Boss, Your Ex-Wife is Unreachable Now! novel Chapter 49

As the secretary set down the coffee and pastries, her eyes flicked over to York's phone, which was lying face-up on the coffee table. The screen displayed the latest trending news about STAR, the popular science fiction and suspense novelist.

She paused for a split second, gaze lingering, then quickly looked away.

But York noticed. He grinned and asked, "So, Secretary Fiona, you've been following this, too?"

Standing with perfect poise, Fiona returned his smile. "I saw it trending during my lunch break while scrolling Twitter. My younger sister is a huge fan of STAR, so I've been paying closer attention than usual."

York looked genuinely surprised. "Your sister's into sci-fi novels?"

Fiona's smile brightened. "She loves them. Actually, I've started reading them myself."

York made a thoughtful sound, curiosity piqued. "So, what do you think? Did STAR really plagiarize?"

Fiona shook her head, her tone unwavering. "Of course not. There must be some kind of misunderstanding."

Once she'd left the CEO's office with her tray, York immediately shot a teasing look at Beasley. "Even your Secretary Fiona thinks STAR's innocent. What's your take?"

Without looking up from his work, Beasley replied flatly, "Isn't it obvious?"

York laughed. "What's so obvious? I've seen that comparison chart—some of the world-building and even a few of the invented technical terms are exactly the same!"

It wasn't unusual for common phrases or general ideas to overlap, but it was another thing entirely when unique, made-up terminology matched word for word. That was what had the entire internet up in arms.

"So, between STAR and this Whiskey guy, one of them must have copied the other."

"But Whiskey's novel was published online a full year and three months before STAR's new book came out. How do you explain that?"

York rubbed his chin, half asking Beasley, half musing aloud.

"That's not hard to explain," Beasley replied, pausing just long enough to glance up at York. "STAR's original drafts or concepts could've existed well before Whiskey's story was posted."

Dorothy was delighted, urging Willow to come up at once.

When Willow entered the hospital room, she realized that not only was Dorothy's former father-in-law, Vincent, there, but so was her ex-husband, Beasley.

She barely gave Beasley a glance, acting as if he were invisible. Placing the fruit on the table, Willow went straight to Dorothy's side, carefully asking about her recovery before getting to the point. "Dorothy, I wanted to let you know—I'll be going off the grid to focus on writing for a while, so I probably won't be able to visit for the next few days."

Seeing that Dorothy looked much better, Willow could finally set her mind at ease and devote herself to her work.

Dorothy waved off her concern. "Don't worry about me. With Mr. Windsor here, and me feeling stronger, I'll be perfectly fine. Take all the time you need."

Dorothy had always known Willow loved to write, but since Willow had never been willing to let them read her work, neither she nor Vincent had ever pushed her. She figured Willow was just shy—especially with people she knew well, it was only natural to be embarrassed.

Dorothy truly understood.