Chapter 81

Isabella showed up at the office fifteen minutes early, just like the rules from headquarters said.

She barely had a chance to sit down before Cecilia yelled, "Isabella, get in here!"

Cecilia was in her office, looking furious with her arms crossed. There was a stack of papers in front of her-the same ones Isabella had Jeremy sign yesterday.

"Explain this!" Cecilia demanded, her voice icy.

"I can't explain it," Isabella replied, staying calm. "I'm not on this project team. All I did was get Mr. Wright to sign it."

"Didn't you check it before getting Mr. Wright to sign?" Cecilia pressed.

"Ms. Thorne, I don't know anything about this project. Bronte gave me the document, and I got Mr. Wright to sign it. That's it. If you want me to check it, I can only look for typos," Isabella said confidently.

Cecilia called Bronte in. Bronte looked upset and said, "Ms. Thorne, I gave Isabella the new version of the document. I don't know why she took an old one to get signed."

Isabella couldn't help but sneer, "So, you're saying a newbie like me on my first day is more capable than you, a seasoned employee? That's ridiculous.No matter how much you dislike me, you can't mess around with work."

"Bronte, this is your fault. I won't pursue it for now. The client needs this document ASAP. Print a new one and get Mr. Wright to sign it. Don't keep the client waiting,"Cecilia said.

"Ms. Thorne, if there's nothing else, I'll go,"Isabella said.

Cecilia nodded, and Isabella turned to leave.

"Wait!" Bronte called out, "Ms. Thorne, let's still have Isabella handle the signing. Our project team really can't spare the personnel or time."

Cecilia thought for a moment and then agreed, "Alright! Isabella, since you're new and don't have a set position yet, help Bronte's project team with some auxiliary work for now."

Isabella refused, "Ms. Thorne, I don't think it's appropriate. Yesterday, I just helped a little and was accused of taking an old document for signing.Luckily,you caught it in time. If something else happens, I can't take the blame."

Cecilia said, "The project team is short-staffed right now. Just consider it helping out. If there's any issue, come to me. How about that?"

"Alright, but my employee card level isn't high enough to access the area,"Isabella pointed out.

"Bronte, give her your employee card," Cecilia said. "Anything else?"

Bronte handed her card to Isabella, with a barely noticeable smirk.

Isabella had a gut feeling that Bronte was up to something again.

"No, Ms. Thorne, I'm leaving," Isabella said,then turned and left.

As Isabella walked out, Bronte watched her leave, closed the door, and started talking to Cecilia, clearly plotting something.

Isabella returned to her desk, and Giselle looked up from her work."Isabella,what did Cecilia want?"

Isabella replied, "Yesterday, I got Mr. Wright to sign an old document. Ms.Thorne wants me to get the new one signed again."

"You have to get Mr. Wright to sign it again?" Giselle said, surprised. "They really know how to push people around."

"What's the deal?" Isabella asked,confused.

Giselle got up. walked over to Isabella,lowering her voice,"You're new,so you probably don't know. Our Mr. Wright is known for being super meticulous. He never gives second chances. If you go to him for another signature, he's definitely gonna want a full explanation."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Isabella asked, feeling a bit panicked."It's not even my fault."

Giselle sighed. "At Mr. Wright's level, he has his own views on things. To us, this signing issue is just Cecilia and Bronte teaming up against you.But to Mr. Wright, it means you didn't handle your relationships with your colleagues well."

Isabella felt really frustrated. She thought, 'I don't even know Cecilia and Bronte, let alone have any conflicts with them. They're clearly setting me up. What did I do to make them dislike me? Is it just because I transferred directly from a branch to headquarters?'

"Could it be because I didn't go through the normal hiring process, so they're targeting me?" unable to contain her thoughts, Isabella voiced her confusion.

"I don't think so. There are direct transfers like you every year in the company. Maybe they're targeting you because they see you as... a rival in love?" Giselle speculated boldly.

"A rival in love?" Isabella's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You were recommended by Mr. Allen's son, Eric," Giselle said.

Isabella nodded. "He was my supervisor at the branch."

"That's enough to spark some imagination. There's a rumor at headquarters that Eric didn't want to come here and refused any matchmaking because he's secretly in love with a girl at the branch,"Giselle said.

Isabella awkwardly smiled. "Could it be that everyone thinks it's me?"

"It's possible," Giselle said. "What's more interesting is that Eric arranged for you to come here under the guise of Mr. Johnson's boyfriend."

Isabella said, "So, everyone thinks I'm Mr. Johnson's rival in love and that Mr. Allen sent me to headquarters to show his loyalty to Mr.Johnson?"

Giselle nodded. "Mr. Johnson is the company's heartthrob among the girls.The rival of a lover is also seen as a rival. These past few days, the most talked-about topic is about you. It even replaced the previous hot topic of Mr. Johnson and Eric's relationship."

Isabella was speechless. She thought, 'This Mr. Johnson is really popular with both men and women! Not only can he win over someone as talented and handsome as Eric, but he's also the heartthrob of many single women in the company. How handsome must he be!

Meanwhile, in Jeremy's office, Michael, who had taken over Jeremy's territory,suddenly sneezed.

Giselle whispered to Isabella, "Our Mr. Johnson is indeed handsome. Even I, a married woman, get a racing heart when I see him, let alone you young girls. Mr. Johnson doesn't come to the company often. When he does, I'll point him out to you."

Isabella nodded, not taking it seriously. She thought, Could Mr. Johnson be more handsome than Michae1? Facing Michael every day, I feel that Michael is the most handsome man in my heart.'

"Isabella, aren't you going to get Mr. Wright's signature? You still have

time to chat here!" Bronte had just emerged from Cecilia's office with the newly organized documents, throwing them in front of Isabella, and saying coldly, "Get it done before lunch!"

Isabella picked up the documents and stood up, feeling like she was walking to her doom.

"Are you really going to get Mr. Wright's signature?" Giselle asked,looking at her sympathetically.

"What else can I do?" Isabella smiled bitterly.

Now,she could only hope for luck to be on her side again, that Jeremy would remain kind and not make things difficult for her.