The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 349

“You… you’re joking, right? Ramona is the Covington Group’s…”

“That’s right, Ms. Prescott. Our Ms. Jarrett—Ramona—seems to have quite a history with you, doesn’t she?” Wisteria chimed in, helpfully confirming Brianna’s worst fears. She loved watching drama like this unfold. Seeing a bitch get taken down a peg was truly entertaining.

Brianna’s face turned a sickly shade of green. She was speechless, her eyes wide with shock, as if her body no longer belonged to her.

Wisteria crossed her arms. “I heard that before our Ms. Jarrett returned to the Covington Group, you bullied her quite a bit, Ms. Prescott. And I also heard… you have a thing for being the other woman. How could a major company like Gallop Inc. send someone with such questionable morals to handle a partnership with the Covington Group? Not only does this make it seem like Gallop Inc. isn’t serious about this collaboration, but it also suggests that all of your employees are shameless. The damage to your reputation… would be severe.”

Wisteria threw Brianna’s earlier words right back at her, and the crowd erupted in a flurry of gossip. Brianna’s face cycled through shades of green and white. She knew Wisteria was kicking her while she was down, but she didn’t have the strength to fight back. The revelation that Ramona was the head of the Covington Group was enough to make her mind explode. She didn’t even have the energy to be angry with Wisteria.

“Wisteria, don’t get ahead of yourself. You have no right to speak here,” Holden snapped, reminding her of her place.

Wisteria just scoffed. With Yancey here, she wasn’t afraid of Holden. He hadn't stopped her, so she just rolled her eyes at him.

As the crowd grew larger, both Holden and Yancey realized they couldn’t keep airing their dirty laundry in public. They simultaneously signaled their people to disperse the onlookers and ushered Brianna and the others back to the conference room.

Brianna felt like she was floating as she walked, her feet barely touching the ground. Holden had said that Jotham knew all along that the Covington heiress was Ramona… Why hadn’t he said a word to her? No one from the Holt family had said anything! Brianna suddenly remembered the look in Jotham’s eyes. She had thought he was finally coming back to her, but he had been plotting against her all along.

Wisteria and Nova followed Yancey into the conference room. When Holden saw Nova, he shot her a cold glare. “Yancey, this is a business matter. Unrelated personnel should not be present.”

The project data Ramona had compiled for her graduation thesis had caught the eye of a top international firm while she was still refining it with her professor. Since it was her ticket to a good job, she hadn't published it. Later, when she joined the Holt Group, she hadn't needed it. Brianna knew Ramona's research had never been published and its ownership would be hard to prove, which was why she had dared to use it.

But… what if Ramona had a backup? Then she was finished. Forget Gallop Inc.—the charge of theft alone would be enough to ruin her.

“Ms. Prescott, I hear you’ve been unemployed for some time and just recently joined Gallop Inc. To become their representative in Havencrest City in such a short time… you must be very capable, very skilled,” Yancey said as he plugged the drive into his laptop. He didn’t look at Brianna, but she couldn’t sit still, her eyes glued to his computer screen as she forced herself to swallow.

Holden sensed something was wrong, and his brow twitched. What was this charade? And Brianna—wasn't she Ramona's sworn enemy? Was she really so intimidated by a little bit of status that she couldn't even speak? What a disappointment.

“Pull yourself together. Your history with Ramona is personal. Today, you are here as Gallop Inc.’s representative,” Holden whispered to Brianna.