Chapter 275

Chapter 275

I stopped what I was doing, slowly leaned back against my chair, and let my gaze rest calmly on Sarah's face.

The office was very quiet, with only the faintwhir from the air conditioning vent.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the blinds, illuminating alternating light and shadow across her face, making her expression look somewhat distorted.

"Sarah," I began. My voice was not loud, but it carried a calm, unquestionable authority, "I gave you a chance."

Sarah raised her eyebrows, as if she wanted to argue back.

I didn't give her the opportunity to speak, continuing in that matter-of-fact tone: "From your first day here, I sent you meeting notices, gave you project materials, added you to the work group, and I even gave you an opportunity to get involved with the project."

I paused, looking at her eyes that were smoldering with anger and defiance.

"But you didn't cherish it."

"As soon as you arrived, you wanted to give us a warning—you didn't respond to meeting notices, didn't answer calls, didn't reply to messages, and deliberately came in late."

"At the meeting, in front of everyone, you showed up late and tried to use your status as George's girlfriend and some pastries to form cliques and disrupt the team atmosphere."

My pace wasn't fast, but each word landed clearly in the air, and on Sarah's suddenly changing face.

"Sarah, get this straight—this isn't the Smith Group, and it's not a company where you can do whatever you want."

"You wanted to join this project yourself. Since you're in, you need to follow the rules here and listen to me, the person in charge."

I watched as the sense of superiority on her face crumbled bit by bit, revealing the real embarrassment and anger underneath, my tone growing even colder:

"If you're not happy, if you think themenial task I assigned you doesn't match your status, if you think that because you came here with George's five hundred million dollars, we should treat you like an elder and listen to you in everything..."

I leaned forward slightly, catching her gaze, filled with fierceness and anger, saying each word clearly:

"Then you can leave. Anytime."

"I won't force you to stay."

"You—" Sarah suddenly gasped, as if my last sentence had completely enraged her.

Her cheeks flushed an unhealthy red with anger, her voice becoming slightly shrill with emotion:

"So what if I wanted to give you a warning?"

"You deserve it, it's what you should get—George invested five hundred million dollars in your company!"

"Five hundred million dollars! You should be grateful! You should listen to me! I'm the one who brought the money!"

Sarah finally said what was really on her mind.

In her twisted logic, George's five hundred million wasn't an investment—it was a reward, a privilege that gave her the right to do whatever she wanted in this project.

I looked at her expressionlessly, experiencing profound emptiness.

"Then leave." I leaned back in my chair again, my tone flat. "You don't need to participate in this project anymore."

"Why should I?" Sarah sounded like she'd heard the biggest joke, her voice suddenly rising, sharp with disbelief. "Grace! What gives you the right to fire me? Who do you think you are? Do you really think William would give up five hundred million dollars for you? You're just..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but I could guess what she wanted to say.

Just a woman William dotes on who can't be brought into proper company.

In the face of five hundred million dollars in cold hard cash, any affection is just wishful thinking.

She was certain that William was the one who really made the decisions, and William couldn't possibly give up that huge investment just to make me happy.

Unfortunately, she didn't understand William at all, and she underestimated me too.

Her angry face looked so silly to me.I didn't waste any more words on her.

I picked up the desk phone, pressed William's extension, and then pressed the speakerphone button.

The ringing tone sounded particularly clear in the quiet office.

Sarah probably didn't expect me to do this. She froze for a moment, then her face showed an expression of watching a good show.

She thought William would take her side, and a smug smile was already forming at the corners of her mouth.

The call was quickly answered, and William's steady voice came through the speaker with a hint of confusion: "Grace, what's wrong?"

I glanced at Sarah. She was holding her breath, staring intently at the phone.

"William," I began, my voice steady, "if someone on the project is slacking off, not following instructions, disrupting team cooperation, and affecting project progress, as the person in charge, can I fire that person directly? Without going through HR, and without considering other factors?"

I deliberately emphasized "other factors."

The line went quite for a couple of seconds.
Sarah's body tensed almost imperceptibly, and that expression of watching a good show was gradually replaced by a hint of unease.

Then, without any hesitation, William's voice came through the speaker, filling the entire office:

"Of course you can. You're fully in charge of this project, including all personnel decisions. You don't need to ask me—just decide directly."

I pressed the disconnect button.

In the office, a deathly silence.

Only the soft click of my pressing the disconnect button still echoed in the air, like an invisible slap that landed hard on Sarah's face.

I looked up at her.

The expression on Sarah's face completely froze the moment she heard William's answer.

Shock, disbelief, embarrassment, humiliation, and a trace of bewilderment and fear at being completely slapped down.

She probably never dreamed that William would support me so resolutely, that even the huge bargaining chip of five hundred million dollars couldn't make him waver in the slightest.

Sarah opened her mouth, seeming to want to say something, but couldn't get out a single word.

Her face went from flushed red to gradually pale, and finally, only a gray, deathly stillness remained.

She stared at me hard, her eyes incredibly complex—with hatred, unwillingness, and humiliation.

But more than anything, there was a sense of powerlessness at being completely trampled under my feet.

"You..." she finally squeezed out a broken syllable from her throat.

I didn't pay any more attention to her.

I picked up the document that needed signing, lowered my head, and began reading it carefully, as if she no longer existed.

Sarah stood frozen in my office for a full minute.

Finally, she said nothing, just suddenly turned around and practically stormed out of my office.

She slammed the door behind her with such force that even the picture on the wall shook.

I put down my pen and rubbed my temples.

Although I had won that confrontation on the surface, I didn't feel any satisfaction—only a deep exhaustion.

I was just trying to scare her earlier.

If she could rein herself in from now on and do those grunt tasks properly without causing trouble for me or the project, I could pretend nothing had happened before.

I needed that five hundred million dollars.

Star Tech needed it too.

But if Sarah remained stubborn and only knew how to cause trouble, disrupt things, and stir up problems...

Then regardless of that five hundred million dollars, regardless of what George would think, I really would fire her.

In the afternoon, Emily snuck into my office with an expression of ghostly surprise on her face.

"Grace, what did you say to Sarah?" she asked in a low voice, mysteriously. "How did she become like a different person?"

I looked up.

"Just now!" Emily leaned in closer. "I passed by the common area and saw her actually organizing those mountains of industry reports, taking notes in a notebook, and the key thing is, she wasn't complaining or venting to anyone. Is this a miracle?"

I was somewhat surprised.

Had Sarah really been scared into actually working?

I briefly told Emily about my conversation with Sarah in the office at noon.

After listening, Emily's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open: "Oh my god, you really said that to her? And called William right there on the spot?"

I nodded.

Emily stood still in disbelief before murmuring: "I didn't expect Sarah to actually value this project so much? She'd rather swallow her pride and let you boss her around doing grunt work than leave?"

"I thought for sure she'd immediately call George crying and get him to pressure you!"