Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 3019

Adelaide offered a tight, plastic smile. "Please, if there's anything you're unhappy with, don't hold back. Emily is young and needs constructive criticism. We strive for absolute perfection here."

Orval shot her a loaded look. "It almost sounds like you're hoping we'd find something to hate."

"Of course not!" she backpedaled instantly. "I want nothing more than for you to be completely satisfied."

Exuding an effortless, intimidating authority, Orval remarked coolly, "It seems a 'fully prepared' draft falls woefully short of an 'unprepared' one. You clearly have a profound misunderstanding of the talent sitting in your own department."

Edwina stared a hole into the floor, her face burning with humiliation.

Adelaide's complexion turned a sickly shade of pale. "You are entirely correct. I clearly need to reassess my team."

Turning back to Emily, Orval's stern expression melted into a warm, genuine smile. "I love this concept. You captured exactly what I asked for, flawlessly integrated a modern aesthetic, and even solved several structural liabilities we hadn't anticipated. Outstanding work."

"It's still a work in progress," Emily noted humbly. "This was just to lock in the overarching aesthetic. I'll refine the schematics and follow up with Mr. Greco."

"You can bring it directly to me," Orval insisted, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "We'll coordinate one-on-one from now on. Call me if you run into any roadblocks."

"I will," she beamed.

Sitting off to the side, Adelaide looked like she was about to have a stroke.

"Then it's settled. Moving forward, Ms. Emily is Sterling's exclusive lead architect," Orval declared, rising from his chair. "I have another engagement to get to. Emily, bring all design updates directly to me. For administrative matters, you can deal with Mr. Greco."

"Understood," Adelaide choked out, forcing her lips into a smile. "Thank you for trusting us with this. When should we expect you to sign the finalized contract?"

They had only secured a retainer so far; the multi-million dollar contract was still pending.

Glancing at Emily, Orval smiled faintly. "I'll be back next week."

But while Edwina desperately wanted the promotion, she refused to destroy Emily's career to get it.

"After everything I did to pave the way for you, you completely choke!" Adelaide spat. "You are a massive disappointment!"

Edwina finally looked up, her expression hard. "Did it ever occur to you why she scrapped her original drafts and built a completely new presentation from the ground up? She's brilliant. Even if I had used her old files today, she would have presented the new ones, and Sterling would have picked her anyway!"

Emily wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what Adelaide was plotting.

She had spent the last week overhauling everything specifically because Adelaide had demanded to review her first drafts. She knew her boss was planning to weaponize them against her.

Adelaide's eyes darted frantically as the realization hit her. After a long, venomous silence, she let out a cold scoff and stormed out of the room.

Barely an hour into the afternoon shift, Ron summoned Adelaide to the executive suite. He looked absolutely apoplectic. "Padgett and Emily just handed in their resignations. They bypassed you entirely and went straight to HR. The CEO is refusing to process them. Explain what the hell is going on in your department."