Chapter 40 The Trap She Set
Selene’s POV
“Lucian…”
Winnie stared at him in disbelief, her eyes wide as if she couldn’t process what she had just heard.
“I haven’t even explained the proposal yet.”
Her voice carried obvious unwillingness.
Lucian didn’t even look at her properly.
“Leave it on the desk,” he said coldly.
“But my brother specifically told me to go over it with you personally…” Winnie pressed on, biting her lip softly while trying to look pitiful.
I almost laughed.
The act was painfully obvious.
I crossed my arms and smiled lightly. “Ms. Ashford, are you suggesting my husband can’t understand the proposal on his own?”
The moment the word husband left my mouth, Winnie’s expression stiffened instantly.
“No!” she said hurriedly, waving her hands. “Lucian, that’s not what I meant.”
“Then leave,” Lucian replied flatly.
There wasn’t even the slightest warmth in his voice.
Winnie’s face turned pale for a second before anger flashed through her eyes again. Still, she didn’t dare argue further. She bit her lip tightly and finally turned around to leave.
But before stepping out, she threw me a vicious glare filled with resentment.
I smiled brightly in response.
Then I turned toward Lucian and gave him an approving look.
“Nicely done.”
His expression remained calm, though there was something unreadable in his eyes.
“I thought I was just a stranger to you,” he said slowly. “So why are you suddenly calling me your husband?”
I let out an awkward laugh.
“Well…” I dragged out lightly before shrugging. “You like Teressa, don’t you? I’m only helping you get rid of all these annoying admirers.”
I tilted my head slightly and added with deliberate innocence, “Wouldn’t want your precious Teressa getting jealous over women constantly clinging to you.”
Lucian stared at me for several silent seconds.
Something flickered briefly across his face before disappearing again.
Then he waved his hand dismissively.
The meaning was obvious.
I was free to leave.
I didn’t waste time lingering there. The sooner I escaped his office, the better for my peace of mind.
But the moment I stepped outside, Frieda’s voice echoed sharply in my head.
“Watch out.”
My instincts reacted instantly.
I lowered my gaze just in time to see Winnie subtly sticking out her foot, clearly trying to trip me.
Seriously?
I almost pitied her.
Without even slowing down, I stepped lightly over her foot and regained balance effortlessly.
Then I turned toward her with a sweet smile.
“Ms. Ashford,” I said calmly, “didn’t my husband tell you to leave already?”
I paused briefly before adding innocently, “Why are you still standing here? Guarding the door?”
For a second, Winnie didn’t react.
Then realization hit her.
“You—!”
Her face flushed red immediately.
“You called me a guard dog?!”
The fury in her eyes almost made me laugh.
Nearby, Yale looked like he deeply regretted witnessing this scene.
I glanced toward him calmly.
“Yale,” I said politely, “doesn’t Moonveil Group have rules regarding unauthorized visitors? Shouldn’t Ms. Ashford be escorted out?”
Winnie looked ready to explode.
“What right do you have to kick me out?” she snapped furiously.
I smiled calmly.
“I don’t,” I admitted easily. “But he does.”
I nodded toward Yale.
Poor Yale nearly looked ready to cry.
Still, under Lucian’s authority, he had no choice.
“Ms. Ashford…” he coughed awkwardly before stepping forward. “Please leave.”
Winnie’s chest rose and fell violently with anger.
Her eyes looked ready to shoot fire straight through me.
“Selene,” she hissed through clenched teeth, “just wait.”
I smiled sweetly at her.
“I’ll try.”
That only made her angrier.
She stormed toward the elevator, turning back every few steps just to glare at me again.
Honestly, watching her lose control so easily was strangely entertaining.
I even blew her a playful kiss before turning away completely and heading back toward the secretary department.
Dealing with arrogant women like Winnie was honestly satisfying sometimes.
Unfortunately, my peace didn’t last long.
I had barely sat down at my desk when Linda suddenly appeared beside me.
“There’s a meeting for the Lady Couture collaboration project,” she said stiffly.
I frowned immediately.
“A meeting?”
Why was I only hearing about this now?
As the person responsible for the project, I should have known in advance.
Something about this already smelled suspicious.
Still, I immediately stood and headed toward the conference room.
The moment I stepped inside, I saw Lucian seated at the head of the table.
His black suit fit him perfectly, emphasizing the calm authority he naturally carried. Even sitting there silently, he dominated the entire room effortlessly.
Cold.
Elegant.
Untouchable.
Like a king observing everyone beneath him.
Linda sat nearby alongside Catalina and the project designer, Thalia Lawson.
The moment I entered, everyone’s eyes turned toward me.
“Don’t be late for meetings in the future,” Lucian said coolly, his sharp gaze sweeping over me before gesturing toward an empty seat.
Late?
I glanced toward Linda immediately.
The smug satisfaction on her face answered everything without words.
So this was intentional.
Interesting.
Without arguing, I calmly walked toward my seat and sat down.
Lucian signaled for the meeting to begin.
Linda immediately straightened in her chair and cleared her throat professionally.
“I’ve been overseeing the earlier stages of the Lady Couture collaboration project,” she began smoothly, “but next season’s project leadership will officially be handed to Selene.”
Then she turned toward me with a perfectly fake smile.
“Selene,” she continued sweetly, “why don’t you brief Mr. Frostbane on the overall project progress?”
Ah.
There it was.
The real trap.
I instantly understood her plan.
She had deliberately hidden the meeting information from me, then pushed me into giving a presentation without preparation in front of everyone.
Worse still, she hadn’t even transferred all the internal project materials to me yet.
All I had were surface-level files.
Not nearly enough for a complete presentation.
She wanted to embarrass me publicly.
Clever.
Unfortunately for her—
She underestimated the wrong person.
I smiled calmly and stood up from my seat.
“My apologies,” I said smoothly. “I was only informed about this meeting five minutes ago, so naturally I haven’t prepared a formal presentation.”
“No one informed you?” Lucian asked immediately, his brows tightening slightly.
Linda reacted instantly.
“Ms. Nightbane,” she interrupted with fake innocence, “I personally instructed my assistant to send meeting notices to everyone involved.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“Are you sure you didn’t simply forget?”
Her tone remained polite, but the accusation beneath it was obvious.
“This is an important meeting,” she continued. “As the CEO’s secretary, making such a careless mistake is rather unprofessional.”
I looked at her calmly.
Then I smiled.
Coldly.
“I didn’t receive any email,” I replied evenly. “And email records don’t disappear permanently. Even deleted records can be recovered through the IT department.”
I held her gaze directly.
“I’m not foolish enough to lie about something so easy to verify.”
For the first time, Linda’s expression faltered slightly.
Only briefly.
But I noticed it.
“Of course…” she said quickly before turning toward Lucian. “Mr. Frostbane, since Selene isn’t prepared, perhaps we should reschedule the meeting?”
“No need,” I interrupted immediately before Lucian could respond.
Everyone looked at me.
Lucian leaned back slightly in his chair, one eyebrow lifting with visible interest.
“You’re unprepared,” he said calmly, “yet you still don’t want to postpone the meeting?”
“Indeed, I didn’t prepare beforehand,” I replied confidently. “But that doesn’t mean the meeting cannot continue.”
The doubt in the room became obvious immediately.
I could practically feel everyone wondering whether I had gone crazy.
Under their skeptical gazes, I calmly walked toward the whiteboard and picked up a marker.
Then I turned back toward everyone.
“As the project lead,” I said evenly, “it’s my responsibility to understand the project thoroughly.”
My gaze swept across the room calmly.
“If I need special preparation just to explain it, then I’m clearly unqualified to lead it.”
Silence filled the conference room instantly.
Linda’s eyes widened slightly.
Even Catalina looked surprised.
Everyone here knew Linda had intentionally tried to humiliate me.
She had spent almost an entire year managing this project herself.
Even she wouldn’t dare present everything without preparation.
Yet I had only officially taken over recently.
So how could I possibly do this?
At the head of the table, Lucian leaned back casually in his chair, one leg crossing over the other as he watched me closely.
There was curiosity in his eyes now.
Suspicion too.
Clearly, he also doubted I could present the entire Lady Couture project perfectly without relying on prepared documents.
Unfortunately for all of them—
They underestimated one very important thing.
The memory of an Alpha was never ordinary.