The Cherished Wife

J bit her lip and hesitated, but then hurried after Becky, her pride not allowing her to back down. "Just so we're clear, I'm not intimidated by you. Everything I'm doing here is for Charles," she declared.

Becky let out a dismissive snort and did not bother with a reply.

To Becky, J was just another newbie who had never dealt with the grind of office life. She was someone who could not handle the heat.

When they arrived at the office, Becky pointed to a cleared-out corner. "Ms. Baker, this is your new workspace. These papers on the desk are from the secretary before you. Mr. Hoffman thinks you're not ready for the important projects just yet. You'll spend this month getting up to speed with these."

Becky thumbed through the top file from a massive pile of paperwork and pointed. "Ms. Baker, I hear you're a Capiton Finance Academy alum? Impressive school. This should be a walk in the park for you, then. Take your time. I've got my own work to handle!"

"Becky," J said through clenched teeth. "I don't want to do this!"

"Sorry, but this comes straight from Mr. Hoffman. At Collosus Group, his word is the final word. We don't get to pick and choose. If you're not up for it, feel free to walk out. Collosus Group isn't exactly hurting for talent!"Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.

Becky watched as J's face turned a shade of stormy blue, smirking to herself before heading to her office to dive into her own tasks.

By lunchtime, J was at her

breaking point and dialed up

Clarisse to vent, badmouthing Becky and pleading for Clarisse to help her get even. To her surprise, Clarisse did not bite. "J, I've set the stage for you but the next act is yours to perform. If you want to be in Charles's good graces, you've got to put in the work-do not stir up drama at the office. And Becky, the secretary who's earned her spot? She's got Charles's trust. Don't pick fights with her; win her over. You catch my drift?"

"I get it," J replied, biting her lip and feeling utterly defeated. "I'll play nice, but Charles won't even give me the time of day right now."

"If he doesn't want to see you, then

you've got to find a way to make t happen. You're not getting any younger, and there are some lessons I can only teach you once. I can't do everything for you!"

"Hey, did you guys hear the news? This morning, someone pretty legendary showed up out of the blue on the twenty-seventh floor."

Noelle was having lunch with her work friends in the cafeteria, and Brian was sitting nearby. Since she had started at Collosus Group, Noelle had her eyes opened to whole new world of talent and realized her own knowledge was pretty basic. She had learned a ton in a short time and had gotten along with everyone pretty well.

She and Arya had butted heads at first, but things had mellowed out recently. Arya had stopped picking on her, and they had even struck up a friendship.

They had just gotten back from a site visit and made it to lunch just in time to overhear the chatter about the twenty-seventh floor.

Noelle was not all that interested at first, but Arya loved a good piece of gossip. When the talk turned to the twenty-seventh floor, she dove right into the thick of it.