Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 16

Emmy stopped in her tracks at the office door, spotting her father and Evelina right in front of her.

Evelina looked every bit the picture-perfect professional in a crisp white suit, her long hair softly curled, makeup on point, and a cheerful smile as she chatted with Cooper like she owned the place. All around them, movers shuffled in and out, arms loaded with boxes big and small.

But what really grabbed Emmy’s attention was the new nameplate: her old title, “Deputy Director Emmy Lincoln,” had been swapped for “Deputy Director Evelina White.”

Emmy strode up, her tone icy. “What’s going on here? Who said you could move my stuff out of my office?”

Evelina rushed over, her voice soft and anxious. “Emmy, please don’t get the wrong idea. Mr. Lincoln said you’re busy with your thesis and that work’s been stressful, so he asked me to help out for a bit. I thought it was just temporary…”

Emmy let out a cold laugh, locking eyes with her father. “Dad, did you really fire me from the company?”

Cooper’s face tightened. “Emmy, there are rules here. You haven’t really been focused on work these past six months, and the board’s getting impatient. I have to think about the best interests of Starlight.”

Her voice sharpened. “After everything I’ve done for Starlight, you’re seriously kicking me out over this? Don’t pretend this is about my performance. You’re just clearing the way for someone else.”

She shot Evelina a cutting look, making no effort to hide her contempt.

Evelina’s face went pale. “I’m sorry, Emmy. I thought we were good friends, and I just wanted to help you out. If you don’t want me here, I’ll step back from the deputy director job. I really don’t want to come between you and Mr. Lincoln.”

“This has nothing to do with you, Evelina,” Cooper cut in, instantly defending her. He shot Emmy a disapproving glare. “Evelina is a top-tier talent who studied abroad. It’s totally normal for the company to bring in outstanding people. Stop making this personal.”

By now, a few tech department employees were peeking around the hallway, clearly trying to catch every word.

“Did you hear? Last week, Mr. Sparrow broke off his engagement with Ms. Lincoln because of that new girl.”

Right then, a young tech employee rushed over, face pale. “Ms. Lincoln! The Dome System’s main server just crashed again. All the user data is acting up!”

Cooper cut him off sharply. “Why are you panicking? Can’t you see Ms. White is here now? From now on, any technical problems go straight to her!”

The tech guy froze, glancing between Emmy and Evelina, totally lost.

Evelina looked at Emmy with a worried, apologetic expression. “Maybe you should handle it? Mr. Lincoln just wanted to take some pressure off you. If I’m making things worse, or hurting the company, that’ll be my fault.”

Emmy just stared back, cold and silent, watching Evelina’s little performance.

For a moment, Emmy was actually curious. If Evelina was really as brilliant as everyone said, how would she fix a problem that even Emmy couldn’t solve?