Chapter 68

Emily didn't make it to the office until the afternoon.

When she finally showed up, everyone swarmed around her.

"Ms. Johnson, you're dating Mr. Smith? Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"You wouldn't believe it, the fireworks last night went on forever. Talk about burning money!"

Twitter was blowing up with posts about James and Emily.

Emily wasn't shocked by their reactions. Since she couldn't really explain,she just smiled.

Someone piped up, "Ms. Johnson, were you with James last night?"

Emily and Veda had been fiercely competing for a deal with the Golden Birch Group. Veda must be kicking herself now.

Thinking about it, Emily decided to rub it in a bit. Ignoring her colleagues'questions, she headed straight to the Golden Birch Group with her design drafts.

Before, the receptionists at Golden Birch would either stop her or make her sign in. But after last night, everyone assumed Emily was the queen of the place and couldn't wait to welcome her in.

Emily went straight to the design department to find Veda, who seemed unfazed by last night's drama.

Veda was surrounded by admirers.

"Veda, you're incredible, hosting a banquet at Celestial Cuisine for the city's

elite. You're the top socialite now."

"Veda, you've got the background, the education, and the design skills.You're perfect!"

When Emily had woken up at noon, she had noticed there were no trending topics about the scandal or the Johnson family heiress. She figured the Johnson family or John had paid to bury it. Those folks cared a lot about their image and wouldn't want last night's mess going public.

Even the fact that she had cut ties with the Johnson family hadn't leaked.

Emily found it laughable that the Johnson family would go to such lengths for Veda, an outsider's daughter.

Emily walked over, took out some medicine she bought downstairs, and handed it to Veda with a smile. "Veda, here's some medicine for you.You took a tumble down the stairs last night, so take care of yourself."

The moment Emily appeared, the illusion Veda had woven for herself came crashing down.

Suddenly, everyone was giving Veda weird looks. "Veda, you fell last night?Are you okay? You should see a doctor."

"Why don't you take a few more days off?"

Everyone's concern only made Veda, who was already upset,feel worse.

She had called John all night, but he didn't pick up. And he didn't come home.

Veda was freaking out. Deep down, she knew it wasn't the Johnson family backing her, but John. Yet Emily had just taken that support away.

Thinking about the slap John gave her before leaving yesterday, Veda's cheeks burned with pain.

She looked at Emily with a mix of jealousy and something else.

If Emily spilled what happened last night. Veda would be done at Golden

Birch, and her reputation would be trashed.

So Veda spoke up first, "Emily, what happened yesterday was my fault.I know I messed up. We're sisters, after all. Can you forgive me this once?"

"Sisters? Emmy already said last night she's done with the Johnson family.What makes you think you deserve her forgiveness? You took her parents,accused her of pushing you down the stairs, and now you're pretending to apologize. You don't deserve forgiveness."

Everyone turned to see who was speaking and saw a stunning woman walking in.

Veda's face fell when she saw Calliope.

Veda's voice shook. "Calliope."

Calliope gave her a cold look. "I don't care how you date John, but you'll never be the future hostess of the Williams family. You're not worthy."

The room went silent.

Calliope rolled her eyes at Veda and walked over to Emily, linking arms with her. She noticed some red marks on Emily's neck and sighed inwardly. Even though she knew John wasn't good enough for Emily,seeing her with other men still stung.

"Emmy, don't let Veda's words trouble you. I won't let you suffer."

"Thanks, Mom."

The fact that Calliope could just walk into the Golden Birch Group and her stylish outfit suggested she wasn't just anyone. And Emily calling her mom? Even Veda seemed to hold back in front of her.

This was getting weird.

Noticing their puzzled expressions. Calliope said, "I'm John's mother."

Everyone was even more confused. Calliope was John's mom, the head of the Williams family, yet she was openly dismissing Veda and letting Emily call her mom, looking at Emily with affection.

Just then, the head of the design department came over and said, "Mrs.Williams, the documents you requested are ready."

She shot Veda a cold look.

Calliope took the documents, her smile icy. "The design draft Veda submitted to Golden Birch was actually stolen from our Williams Group.Her work is ninety percent identical to ours."

Fear flashed in Veda's eyes.

The onlookers' gazes turned cold. Plagiarism was a serious offense in the design world.

The head of the design department had received a call from James early that morning, instructing her to investigate thoroughly.

James's tone had been intimidating.

He had asked, "Is the Golden Birch Group planning to plagiarize the Williams Group's jewelry designs in the future?"

The head of the design department had been sweating nervously. She had initially thought Veda's design was good and wanted to promote her.Luckily, none of that had started yet. She even felt a sense of relief.

She spoke up, "Mrs. Williams, we deeply apologize for this. We will provide appropriate compensation and dismiss Veda."

Veda's face changed. Everyone was whispering, making her feel utterly humiliated.

"I can't believe Veda's supposedly great work was actually plagiarized."

"No wonder we haven't seen her with a drawing board lately. Turns out she can't design at all. How embarrassing."

Veda stood there, tears in her eyes. She really needed this job.

She said. "Calliope, you can't do this to me."