Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 84

She let the call ring out. When he called back immediately, she finally answered, greeting him with a bright tone. "Good afternoon, Mr. Sterling."

Inside the private dining room, everyone exchanged knowing glances, their ears practically perking up for the gossip.

Xavier's voice was grim, carrying an undeniable tone of command. "Get to the company right now, Summer."

She kept her voice breezy. "I apologize, Mr. Sterling, but I'm quite busy at my new job."

His tone grew instantly colder. "Summer!"

She stood up with her phone, nodded an apology to the executives, and stepped out into a quiet corridor.

Only then did she offer a lazy reply. "If memory serves, I resigned. You don't have the authority to order me around."

"I will say this one last time. Get here now, or face the consequences!"

With that, he hung up abruptly.

She stood there, her slender fingers absently tapping against the phone. After a moment of thought, she turned back into the dining room.

She quietly informed Gavin of the situation, then raised her glass to apologize to the clients, explaining she had to leave early.

Sterling Group's system had been paralyzed all morning, causing massive financial hemorrhage.

Now wasn't the time to completely burn all bridges with Xavier, so she decided it was best to make an appearance.

Half an hour later, inside the Sterling Group R&D department.

The core engineers wore tense, grim expressions, racing against the clock to salvage the system.

Xavier and Lily stood behind them—one expressionless, the other rigidly anxious—looming over the team like two dark clouds.

It truly wasn't the time for bickering.

Lily knew this, but if she didn't deflect the blame right now, the label of 'useless' would be permanently glued to her forehead.

She scoffed defensively. "Whose fault is this? You deliberately withheld crucial access codes during the handover, locking me out of the system. If I had the permissions, I wouldn't have needed to call you. Do you really think you're that irreplaceable?"

Summer laughed and was about to retort when Xavier coldly cut her off. "If this isn't fixed in ten minutes, you will be held financially liable for all of the company's losses today, Summer. Expect a letter from our legal department."

"Hah..."

She let out a dry laugh.

Xavier checked his watch, his voice like ice. "You have nine minutes and fifty seconds."