She marched straight into Justin’s office, and as she passed Elena’s desk, she threw her a vicious glare.
No one understood what had happened. The moment Nadine disappeared into Justin’s office, several
employees quickly turned to the two colleagues who had accompanied her.
But those two exchanged complicated looks and said nothing.
Inside the office, Nadine perched on Justin’s lap. Her eyes were red as she complained. “Jus, the client was clearly making things difficult for me! They were bullying me because I’m new…”
Justin frowned. “That doesn’t sound right. Could it be a misunderstanding?”
“What misunderstanding? They shot down everything I suggested. They even asked where Elena was and said, ‘If only Ms. Miller were here…”
Wasn’t that basically saying she was no match for Elena?
The project was already in its final stages. What was the point of nitpicking every detail?
*Jus, this is the first project I’ve ever led since joining the company. If people find out I messed it up,
they’ll laugh at me!” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she clung to his neck.
“Alright. Alright. Don’t cry.” Justin scrambled to wipe her tears.
After hesitating, he said, “Next time, let Lena go with you. She’s been on this project from the beginning, so she knows every detail better than anyone.”
He had assumed that since the project was nearly complete, Nadine could handle it. Clearly, she couldn’t.
Once again, he needed Elena to clean up the mess.
He remembered how unwilling she had been the last time he asked her to help Nadine. But he figured if
he coaxed her a little, she wouldn’t refuse.
“Step outside for a moment. Let Lena… I mean, let Ms. Miller come in.”
After wiping away Nadine’s tears and promising her a brand-new designer bag, Justin finally managed to
send her out of his office.
When she didn’t see Elena outside, she asked around and learned she was in the pantry.
Nadine pushed the door open and found Elena making coffee.
The rich aroma of coffee filled the air, but it did nothing to ease Nadine’s simmering anger and jealousy.
Her eyes locked coldly on Elena’s back, as if she could tear Elena apart with her gaze alone.
Elena didn’t turn around, yet she spoke evenly, as if she knew exactly who it was. “What is it?”
“Jus wants you in his office,” Nadine said coldly.
Hearing her words, Elena didn’t rush to respond. She took her time brewing the coffee, poured it into a cup, dropped in a sugar cube, and stirred it slowly.
Her composure only stoked Nadine’s fury. “Did you not hear me?”
Chapter 10
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“Nadine.” Elena finally looked up, and her eyes were sharp. “When you’re the one asking for help, you
should act like it.”
“You” Nadine’s eyes widened in disbelief, and anger flashed across her face. “It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the one who told the client to give me a hard time, right?”
Elena let out a faint, mocking smile. “You’re overthinking it.”
She hadn’t done a thing, but she had predicted this outcome from the very beginning.
The project might have been close to completion, but it still required skill and attention. Nadine had
neither.
Back in college, Elena had seen enough of her to know her limits. And Justin himself had once,
unintentionally, revealed a great deal about Nadine’s incompetence.
If Nadine were truly capable, Justin never would have handed her such a critical project halfway through.
He knew as well as anyone that swapping leaders at the last minute was a risky move. The fact that he
still gave it to her only proved how much he favored her.
“It had to be you!” Nadine refused to believe otherwise. To her, the problem could never be her own
shortcomings. “You conniving little-”
The car accident years ago should have killed her.
Elena had no interest in arguing with her, nor was she in any rush to head to Justin’s office. She simply remained where she was, calm and composed.
Nadine glared at her a moment longer before breaking into a laugh.
“Elena, stop pretending. It’s just a project. You don’t really think you’ve won, do you? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m the one who’ll have the last laugh.” She tossed her hair back and smirked. “Jus cares about me more than anything. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
Elena’s eyes darkened. She knew that Justin cared about Nadine so much that he even helped cover up
the car accident.
His affection meant nothing to Elena. But the accident-the ruined leg that ended her career as a dancer- was something she could not get over.
Nadine had no idea what Elena was really thinking. She only assumed Elena’s silence meant Elena was jealous. That made her even more triumphant.
As Elena picked up her coffee and moved past Nadine, Nadine suddenly blurted, “I’ll show you just how much Jus loves me.”
Before Elena could react, Nadine grabbed her wrist, yanked the cup, and deliberately splashed the hot
coffee across her own face.
She let out a shrill scream and bolted from the pantry.
