Chapter 356 Conspiracy (2) Andrew Stirs Up Trouble
Dominic and Eloise were chatting it up on the phone, all flirty and stuff.
After they hung up, Dominic's eyes had this wicked glint.
He could play any chick like a fiddle, except for Cecilia.
One day, he'd make her life so miserable she'd be begging for an out.
Fast forward a week, and Cecilia's at the Lockhart Group, running a meeting in the conference room.
"The Innovation Arc project has to be a win, no screw-ups," Cecilia said, cutting straight to the chase. "The bid's in a month. I'm putting together a 20-person task force from our team. You guys will drop everything else and focus on this until it's done."
The room was packed with department heads, all of them still a bit starstruck by Cecilia, even with all their experience.
"I've spent the week picking the task force. All of you have people on it. I'll read the list now, and I need you to make sure they can hand off their current work smoothly. They need to report to me by 10 a.m. tomorrow," Cecilia said, not wasting a second. "Sales Department: Diana, Randy, Michael..."
She rattled off the names.
The department heads scribbled down the names from their teams.
"Any issues with the lineup?" Cecilia asked.
Silence.
Everyone was totally on board with Cecilia's plan.
"Alright, get your people sorted. Meeting's over," Cecilia said, wrapping it up.
"I've got an issue," Andrew piped up.
Cecilia's eyes narrowed a bit. She wasn't one for drama, "Go ahead, Mr. Lockhart."
"You've taken three from PR. I want to swap one out," Andrew said straight up.
"Okay, but why?" Cecilia asked.
"Because I want in on this project myself," Andrew said, no beating around the bush.
Cecilia raised an eyebrow.
She didn't expect that from Andrew.
"I want to replace one of my team with myself. I know I haven't done much since I joined, but I want to learn from you and earn my spot as department head, not just because I'm a Lockhart," Andrew said, sounding pretty genuine.
He played his cards well.
If Cecilia said no, it would look like she had it out for Andrew.Since Vincent was out of the picture, there had been whispers that Cecilia wanted to boot Vincent's kids from the company too.
So she couldn't really say no. "I hope the Lockhart family truly backs the Lockhart Group."
"Deal," Andrew said firmly.
"If that's it, meeting's over!" Cecilia stood up and walked out first.
The other department heads followed.
Andrew was among them.
He had this cold smile and headed back to his office.
Once inside, he quickly made a call.
The other end picked up fast, "How'd it go?"
"It worked," Andrew said, pumped. "Just like you said, Cecilia couldn't turn me down in front of everyone, so she agreed right away."
"Perfect. Once you're in, we'll have the inside scoop on everything!" Dominic chuckled darkly.
He'd thought it all out: to nail the Innovation Arc project, he had to start with the Lockhart Group. As much as he hated to admit it, Dominic knew Cecilia was sharp. Plus, the Lockhart Group was a big deal in the construction world. The Kingsley family couldn't snag the project on their own. But if they could ride on the Lockhart Group's coattails, it’d be a breeze.
Even after figuring it out, Dominic felt a bit bitter.
If Cecilia had just married him back then, he wouldn't be jumping through all these hoops; she would've handed it over on a silver platter!
He even thought Cecilia breaking off their engagement was the biggest regret of his life.
And to get rid of that regret, Cecilia had to go!
Dominic pushed down his emotions, forcing himself to think clearly about using Andrew to get what he wanted.
With Vincent locked up and Isadora gone, he could reel Andrew in with a bit of manipulation, like using a woman.
Dominic immediately thought of Eloise.
That night, after a steamy session with Eloise, he laid out his plan.
At first, Eloise was totally against it, but she was greedy. He dangle enough perks, and she caved.
He promised Eloise that if they landed the Innovation Arc project, she'd get the credit and become the sales director of the Kingsley Group. Eloise reluctantly agreed, and then she spent three days working her charm on Andrew.
As expected, without Vincent around, Andrew was easy pickings.
Honestly, Vincent wasn't a threat anymore.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been taken down so fast by Theodore's family.
Luckily, Andrew was still useful.
No matter how sharp Cecilia was, she probably wouldn't expect Andrew to still be playing by Dominic's rules, especially with all the drama between him and Vincent's family, right?!
He couldn't wait to see Cecilia's face when he snagged the Innovation Arc project.
It would be priceless!
Cecilia went back to her office and sat down, deep in thought.
Rose placed a cup of black coffee on her desk and was about to leave.
"Rose," Cecilia called out suddenly.
"Yes?"
"What do you make of Andrew's sudden enthusiasm?" Cecilia asked.
Rose thought for a moment and said bluntly, "He's up to something."
Cecilia nodded slightly.
Just what she thought.
"Alright, you can go," she said.
"Yes."
After Rose left, Cecilia took a sip of coffee and slowly picked up the phone to dial.
The call was answered, with a hint of uncertainty, "Cecilia?"
"Cassius, it's me," Cecilia said straight up.
"Don't tell me, you're already lonely the moment Alaric left?" The voice on the other end was clearly teasing.
Cecilia was speechless.
Were all of Alaric's friends this unreliable?
"I need your help with something," she said.
Cassius replied, "I'm super busy."
"This is really important to me," Cecilia said seriously.
"What is it?" Cassius gave in immediately.
What else could he do?
He'd end up giving in anyway.
"I need you to keep an eye on Andrew," Cecilia said.
"Can he really cause any trouble?" Cassius clearly didn't think much of Andrew.
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