Summer Lowell stared blankly at Maxim Sinclair's disappearing figure, closing her eyes tightly as if she'd made up her mind.
Anyway, she accepted whatever Maxim Sinclair said.
At this point, saying more would be useless.
The saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes." After all, she was at a disadvantage and could only take things one step at a time.
Although it was clear Maxim Sinclair wouldn't let her off easily, at present, Summer really couldn't guess what he was up to.
Feeling utterly helpless, all she could do was be cautious and vigilant.
In the days that followed, Summer became more alert due to Maxim Sinclair's threats.
But it had been three days since his last harsh words, and nothing had happened. It was calm and uneventful.
Relieved, Summer gradually lowered her guard.
Based on her one year of experience as a secretary at the Sinclair Group, Maxim Sinclair had enough on his plate to keep him busy and probably didn't have time to deal with her right now.
But she hadn't anticipated that things at the company were also unsettled...
That day, Summer attended a regular meeting as usual, but as soon as she entered the conference room, she sensed something was off.
The usually noisy meeting room fell silent the moment she walked in.
This silence was clearly directed at her.
Summer maintained her composure as she walked to her seat and sat down, not needing to look up to feel all the eyes on her back.
What's this about today?
She couldn't help but wonder inwardly. After arranging her things, she decided to send a message to her assistant, asking about the situation.
Her assistant quickly replied with a picture, a screenshot of a chat record from the company's employee group.
Before Summer could fully take in the screenshot, a shadow appeared in front of her. Looking up, she saw it was Ming Yue, the design supervisor from another project team.
Their demeanor was aggressive.
Summer, confused, nodded slightly at her, "Good morning, is there something you need?"
"Hardly good," Ming Yue scoffed, lowering her head, drawing close to Summer, "Director Lowell, you've got quite the skills. No wonder you became the design director of the branch at such a young age. You're impressive; we concede defeat."
Being met with hostility so early in the morning, Summer's expression became even more bewildered, "What are you talking about? Why don't I understand your words?"
"Keep pretending. Everyone says Director Lowell has unmatched talent and exceptional social skills. I've certainly witnessed it today."
Ming Yue's tone grew increasingly sarcastic. Provoked, Summer's temper flared, and she directly retorted with a dark expression, "If you have something to say, say it directly. There's no need for this kind of mockery."
After she spoke, Summer turned to the people filling the meeting room, "If anyone has something against me, bring it up openly. What kind of behavior is gossiping behind someone's back?"
"Hmph, with skills like yours, who dares talk about you behind your back! All we ask is that you ease up a bit so we can live a little better."
After saying that, Ming Yue left the conference room, leaving Summer bewildered and frustrated, unsure where to direct her anger as she endured the blatant stares from those around her.
Unable to take the scrutiny any longer, Summer stormed into Elias Joyce's office.
There, she learned the full story.
It turned out that the project design draft Ming Yue was responsible for had been anonymously leaked online, effectively ruining the project.
All her hard work was for nothing.
Worst of all, the evidence pointed to Summer.
Which was why Ming Yue had publicly insinuated against her in the meeting room.
"President Joyce, I understand Ming Yue's feelings, but this has nothing to do with me!" Summer couldn't help but stand up and explain.
Elias signaled for her to sit down, "The incident has already happened. The priority now is to minimize unnecessary losses. To avoid suspicion, please hand over all the materials related to Ming Yue's project to me, and I'll handle this matter."
Summer felt a wave of unjustified indignation and remained silent.
Elias observed her, sighing.
Finally, Summer spoke with a firm look on her face, "You don't believe me either, do you?"
"It's not about whether I believe you," Elias said, looking at Summer, "All the evidence points to you. It's undeniable. Everyone thinks you're the one behind this. Unless you can present evidence to prove your innocence."
"I already said, I'm not the one who did it."
Elias suddenly frowned, "Summer, don't you get it? Everyone thinks you have the most to gain from Ming Yue's project failing. You're the direct beneficiary."
Implicitly, Summer stood to benefit the most from this outcome, while others had no reason to do it.
Summer was exasperated, "Just because I'm the most likely to benefit from the project's failure, they're assuming I did it? Don't you think that's unfair to me?"
Seeing her reaction, Elias shook his head in exasperation, picking up a tablet beside him, unlocking it, swiping it a couple of times, then pushing it to her, "See for yourself."
Suppressing her anger, Summer picked up the tablet and followed Elias' guidance, scrolling down slowly.
The more she scrolled, the darker her expression became.
The leaked design draft online was identical to Ming Yue's, and crucially, there were even pictures of Summer dining with executives from a rival company.
The angles of the photos were deliberately taken. Although unclear and without showing faces, they were enough for onlookers to guess the identities of the two people in them.
"Do you understand now?" Elias spoke as he picked up a folder from beside him, tossing it in front of Summer, "Only you, Ming Yue, and I have handled these design drafts. Who do you think leaked them?"
Summer bit her lip tightly, looking at Elias with a pale and helpless expression after a long pause, "So no matter how I explain, no one will believe me, right?"
"Ming Yue has worked tirelessly on this project for over three months, and I'm counting on this project to get some bonuses from headquarters. So there's no way she or I leaked the drafts."
"So you suspect me?" Summer shut down the tablet, putting it back on the table, looking at Elias with desolation, "As I said, I did not leak the drafts. I, Summer Lowell, stand by my principles and would never resort to such low tactics."
But as she finished speaking, Summer caught a hint of mockery in Elias' eyes.
Of course, the position of design director that she held was secured through being undercover for Maxim Sinclair.
She had once acted as a business spy, which in scrutiny, was also a low tactic.
"I am willing to undergo an investigation, but as I've been saying, although this matter seems linked to me, I truly did nothing. As for the dining photo, I swear it was just a casual meal with friends, unrelated to work."
Seeing her sincere demeanor, Elias didn't press further, "I'll trust you for now, but you'll still need to provide an explanation. If you can't find evidence to prove your innocence within a month, I'll have to report this matter to headquarters."
Faced with this unjust predicament, Summer could only stifle her frustration, "Understood. I'll work to uncover the truth as soon as possible."
After leaving Elias Joyce's office, Summer struggled to focus on work for the rest of the day, forcing herself through the hours until she got home. With no appetite, she collapsed onto her bed in the bedroom as soon as she stepped through the door.
Just then, her phone rang, lying next to her. She picked it up to see it was a message from the bane of her existence, Maxim Sinclair.
"Congratulations!"