Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 199

Noreen wasn't the least bit shaken by Ruby Wilder's betrayal; her expression remained as cool and indifferent as ever.

"And another thing," she continued, her tone icy, "at the Aurelion Group's celebration, Bianca left with Yves entirely of her own accord. I even warned her that Yves was trouble, but she followed him anyway. She did it on purpose, hoping you'd get blamed by Mr. Harcourt for failing to keep her in line."

It was obvious Ruby was desperate—she was spilling what she thought were secrets, hoping Noreen would take her side.

Maybe she thought this confession would win Noreen over and help her secure the job. But she'd misjudged her audience.

If Ruby hadn't played these little games, she would've received an offer within a couple of days. She'd sabotaged her own future.

Carman's studio was as busy as ever, but Noreen noticed the team had thinned out since her last visit.

She found Carman's assistant to ask about it and learned that several staff members had recently jumped ship for higher salaries elsewhere.

If it were just one or two, it might be normal turnover. But seven or eight people leaving at once? That was no coincidence.

Noreen asked Johnson to look into it, and soon had her answer.

Just as she suspected, Bianca had poached them—lured them away to SkyMind with big paychecks.

If they couldn't steal Carman himself, they'd strip his team instead. It was a blatant move against her.

Noreen discussed it with Carman.

"We're stretched thin," Carman admitted. "Even if we start hiring now, it'll take time to get everyone up to speed. Progress is bound to slow down."

Noreen had made a personal guarantee to Mr. Naylor at Eastvale Corporation. If InnoCore's new AI model wasn't online by the deadline, it would jeopardize their partnership.

"We'll have to power through this stretch," she told the team. "Once we're past the crunch, I'll make sure everyone gets a bonus."

"Don't worry, Ms. Gilmore! We're with InnoCore all the way!" someone called out.

Those who stayed—unmoved by money—were the ones who truly cared about InnoCore. To them, the company was like a child they'd helped nurture and protect.

This time, Noreen agreed.

When her acceptance flashed on his phone, Healy looked so moved, he was nearly in tears.

After Healy left, Carman called. They needed Naylor Automotive to send over a batch of data for the base model.

Noreen messaged Healy on WhatsApp. He replied almost instantly: "No problem, I'll have my team get it over to Mr. Holt right away."

She sent a thumbs-up emoji, then as she was about to exit the chat, her finger brushed Healy's profile picture, opening his contact card.

Beneath it, she spotted his latest status update.

Even in the small, compressed photo, Noreen instantly recognized Seth and Bianca, side by side in their ski jackets.

So that's why—he'd gone to Switzerland to go skiing with Bianca. That's why he'd stood her up.