The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

Chapter 21

The Carmichael Group's conference room was shrouded in tense silence.

All the senior executives fixed their eyes on Raymond, who sat at the head of the table reviewing the proposal. No one even dared to breathe too loudly, each one secretly wishing they could crawl under the table and vanish-anything to avoid being the first in line for criticism.

For them, every meeting felt like a grueling ordeal.

After a long, uneasy pause, Raymond finally spoke. "Not bad."

At once, beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of the department heads.

A few began to whisper nervously to each other.

"Did I hear that right? Did President Carmichael have too much to drink last night?"

"Did he just say 'not bad'?"

One executive wiped his brow, his anxiety deepening. "You don't get it. This is just the calm before the storm. Ever heard of 'the higher the praise, the harder the fall'? Brace yourself-he's about to tear our proposal to shreds."

Oblivious to the collective anxiety tightening in the room, Raymond glanced around, lowering his voice. "Well? Why are you still sitting here?"

"All proposals are approved. Meeting adjourned."

laptop and strode out, leaving a roomful of stunned

"God, am I dreaming?"

Carmichael? Did I hear

would you, Steve-I think

turned over a new leaf,

found Citrine, headphones on, gaming

before and couldn't help but watch her for a moment longer, though he

five minutes

of high heels

her headphones, didn't notice until the newcomer yanked her power cable out. She pulled off her headphones, fixing her gaze on the woman standing before

an immaculate white dress, her black hair cascading over her shoulders. She looked like

think you're doing?" Citrine's good mood soured instantly,

the woman's hostility as clearly as a

Instead, she looked Citrine up and down, searching for a single flaw and finding none. The girl was stunning-flawless from head to

Carmichael?" Valerie

not just an innocent little thing, Citrine thought. She's

arched a brow,

Valerie wanted answers, she'd

a moment, Valerie was