Chapter 28

Rachel raised an eyebrow, her tone light as she said, “Whether I leave or not, you need to start protecting yourself. Don’t overdo it, and especially don’t argue with your boss in front of everyone.”

She admired Cecilia for her boldness, even if it wasn’t always what people wanted. Her team didn’t need people like Samantha, who whispered behind everyone’s backs.

Cecilia’s eyes started to water. “I understand. Honestly, Rachel, why don’t you just leave for LS Enterprise? Ever since Samantha came here, everything’s been a mess.”

Rachel quickly covered her mouth. “Don’t say things like that. Pack up and wait for me to contact you. Right now, Mr. Lewis is upset. It’s not the right time to bring it up.”

Besides, there was no telling when Samantha might pop up again.

Cecilia nodded. “Okay.”

Later that afternoon, the HR department posted an announcement: Samantha would be taking over Rachel’s position as project director.

Rachel was in the middle of transferring her projects when her phone buzzed. It was a message from William.

[Rachel, you shouldn’t have acted so impulsively earlier. I couldn’t do anything with everyone watching. Please try to understand.]

Rachel stared at the message, unable to stop herself from laughing.

Understand?

Why was it always her who had to understand? Why wasn’t Samantha asked to understand? Why was it always Rachel who had to take the blame? Was she some kind of punching bag?

This wasn’t the man she knew.

When Rachel first joined the company, one of her superiors had treated her like a beast of burden, constantly forcing her to attend client drinking sessions and saddling her with the blame whenever things went wrong. He would even take advantage of her hearing impairment to mutter vile remarks about her, knowing she couldn’t hear.

Back then, she had endured it all for William’s sake, not wanting to complicate his position at the company. She had never told him about these humiliations, yet somehow, he found out.

The moment he heard, he stormed into her superior’s office and erupted.

That superior, emboldened by his ties to major shareholders and William’s precarious position, stood his ground. Instead of backing down, he began hurling veiled insults at Rachel, the true target of his malice.

No one expected what happened next.

Blinded by fury, William kicked the man to the ground. Then, he loomed over him, finger pointed at the man’s face.

“Say one more word about her. I dare you.”

Gone was the poised, aristocratic demeanor of the Lewis family heir–what stood there now was a man willing to burn everything to the ground.

That was the day he nearly lost his job. But thanks to his later success, he managed to stay on.

Even now, when she thought about it, Rachel still got chills.

“You don’t have to suffer for me. Seeing you hurt is worse than being stabbed by a knife,” William had said to her that day.

But today, it was different. For another woman, he doubted her. He let her be ridiculed and criticized. He knew exactly how the office would talk about her, but still chose to do it.

The door opened and Samantha walked in. Rachel snapped out of her thoughts and started going over the projects with her.

“I still have three more projects. Besides the Trinity Project you worked on today, the other three are with difficult clients. You’ll need to know their preferences and what foods they’re allergic to. For example, Mr. Zander from Lansail Group doesn’t eat seafood or meat because of his religion. There’s also…”

Samantha interrupted, “Rachel, you’re saying so much. How can I remember everything? Just write it all down and email it to me.”

Rachel paused, then replied, “I have other things to handle. Now that you’re the project director, you should be able to remember the basics. Client preferences are a must.”

Samantha shrugged. “But I don’t have time, Rachel. William wants me to go with him to buy gifts for clients later.”