Chapter 68 Who Is the Real Daughter
Lily stood by, watching as Derek enthusiastically fawned over Sophie, bending over backward to please her.
In the past, this would have made her furious.
But now, she couldn't care less.
Sophie was a bit surprised, too. She didn't expect Derek to be so eager to please her.
When she noticed Lily earlier, she felt a twinge of annoyance. After all, Lily was the real daughter of the Roberts family.
People in this company were always quick to switch allegiances.
Derek's sudden cold shoulder to Lily was probably because Austin had given him a heads-up.
Sophie confidently soaked up Derek's flattery. "I'm new here and still have a lot to learn. I'll need your patience."
"These are just minor details. With you here, our branch will definitely shine. Let's head to the office for some coffee."
Sophie felt pleased with Derek's compliments.
She shot a triumphant glance at Lily, who was left out, and then headed to the office.
Lily calmly looked away and went straight to the HR department to check in.
The HR manager didn't even glance at her paperwork, coldly saying, "Start in the tech department first. We need to see if you can handle it before deciding on your employment."
They had hired many people to solve the firewall issue, but no one had succeeded.
Lily didn't mind. She wasn't here for a full-time job anyway, just a part-time gig.
She figured it would only take several days.
Lily didn't take the HR manager's indifference to heart and headed to the office area.
The tech team leader, Lorenzo, saw how young Lily was and couldn't hide his sarcasm. "An engineer this young? Did HR make a mistake?"
After all, they'd had many skilled people come in recently, and none had been able to solve the problem.
Now, a girl who looked barely out of her teens was supposed to fix the firewall?
Lily remained calm. "Since you haven't been able to solve it, let me give it a try."
She sat down at an empty desk and started setting up her computer for testing.
She remembered Lorenzo from her past life.
Back then, Lorenzo had testified for Sophie, claiming that Sophie had solved the firewall issue.
Soon, Sophie and Derek emerged together.
Derek called out loudly, "Everyone, stop what you're doing. Ms. Roberts is here to inspect the work. She'll be a colleague from now on."
Sophie gave a polite smile. "Hello, everyone. I'm just a newcomer. If I do anything wrong, I hope you'll all bear with me."
The office responded enthusiastically.
Lorenzo stood up, eager to please. "Of course, it's not every day we get a beauty in our branch. We have to take good care of you."
Lily stared at her computer, as if the commotion around her had nothing to do with her.
A female colleague next to Lily said enviously, "Ms. Roberts is so lucky, unlike us regular workers."
"Isn't that the truth? I heard Ms. Roberts is here to solve the firewall issue. She looks so young, probably still in college. What does she know about computers?"
Lily heard these comments but wasn't surprised.
In her past life, when she came to the branch to solve the firewall issue, Sophie had tagged along, claiming she wanted to learn. In reality, she was just a burden.
In the end, Sophie even took all the credit, and no one spoke up for Lily.
Soon, Sophie walked over, her perfume heavy in the air.
Lorenzo jumped up excitedly. "Ms. Roberts, do you have any instructions?"
Sophie glanced at Lily and smiled. "I came to ask about the firewall issue. Still no progress?"
"We're working on it. We even brought in a newcomer. It should be resolved soon."
Lorenzo looked at Lily with disdain. "Hey, get up and greet Ms. Roberts. Tell her your plan."
Lily looked up, expressionless. "I don't have a plan."
"What's with the attitude? Stand up when I tell you to!"
Lily stood up abruptly, pushing her chair back.
Lorenzo was startled. "Are you looking to get fired on your first day? She's Ms. Roberts!"
Lily smirked. "And who exactly is this Ms. Roberts?"
Sophie quickly intervened, "Let's not argue. Treat me like any other newcomer. No need for formalities."
Lorenzo immediately flattered, "You are right."
Lily turned and walked to the restroom, not wanting to see Sophie around.
As she washed her hands, Sophie stood at the door, smug. "I didn't expect to see you here."
Lily ignored Sophie.
Sophie, unwilling to let it go, said, "Lily, don't be mad. Austin specifically asked me to supervise the firewall project, and Michael knows about it too."
Lily, on the other hand, had suddenly shown up at the company, seemingly eager to please.
Was Lily regretting leaving home and trying to come back?
Lily flicked water from her hands, splashing Sophie's skirt.
Sophie was furious. "Do you know how expensive this skirt is?"
Lily chuckled. "Good, then you better not slip up. Otherwise, you'll go back to the life you truly belong to. You probably couldn't afford this skirt in your lifetime."
Sophie felt humiliated and glared at Lily's back.
'One day, I'll make sure you are beneath me!' She thought.
Lily returned to the office area and had just sat down when Lorenzo threw a stack of files at her. "Finish these before you leave!"
Lily placed the files on the side of her desk and continued testing the software, neither agreeing nor refusing to do the work.
Lorenzo was about to lose his temper, but saw Sophie and turned his attention to her.
A female colleague whispered to Lily, "Lorenzo is so eager. He must have a thing for Ms. Roberts."
"Ms. Roberts would never go for a guy like him. He's just a small team leader who likes to throw his weight around."
"Be careful, miss. If there's a company dinner, don't drink."
Lily smiled. "Thanks for the warning."
This time, she wouldn't attend any company dinners.
As the workday ended, Sophie announced, "It's my first day. I'd like to treat everyone to dinner."
The team responded enthusiastically.
Lily saw that her test results were almost done and began packing up to leave.
Sophie looked at her. "Want to ride with me?"
"No need. You all enjoy."
Lily's tone was indifferent, not giving Sophie any face as she left.
Sophie felt slighted but maintained a facade of generosity. "We know each other. I guess her personality hasn't changed."
Lorenzo quickly chimed in, "I can't believe she knows you. She doesn't even seize such a good opportunity. No wonder she can't find a decent job! I'll make sure to teach her a lesson tomorrow!"
Sophie smiled but didn't respond.
Sophie and the team headed to the restaurant, where Michael and Austin were waiting.
"Michael, Austin, what brings you here?"
Michael looked around eagerly and asked Sophie, "Where's Lily? Why didn't she come?"