Victoria had noment on McNeil''s behavior; after all, whatever he did with Violet was no longer any of her concern.


    As she and Ailie were chatting, someone knocked on the office door.


    Ailie nced over and saw a young woman whose face she didn''t recognize she couldn''t recall seeing her in any department before.


    "Ms. Turner, I''m Georgia, Ms. Marchand''s assistant."


    Victoria nodded coolly. "Is there something you need?"


    Ailie red at the neer with the ferocity of a tiger.


    No wonder she didn''t recognize her-Violet Marchand certainly knew how to make an entrance. She''d barely settled in and already had an assistant lined up.


    "Ms. Marchand asked me to let you know that there''s a press conference the day after tomorrow with The Langford Group. Mr. Garcia, Mr. Langford, Ms. Marchand, and several executives from bothpanies will be attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony."


    Ailie scoffed, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Isn''t the PR team handling the ribbon- cutting? Why bother Victoria with this?"


    Unbelievable-Violet just couldn''t leave things alone. Victoria hadn''t caused her any trouble, but Violet was always finding ways to provoke her.


    Georgia remained unfazed by Ailie''s bluntness, keeping her professional smile fixed on Victoria.


    "Ms. Marchand said no one in thepany is more presentable than you, Ms. Turner. She''d like you to serve as the emcee for the event."


    Ailie shot out of her seat. "That''s ridiculous! You can tell Violet Marchand that, if we''re ranking by looks, she''s only third in thepany. Let her be the emcee and wipe the "


    "Ms. Collins-" Victoria interrupted sharply.


    "You can tell Ms. Marchand I have no objections," Victoria said calmly.


    Ailie stared at her, incredulous. "Are you out of your mind? That woman—" She trailed off, words failing her. Victoria''s expression was unreadable. "Have you started drafting your resignation letter?" Victoria asked suddenly. Ailie looked at her, confused. "What?"


    Victoria''s gaze was steady. "You''ve worked hard for years at Quantum Core Technologies to earn your ce as a manager. Everyone knows you''re on my side, and Violet''s been out for me from the start. Now she''s a vice president, and I''m just a secretary-the gap couldn''t be bigger.


    Let me ask you: do you still want to stay at Quantum Core? If not, I can walk away tomorrow. Otherwise, she''ll keep making things unbearable for me, then find some excuse to get rid of you too. And once I''m gone, you won''tst here either."


    Ailie opened her mouth, but couldn''t deny Victoria''s logic.


    If Violet got Victoria fired, she''d be next.


    "So be it. Who cares? It''s not like I can''t find another job elsewhere," Ailie said, her patience finally at its end. She didn''t want Victoria to keep enduring this on her ount.


    Victoria looked at her, eyes dark and unreadable, her tone suddenly carrying a weight Ailie couldn''t quite decipher.


    "It''s not time yet. When the timees, if you want to leave, I''ll go with you."


    After Ailie left, Victoria forced her attention back to her work. Only when she''d finished did she remember to call her daughter.


    She wondered if Gwh had received the birthday gift she''d sent.


    Picking up her phone, Victoria dialed Gwh''s number.


    It rang for a long time before someone finally picked up.


    "Yeah?" came the voice on the other end-no "Mom," no greeting.


    "Gwyn, did the game arrive?"


    Gwh sounded impatient and distracted. "Yeah, I got it."


    "Do you like it?" Victoria asked, remembering how Gwh had begged her for it for weeks.


    "Mom, forget it. I don''t want it anymore. The single-yer version is boring. Violet let me try the online version—she''s amazing at it, and she even helped develop it.


    I don''t want to y this one. Violet said I could be the first to try the game when it officiallyunches. Anyway, Dad''s taking me out with Violet for dinner soon, so I can''t talk. Bye."