Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Just then, the office door slammed open with a bang.

Ember rushed in, panting heavily. She blocked in front of me and said to Walter, "Mr. Wood, you can't believe what Scarlett says! She's deliberately targeting Layla!

Back at the company, she and Abigail treated Layla like a free servant, making her buy coffee and take out trash every day. Now that they couldn't break Layla down with their bullying, they want to frame her!"

Scarlett panicked and turned to glare at Ember, saying, "What are you talking about? When did I ever bully Layla? We're all colleagues, isn't it normal to help each other out?"

Ember let out a cold laugh and said, "Help each other? Making Layla get up before dawn to buy three different coffees—Scarlett, you wanted less sugar with no milk, Abigail wanted full sugar with double foam, and Layla only drank water herself. You call that helping each other?

Layla emptied the office trash for a whole month while you two never lifted a finger. That's helping each other too?"

Walter frowned, looking between Ember and Scarlett, his expression clearly wavering. He probably hadn't expected there was so much going on behind the scenes.

Seeing Walter's attitude soften, Scarlett quickly added, "Mr. Wood, there's no point talking about all this now! Brighton Corporation has already sent notice to terminate the partnership. The company's losses are huge—someone has to solve this problem, right?

Layla has a special relationship with Mr. Brown. As long as she's willing to ask him, she can definitely save this partnership!"

My chest felt blocked by something, stuffy and uncomfortable.

Ask William? I never wanted to have too much to do with him again for the rest of my life.

But thinking about the company losing a deal worth millions, Walter's disappointed look earlier, and Scarlett's smug expression, I was torn.

Ember quietly tugged at my arm and whispered, "Layla, don't stoop to Scarlett's level, but right now, it seems like only Mr. Brown can help. Even if you don't think about anything else, you need to think about clearing your own name."

I bit my lip and said nothing.

But Scarlett kept fanning the flames, saying, "Layla, if you really care about the company, stop being so proud. Mr. Brown even dealt with Philip and the others for you last night—he obviously cares about you. If you ask, he'll definitely help."

Walter chimed in too, "Layla, you need to take responsibility for this."

"Fine, I understand. I will." I had to agree. Given the current situation, I could only do what Walter said for now.

After the meeting ended, I left the conference room last, feeling really upset. 

This wasn't my fault to begin with, but now I had to take responsibility. I felt terrible inside.

My days at the company got harder and harder after that.

Because of the Brighton Corporation situation, Walter's attitude toward me was cold. Scarlett kept gossiping behind my back, saying I relied on the Brown family's backing and ruined the company's partnerships.

When Ember found out about this, she came to my desk to talk to me about it.

Ember said indignantly, "Layla, ignore that bitch Scarlett. The Brighton Corporation thing wasn't your fault at all. By the way, the Brown Legacy Jewels partnership we've been working on—we're supposed to discuss details next week. If this project works out, Mr. Wood definitely won't give you a hard time anymore."

I sighed and opened the partnership materials on my computer.

Brown Legacy Jewels was an industry leader, and this partnership was crucial for the company. But the person in charge of coordination was Mike, Philip's cousin.

The same guy who helped Abigail steal projects before and talked bad about me behind my back.

I frowned and said, "I'm afraid it won't be easy to negotiate. Mike is on Abigail's side. He'll definitely make things difficult on purpose. They're probably thinking of ways to come after me right now."

If I could negotiate this project successfully, I wouldn't be suffering here.

Ember said anxiously, "What should we do? This project is too important for us. We can't let them mess it up."

I was silent for a while, then suddenly remembered that Matthew was the actual person in power at Brown Legacy Jewels.

I hesitated for a long time, then pulled up Matthew's number. I stared at it for ages, my finger hovering over the screen again and again, before finally making the call.

"Hello." Matthew's deep voice came through the phone.

I took a deep breath and said calmly, "Matthew, it's me. I want to talk to you about the partnership between Brown Legacy Jewels and Urban Muse. Can you change the person in charge? The current contact, Mike, might not be suitable."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then he said, "Change the person in charge?"

His voice had no inflection, yet carried the weight of someone in authority that left no room for argument. "The partnership process was all decided by the board. Mike was the designated person selected through layers of screening by the project team. Why the sudden talk of changing people?"

I explained patiently, "I'm not deliberately making trouble. Mike has close ties with Philip from our company, and he previously helped..."

He interrupted, asking, "So you think the partnership can only work if we change the person in charge?"

"I think having someone more impartial would reduce a lot of trouble." I tried to phrase it tactfully.

Matthew said, "You can give me a reason that convinces me."

My expression instantly darkened. I knew Matthew wouldn't agree so easily, but I didn't expect him to be so direct about making me convince him.

I said coldly, "Matthew, I..."

Matthew interrupted me, saying, "Layla, do you think this partnership isn't important to your company? The Brighton Corporation project fell through. If you lose Brown Legacy Jewels too, your company's losses won't be small."

My fingers tightened around the phone. Of course, I knew how important this partnership was, but I didn't know what reason to use to convince him to help me.

I already owed him too many favors. I didn't want to owe more, and I didn't want to be controlled by him.

I said firmly, "Matthew, you're the head of the Brown Group. I respect your choice."

After saying that, I hung up directly, without any hesitation.

After hanging up, I took a deep breath and tossed my phone on the desk.

Just as I was about to get up and explain the situation to Walter, the phone on my desk suddenly rang. It was the front desk calling.

"Layla, Brown Legacy Jewels just sent a message saying they've changed the person in charge of the partnership and want you to go coordinate tomorrow."

I was stunned. Matthew had just deliberately made things difficult, and now he suddenly agreed. What did he mean?

My mind was full of questions, but I also knew now wasn't the time to think about these things.

Since the person in charge had changed, I couldn't miss this partnership opportunity.