Chapter 203

“Don’t worry, Vincent. We’re all here for the company. I’ll definitely give it my best shot,” Anastasia assured him.

“Get out,” Vincent waved her off dismissively. He was already plotting his next move–there was no way he’d let Anastasia succeed.

When Anastasia emerged from the office, Sharlene immediately pounced. “Ana, what did Vincent want?”

“Nothing major. He’s putting me back in charge of the whole project and setting up a dedicated team. I’m the team lead.”

“Holy shit!” Sharlene’s excitement made her voice crack, drawing stares from half the office. Embarrassed, she clapped her hand over her mouth and shot everyone an awkward smile before leaning in to whisper with Anastasia.

Narissa let out a bitter laugh. “Look how smug she is. Like she wants everyone to know exactly how she landed that project.”

The office gossips perked up like bloodhounds catching a scent, immediately circling around to get the dirt.

“Come on, Narissa, spill. What’s the real story?” someone pressed.

Narissa had deliberately spoken loud enough to bait this exact reaction, but she played coy. “It’s not really our place to talk about other people’s business.”

“Oh please! After the way she treated you? We all saw it. Why are you still protecting her?”

“Exactly! If you won’t say it, I will!”

These two were basically Narissa’s lapdogs–they always sucked up to her because of her connection to Vincent. When Vincent had easy assignments to hand out, their little trio always got first dibs.

“Mila, maybe we shouldn’t…” Narissa put on a conflicted expression.

“No way. I’m telling everyone, and if Vincent gets mad, I’ll take the heat. This has nothing to do with you,” Mila declared.

“Fine, I’ll just… go somewhere else,” Narissa said, making a show of backing away.

The little performance had everyone on the edge of their seats, waiting for Mila to continue. Mila glanced at Narissa, who’d positioned herself at a “safe” distance, and got her subtle nod of approval.

“Yesterday, Vincent and Narissa went to Orlando Corp to discuss the partnership. You all know they’re the veterans here–most experienced people in the department.”

“But the second Mr. Orlando saw it wasn’t Anastasia, he completely lost it. Said if she wasn’t handling the project, the whole deal was off.”

“I mean, come on. Anastasia’s just some newbie. How could she possibly be better than Vincent and Narissa? Obviously she’s not! They tried everything, but Orlando wouldn’t budge.”

“So why would Mr. Orlando only want to work with Anastasia? What do you think that’s about?”

Mila didn’t spell it out, but everyone got the implication loud and clear.

“Wow, I never would’ve guessed Anastasia was that type.”

“Hey, whatever it takes to get ahead, right? If I had her assets, I might’ve done the same thing.”

“Please. Even if some pervert was into your pregnant belly, you’d still be out of luck.”

While the gossip stayed underground, the way people looked at Anastasia definitely shifted.

Anastasia and Sharlene had no clue what was happening. When Anastasia called a team meeting for 2:30 PM, only she and Sharlene showed up on time. The others trickled in way past the start time. Mila was the last to arrive–a full hour late.

“Sorry about that. Had to deal with this nightmare client from an old project. Guy’s impossible to work with,” she said casually.

“No problem. Meeting’s over,” Anastasia said, standing up to leave.

Everyone exchanged confused looks. The meeting hadn’t even started yet. What the hell?

Sharlene was equally puzzled but followed Anastasia’s lead and walked out with her.

“Is she serious? Calls us in here and then says nothing? What does she think we are?”

“Wait, she didn’t say anything? But you guys were in there for a while,” Mila asked with fake innocence. She’d seen Anastasia go in and had deliberately waited this long to show up.

Someone who’d been there from the start explained, “Actually, Anastasia did say something. She said we’re a team, and meetings require full attendance. She doesn’t want to repeat herself over and over. And she mentioned that next time, everyone better show up on time. Three strikes and you’re out.”

Mila couldn’t care less about Anastasia’s warnings. “Oh please. She lands one deal and thinks she’s hot shit? Doesn’t know her place anymore. I’d like to see how she runs this project without us.”

“You should’ve seen her in the conference room. She just sat there staring at us without saying a word. Those eyes were scary as hell. Acting like she’s the boss or something.”

Mila scoffed, thinking they were being way too dramatic. She went straight to Narissa to report what had happened.

Narissa laughed. “Anastasia really doesn’t know her place, does she? She can’t seriously think one success means she’ll always succeed. Ridiculous.”

Mila immediately sucked up: “Exactly! And she clearly doesn’t understand her position. Sure, she used her body to hook Orlando, but she doesn’t have the skills. When she can’t deliver quality designs, she’ll come crawling back to you.”

Narissa had the same thought, so when Mila voiced it, she smiled smugly. “When that happens, I’ll make her get on her knees and beg.”

“Absolutely!”

Sharlene had been heading to the break room for water when she overheard their conversation. She quickly backed away and rushed to Anastasia’s desk.

“Ana, we’ve got a problem.”

Anastasia calmly set down her stylus. “What’s up?”

Sharlene repeated what she’d heard in the break room. “Ana, what if they deliberately sabotage you and refuse to help with the designs? This is such a huge project–if you’re doing it alone, it’ll take forever. If you can’t meet the contract deadline, the whole thing could fall apart…”

Anastasia’s expression remained completely calm. “Don’t worry. This project will go smoothly. But first, we need to get rid of some dead weight.”

Sharlene understood exactly who Anastasia meant by “dead weight.”

Despite Anastasia’s confidence, Sharlene couldn’t shake her worry.

The next day, Anastasia called another meeting. Same deal–no full attendance, no meeting.