She Was Never Just a Pretty Face novel Chapter 47

Luther suddenly spoke up. "Jolie, you should leave."

Even though the scandal directly implicated her family.

Luther was giving her an out.

It was a blatant display of favoritism.

But Jolie still wasn't ready to concede. Her aunt had merely been careless and left a paper trail for Hilda to exploit. That didn't prove Hilda actually had the skillset to run a high-society banquet. Jolie opened her mouth to argue for the event, but Luther's patience had clearly run out. "Jolie."

His tone was hard and unyielding.

Jolie froze in shock.

Luther's mother, Eleanor, added her own veiled warning. "Jolie, since you're an employee of Aegis Group, it's best you distance yourself from this entirely to avoid suspicion."

It was a heavy, loaded statement.

Jolie had no choice but to retreat.

Once she was gone, Yara was left alone to face the music.

Armed with undeniable proof of Yara's embezzlement, Eleanor was fully prepared to call the police. But Luther stepped in, using a few well-placed words to de-escalate the situation. He arranged for Yara to cough up everything she had stolen before being permanently banished from the estate. Eleanor wasn't stupid; she knew her son was doing this to protect Jolie. But as a mother, she bit her tongue, merely patting Hilda's hand in a silent gesture of comfort.

Truthfully, Hilda couldn't care less.

Yara was fired.

Now, her priority was finding a competent replacement.

Eleanor trusted Hilda implicitly now.

She gave her unconditional support.

Nathan, too, was eager to see what Hilda was truly capable of.

Hilda wasn't interested in playing emotional games. She sat on the sofa in the grand hall, flipping through the staff personnel files. Finally, she looked up, her gaze sweeping calmly over the assembled employees. "Which one of you is Sophie's daughter? Step forward and let me look at you."

Rebecca stepped out from the crowd.

Hilda studied her for a few seconds.

She looked to be about twenty-four, young, with an earnest, honest face.

Hilda's tone was incredibly warm. "I see here you majored in Financial Management? With Yara's position now vacant, I'd like to appoint you. We'll start with a three-month probation. If it works out, you stay on with a generous salary of ten thousand a month. That's competitive with top executive pay in the corporate sector. I expect you to earn it. Of course, if you'd rather not work in domestic management, I can arrange a corporate white-collar position for you, though the starting pay would be closer to three or four thousand... Take a moment to think it over, but I need an answer right now."

Before the young woman could even open her mouth, Sophie anxiously rubbed her hands together and blurted out—

"Thank the young madam, quickly! This is the opportunity of a lifetime!"

Second, organizing the banquet logistics wasn't actually rocket science.

Third, both of Sophie's parents were respected veterans of the estate. Many of the older staff would defer to them out of respect, ensuring the younger Rebecca wouldn't be bullied or undermined. With all those factors combined, she was the absolute best candidate for the job.

And Hilda's instincts proved entirely correct.

Rebecca was incredibly diligent and exceptionally organized.

—She even had an excellent eye for aesthetics.

The preliminary mock-ups for the banquet thoroughly impressed Nathan and Eleanor.

Even Luther couldn't find a single flaw to critique.

He watched Hilda from across the room.

She stood directly beneath the dazzling light of the crystal chandelier.

Her elegant profile, the soft curve of her lips, the sharp, striking line of her jaw.

—She was utterly radiant.

She was surrounded by a cluster of staff members who now looked at her with genuine, deferential respect. They had been completely won over. The way they looked at her now was a mixture of newfound awe and something far more complex—which was exactly how Luther was feeling.