chapter176

Was she really just eighteen?

How could someone so young be this capable?

Who was she, really?

Everyone at the company knew Rose and Kylie were best friends from college. Parker and Rose had always enjoyed that protection, like nothing could ever touch them. But then Miss Norwood showed up. She hadn't even been with the company long, yet she managed to take Parker and Rose down, and even got all three of them thrown into jail.

It was unreal.

Now, everyone who'd ever done something shady at work was shaking in their boots.

Getting fired was scary, sure, but getting arrested was on a whole other level.

Marissa, the head of design, was the most rattled of all. Everybody knew she and Parker were close. The only reason she was in charge was because of him. Now that Parker was caught embezzling, what would happen to her?

The design department had already been gloomy since they'd been forced into that design competition, but today, the tension was suffocating.

Marissa looked worn out, like she'd aged ten years in just a couple of days.

Taylor, a designer Marissa had brought up herself, came over and lowered her voice. "Who even is this Miss Norwood? She's barely been here and already turned the whole place upside down. We haven't had one peaceful day since she arrived. And now she's even got Mr. Ragain and his whole family hauled off to the police? Does she have some kind of vendetta against them?"

Marissa shook her head, distracted. "I have no idea."

She could barely keep herself together, let alone worry about Parker. Honestly, she'd had enough of that old man a long time ago, ffit weren't for the need to keep her job, she never would've gotten involved with him. And she really hadn't known about him stealing all that money from the company Parker didn't just have her, anyway. He also had Giana, the accountant in finance.

Now it all made sense. He needed Giana so she could help him cook the books.

Taylor, seeing Marissa so out of it, got even more anxious. Marissa, Miss Norwood is hiring for the design department like crazy. What are we supposed to do? Does She really think being the new president means she can just ignore all of us old staff? I can't stand her. If it weren't for her, we'd still have our easy jobs. Now we have to worry about this stupid competition and if we'll even have a job tomorrow."

As soon as Taylor finished, a clear voice cut through the tension. If you have so much time to worry about getting fired, maybe you should use it to work on your designs. Win something in the competition and the company will be happy to keep you around."

Taylor froze on the spot.

Everyone in the department, Marissa included, turned to look at the doorway.

There stood Lydia. She was tall and

striking, her skin perfect and

Pnet

glowing, her features sharp and bright. She carried herself with cool, effortless confidence. She wore a crisp white short-sleeve shirt and a pair of black pants with unique tassels and metal accents. Black combat boots finished the look,

making her seem both stylish and bold.

M...Miss Norwood." Taylor's voice shook as she stared at Lydia, completely intimidated.

Lydia's icy gaze lingered on Taylor for just a moment before she walked into the department and headed straight for the conference room. She looked at everyone as she passed.

"Bring your pens and notebooks and come to the meeting. If you don't want to, you don't have to."