After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 140

Whenever Catherine bumped into Shirley, Shirley always looked like she’d already won. She never bothered to hide the way she sized Catherine up, as if everything Catherine had accomplished before was barely worth noticing.

Meanwhile, things were changing fast at The Blair Group. After a few top executives were let go, Lawrence wasted no time bringing in new managers who were not just competent but impressive in ways no one expected.

The real shock was where they came from. Every single one of them had just resigned from Nexus Dynamics only days earlier, and now they had joined The Blair Group, stepping right into key roles in both the tech and business teams.

***

At The James Group, Waldo sat at his desk, scanning the report his assistant had just handed him. As he read the names, his eyes widened in disbelief.

“Harden, former Asia-Pacific tech manager from Nexus Dynamics. Amanda, deputy director of investments. Nash, senior manager of marketing…” He read the list out loud, trying to wrap his head around it.

These people weren’t just good at their jobs. They were the kind of top talent any company would fight to keep, and yet, somehow, they’d all jumped ship to The Blair Group—together.

Waldo stared at the report, still struggling to believe it.

Could this really be a coincidence?

No way. Someone had to be pulling strings behind the scenes, moving these people around with purpose and speed. Why else would they leave a leading tech company for an outsourcing firm?

Was Nexus Dynamics really paying that much attention to The Blair Group? If so, what for?

He narrowed his eyes, unwilling to believe that Lawrence could pull off something like this. Lawrence just wasn’t on that level.

“Hey, Shirley. Are you ready for your presentation tomorrow?”

“I’m all set. Are you coming to watch?” Her voice sounded hopeful.

Waldo’s gaze sharpened. “Yeah. I’ll be there.”

“Great. I won’t let you down.”

After he hung up, Waldo leaned back for a moment. He wasn’t just going to see Shirley win the Project Apex Initiative. He wanted to see Catherine too.

No matter how much people talked about what Catherine had achieved, he still couldn’t quite accept it. How could the quiet, obedient girl who used to follow him around suddenly turn into some kind of tech prodigy? The thought just didn’t add up.