A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 87

This had to be the most embarrassing moment of Cassandra's life. All the board members were staring at her. A deadly awkwardness went through her body and she felt like everyone was analyzing her. 'This couldn't get any worse, ' she thought.

And worse of all, Rufus noticed it too. This was a big blow to her confidence.

"I have no idea as to why this design is similar to mine. But I'll look into it until I figure out what the truth is, I promise!" explained Cassandra.

Her explanation had no impact on those present. The board member who had spoken earlier screamed at her angrily, "How can they be so similar if you didn't plagiarize? That project is ahead of yours! Look into it? What will you look into? Truth is in front of our eyes, so please don't try to fool us. Don't try to find any excuses anymore. Just admit what you've done!"

This insult came as a surprise and Cassandra tried hard to stop herself from crying. She had no clue how to respond at this moment.

Whatever she would say would be in vain. Indeed, the bottom line was that the project had already begun in H City. ZC Group discovered the mistake hence it was reasonable for them to reject and return her design. Undoubtedly, they had asked for compensation. However, she knew this wasn't a mistake from her side. She was being set up by someone. She knew she didn't steal someone's work but had no idea how to convince everyone of her innocence.

Cassandra knew that she was not a design genius, but she was diligent enough. She had achieved her reputation through her hard work. But now she was being wrongly accused. 'How can I stand this injustice?' she wondered. Normally, she was a kind and forgiving lady, but when it came to her work, she was pretty serious. Swallowing her grief, she was determined to punish the person who had set her up.

Cassandra clenched her fist and stayed without uttering a word. Never before had she experienced such a public humiliation. A lump was rising in her throat which made her feel like crying. But she did everything in her power to hold back the tears since she knew showing her weakness would do nothing but to embarass her more.

Seeing Cassandra standing there helplessly, Rufus had the urge to help her. However, he controlled himself because helping her in front of these board members who were as sly as the foxes would make his emotions too obvious. And it would only create more problems for Cassandra.

"Well, I have a plan now. Why don't you take your annul leave, Manager Qin? You shall look into the matter and give us a satisfying explanation. As far as we know, ZC Group has not filed a lawsuit against us. To make things easier and quicker, I will send some men to investigate it as well. And guys, If Manager Qin is genuinely wronged, I'm sure the truth will come out eventually," said Rufus, trying to stop everyone from accusing Cassandra.

Cassandra immediately understood that Rufus had said those words to buy her more time. Earlier, she felt alone but his help made her feel truly thankful. She cast him a glance which indirectly meant thank you.

On the other hand, Rufus's words indeed subdued the situation. The board members decided not to push Cassandra too hard. They sighed, stood up and left the meeting room.

When everyone went away, Rufus signaled Leo to leave him and Cassandra alone. Obliging Rufus, Leo closed the door and left along with the others.

The moment the door was shut, Cassandra's tears started to flow. She could not hold them anymore. In front of Rufus, she had no fear of showing her vulnerability.

She squatted down, grabbed her knees, put her head into her arms and started sobbing sadly.

Watching the scene in front of him, Rufus felt a sudden pain surge in his heart. It felt as if he was being pricked by a needle. He hated seeing her look so miserable.

Now that everyone was gone, he had no intention to staying away from her. He stood up, walked to her and squatted beside her. For a moment, he watched her cry. Slowly, he stretched his hands and held her. In a forbearing tone, he said, "It's okay. Don't cry. I don't know about the rest but I trust you! At the moment, our priority is to find out how this happened. I can tell something is definitely fishy."

Cassandra raised her eyes and looked to Rufus through her tears. His words encouraged her to take some actions.

'Yes, I shouldn't be crying and sitting over here. This won't change anything! I didn't make any mistake then why should I be wailing? It's time to do something about it!' she said inwardly.

Rufus had shut out the critics and appointed her as the designer of a major design task along with this case. Due to this, she had to devote most of her time and energy to the other case. Hence the design for ZC Group was less urgent and did not make great progress. However, she did not completely leave it behind. In spite of her busy schedule, she worked on this design from time to time. Even though it wasn't her best work, it still had her effort in it.

'What went wrong?' she contemplated. Only after the party at which Lionel and Ivy's indecent video was leaked, could she devote all her time and effort on this design.

Slowly, Cassandra started to recall incidents and started filling Rufus with the details. Rufus, on the other hand, listened patiently as she spoke. Not a single word was ignored by him and he made it a point not to interrupt her. After she was done, a dead drop silence fell into the office. For a while, they both were left in thoughts. Frowning, he asked, "Have you ever shown this design to anyone else?"

Cassandra thought carefully for a few seconds and then shook her head.

"I know what you are hinting. But I don't think our people did it. No one would show their company's confidential information to others."

Rufus pondered over her words and nodded in agreement. Somehow he believed there wasn't a betrayer inside the design department. Otherwise, other projects would have encountered tons of difficulties. The ZC Group project was not a key project. Should there be a betrayer, it would make no sense to choose such an insignificant case to destroy her reputation.

"I think you should take some rest for a few days. I'll deal with the rest," Rufus said, trying to placate Cassandra's mood.

Cassandra nodded but after giving it a second thought, her mind went blank. 'Rest for some days? Where can I stay to take rest? And how?' she thought worriedly.

Rufus immediately realized the reason behind her confusion and helplessness. A comforting smile was shown on his face.

"I saw Michelle's assistant come here this morning. Didn't she send you an invitation? You can make some preparations and go. Being alone is boring, anyway."

Rufus knew that he was unable to accompany her this time because he had to go to H City. Over there, he had to check how things were going with the ZC Group.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Cassandra nodded obediently. She reached out and wiped off the tears from her face. In slow steps, she left the office.

'Who on earth is doing this to me? Someone had planned and set this vicious trap for me. The intention was to accuse me of plagiarism and it worked! Obviously, that person must have thought I would get expelled from the designing circle because of this. Plagiarism is considered a taboo in this field.

If I do nothing then people will assume I am guilty. Not only will I have to pay the whopping compensation, but also my reputation will be scarred forever, ' said Cassandra in her mind.

All these years, Cassandra had been treating her job with complete seriousness. Her goal was to become one of the best designers in this field. This wronged accusation would bring shame to her career. And this was something she couldn't afford.

'Who could this person possibly be?' wondered Cassandra, racking her brain. Secretly, Cassandra swore to make that person pay for his dirty deed.