The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 52

"That's right. Back when Ramona was around, none of us ever took time off. We just kept saving up vacation days!"

Someone echoed the sentiment with a casual laugh, their tone light but unmistakably provocative.

"You all—"

Brianna was so furious, her face turned pale. She couldn't even find the words to curse them out.

Had these people lost their minds?

She'd only scolded them a little yesterday, and now they were all ready to quit? Was everyone trained by Ramona just as neurotic as she was?

"You, come to my office."

Jotham's cold voice came from behind Brianna. Without another word, he strode toward the executive suite.

Technically, it wasn't his job to handle resignations, but with the company in turmoil and these people being Ramona’s trusted team, he couldn't just stand by and watch.

Panic flickered across Brianna’s face. She glared at the group, wanting to threaten them again, but not one of the five even glanced her way. They immediately followed Jotham out.

Inside his office, Jotham got straight to the point. "Did Ramona tell you to resign?"

It was the only explanation he could think of.

Ramona’s people were fiercely loyal. The company had high turnover, especially in the project department, but not her team.

These five had started as interns under Ramona. They’d grown fast, worked hard, and always took her word as law.

Jotham had heard them joke before—so long as Ramona was here, no amount of money could lure them away.

"It has nothing to do with Ramona. We want to leave on our own," one of the women said seriously.

"Yeah. We really appreciate everything you have done for us over the years, but…" another began, trailing off as the group exchanged uneasy glances.

"But what?" Jotham pressed, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.

"With Ramona gone, we've been under a lot of pressure. The projects are suffering, and we’re totally lost… And then there’s Ms. Prescott."

The woman who’d had her laptop smashed bit her lip, then decided to spill everything that had happened over the past couple of days.

It wasn’t just that Brianna bullied them—every time she insulted them, she dragged Ramona’s name into it. Ramona hadn’t even been in the office lately. Why was she still being blamed?

Hearing all this, any guilt Jotham had felt toward Brianna evaporated. At a time like this, she was still playing petty games with Ramona’s shadow?

"Don’t go. Ramona will be back soon. You’ve all done great work. Take a couple days off if you need to. But right now, the company needs everyone to pull together to get through this."

Jotham even offered them all a raise after thinking it over.

But no matter what he said, the group shook their heads politely and refused.

The conversation dragged on for over an hour. When it became clear he couldn’t persuade them, Jotham finally gave up.

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