His Last Command Came Back to Kill Him novel Chapter 83

Zelda already harbored a deep-seated grudge against her.

Now, feeling entirely justified, her tone turned viciously caustic.

"Since you're the reason the company is drowning in this PR nightmare, if you can't fix it, don't bother showing up. Stay home. Stop making a fool of yourself and dragging the entire team down with you."

A senior researcher quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Alright, that's enough. Let's all head to the conference room for the meeting."

They were all part of the same company, the same team. Ostracizing her wouldn't change the facts, and making a scene would only stall their workflow further.

Zelda let out a cold scoff, deciding to drop the interrogation. She spun on her heel and led the way to the conference room.

The senior researcher glanced at Whitley, a flicker of sympathy in his eyes. He lowered his voice to comfort her. "That's just how Zelda is. She's highly competent, incredibly proud, and the plagiarism scandal has given her the wrong idea about you. Don't take it to heart."

"Once you show them some real results and prove yourself, she'll back down."

"As long as you've got the skills, she won't target you forever."

Whitley offered a faint smile, her tone composed. "Thank you. I understand."

During her time at PurePath, she had never gone out of her way to flaunt her expertise. She had simply assisted Chisholm in the background.

For the past few years, her main focus had been on surviving the Sherwood family; she hadn't cared about corporate titles or recognition.

As a result, aside from Chisholm, no one in the company actually knew what she was capable of.

They all just assumed she was a mid-level pharmacological researcher.

Seeing her humble attitude and absolute lack of entitlement, the senior employee warmed up to her even more, offering a final word of advice. "If things get tough, just keep your head down and avoid her. She's notoriously stubborn and hard to please."

***

Whitley walked into the conference room. A thick project dossier sat in front of every chair.

This was the very project currently paralyzed by the scandal. The public was accusing Whitley of plagiarizing the core concepts, causing the company's reputation to tank and effectively bringing the project to a dead halt.

Whitley capped her pen and stood up calmly. "I've found the issue. I've mapped out the entire resolution."

The moment the words left her mouth, the conference room plunged into a dead silence. Every single head snapped in her direction.

The project's controversy was incredibly convoluted. The algorithms were dense, and tracing the origin of the concepts was a logistical nightmare. Even the most senior researchers were completely stumped.

And she claimed to have solved it in twenty minutes? Who would buy that?

Zelda immediately let out a harsh laugh. "Stop pretending. You can't find any proof to clear your name, so now you're just going to claim the logic is flawed to slip by?"

Chisholm cast a cool, warning glance at Zelda. His voice wasn't loud, but the authority behind it was absolute. "If you can solve it, by all means, come up here and present."

Zelda's face stiffened, and her mouth snapped shut. She had been stuck on this specific section for days without making an inch of progress.

Chisholm turned his attention back to Whitley. "Come up to the front. Walk us through your conclusions."

Whitley stepped forward. "I'll need to borrow the laptop."