Chapter 21
"Ms. Smith, you've got it wrong." Jerry quickly explained, sweat beading on his forehead. "Ophelia's project proposal was excellent, better than all the other candidates'. I assigned the project based on ability, without any personal bias."
"Based on ability?" Ainsley let out a cold laugh and walked up to Ophelia, looking her up and down with contempt in her eyes. "What ability could an abandoned woman possibly have? I bet she used that face of hers to seduce you and got this project that way."
The words were so harsh that even the colleagues nearby couldn't stand it. Some couldn't help but frown, though they didn't dare speak up.
Ophelia paused while organizing her documents, looked up, and met Ainsley's gaze calmly. "Ms. Smith, you need evidence when you make accusations."
"Whether I'm capable or not is clearly written in my proposal. You're welcome to review it."
"As for my personal life, what does that have to do with work? Ms. Smith, as the daughter of the Smith family, aren't you afraid of embarrassing them by speaking so crudely?"
"How dare you call me crude?" Ainsley exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, raising her hand to slap Ophelia across the face.
Ophelia was prepared. She shifted slightly to the side and caught Ainsley's wrist.
Her grip wasn't strong, but it was firm, and her eyes were cold as ice. "Ms. Smith, this is a company, not a place for you to throw tantrums."
Ainsley struggled twice but couldn't break free. Her face turned red with anger. "Let go of me! You bitch, how dare you lay hands on me?"
"I didn't hit you. You were the one who tried to strike first." Ophelia said flatly and released her hand.
Ainsley stumbled and nearly fell, but was caught by the bodyguard behind her.
This made her even angrier. She pointed at Ophelia and shouted at Jerry, "Mr. Nelson, did you see that! She actually laid hands on me! If you don't fire her, I'm going to tell my grandmother! I'll tell her you're all ganging up on me, and have her remove you from your position!"
Jerry's face went pale instantly.
"Ms. Smith, there must be some misunderstanding..." Jerry could only try to smooth things over, though his tone lacked confidence.
"What misunderstanding!" Ainsley wasn't having it. She pointed at Ophelia's nose and cursed, "I think she's nothing but trouble. Keeping her at the Smith Group is an embarrassment! Fire her right now! Or I'll have my grandmother fire you, too!"
Watching Ainsley act so foolishly while using Mireille as her shield, Ophelia found it laughable.
"Ms. Smith," Ophelia stood up and looked directly at her, a hint of mockery in her eyes, "I got into the Smith Group on my own merit, and I won this project on my own merit. If you want to fire me, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."
"Besides, although Mrs. Smith dotes on you, she values fairness above all. If you make a scene here over a personal grudge and even threaten your superior, word will get out, and the Smith family will be the ones truly embarrassed."
Ainsley was momentarily speechless. She hadn't expected Ophelia to dare speak to her like this, or even criticize Mireille.
"You..." Ainsley trembled with rage, pointing at Ophelia but unable to form a complete sentence. Finally, she could only throw out, "Fine, you just wait!"
With that, she turned and ran out, her retreating figure looking more pathetic than angry.
Seeing this, Freya quickly followed in her high heels, wearing a concerned smile on her face while secretly delighted inside.
She knew Ainsley was truly furious this time.
In the elevator, Ainsley's chest heaved violently with anger, her delicate makeup slightly smudged.
"That bitch! How dare she! How dare she speak to me like that!" Ainsley said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to make her pay!"
Freya stood beside her, offering a tissue at just the right moment, her voice so soft it could drip honey. "Ainsley, calm down. Don't get angry over someone like that. She's not worth it."
"Not worth it?" Ainsley pushed the tissue away, her eyes red. "She humiliated me in front of all those people! If I don't destroy her, I'm not Ainsley!"
A flash of satisfaction crossed Freya's eyes, though she continued to act understanding. "I know you're hurt. Actually, I was just thinking it would be great if we could just fire her directly, so we wouldn't have to deal with the annoyance."
"Fire her?" Ainsley let out a cold laugh, her expression turning sinister. "After the way she spoke, just firing her would be letting her off too easily."
"She thinks she's so capable, doesn't she? So competent? If I let her leave now, wouldn't I be doing exactly what she wants?"
Freya's mind stirred, and she put on a thoughtful expression. "Ainsley, are you thinking..."
"The Smith Group is about to hold its anniversary celebration, right?" A cruel smile curved Ainsley's lips. "I heard it's going to be a big event, with many important clients attending."
Freya immediately understood her meaning, her eyes lighting up. "You mean, assign the anniversary planning to her?"
"Exactly." Ainsley nodded. "I want her to be responsible for this anniversary celebration. If she does well, that's what she should do. But if she doesn't..."
She paused, her tone full of malice. "Then it's a major dereliction of duty! When that happens, not only will she have to pay compensation, but she'll be completely blacklisted in this industry!"
Freya's smile deepened. "Ainsley, that's brilliant! This is a huge trap that even veteran employees might not be able to handle, let alone someone new like her."
"If she dares to accept, she's asking for death. If she doesn't dare accept, that's insubordination, and she'll have to leave anyway."
Ainsley looked at Freya with satisfaction, as if already seeing Ophelia begging on her knees. "Freya, I'm leaving this to you. Go tell Mr. Nelson that I specifically want Ophelia to be in charge of the anniversary celebration."
"Alright, I'll take care of it right away." Freya quickly agreed, though inwardly she felt even more contempt for Ainsley's stupidity.
For the sake of pleasing Freya, Ainsley was willing to disregard the Smith Group's interests.
But this suited Freya's purposes perfectly.
That afternoon, Jerry came to Ophelia's workstation looking troubled.
"Ophelia, come to my office for a moment."
Ophelia put down her work and followed Jerry into the office.
She had actually already prepared herself for the worst.
After all, Ainsley had made such a scene earlier. Jerry calling her in now was probably to fire her to appease everyone, or at least to make things difficult for her at work.
"Have a seat." Jerry pointed to the chair across from him, hesitating, looking even worse than before.
Ophelia's heart sank.
From the looks of it, this probably wasn't just a simple firing. Was he going to make her pay some kind of compensation?
She sat down calmly and got straight to the point. "Mr. Nelson, just tell me directly. Are you firing me?"
Jerry was taken aback, then smiled bitterly and waved his hand. "Firing you isn't quite it... But there's a more difficult matter that's landed on your plate."