Chapter 208
""Let's get this meeting started. What were you all discussing just now?"" Cassie cut him off, her expression blank as she scanned the room.
""We were discussing the new luxury housing projects. Olivia has come up with some designs, and Mr. Jonathan and the rest of us think they're pretty good,"" the deputy manager said, awkwardly handing over the blueprints.
Olivia Brooks' heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected Cassie to show up and she knew Cassie would recognize the blueprints.
But she shrugged off the concern, confident that even if Cassie accused her of stealing her designs, no one would take her seriously, except to scoff.
Cassie examined the blueprints and quietly whispered to Joe.
Joe nodded and left the room. Then Cassie remarked, ""These are nicely done. They were printed just past midnight—looks like Olivia's been burning the midnight oil, working hard during the off-hours.""
""Yeah, Olivia mentioned how she's been losing sleep over this.""
""Such dedication from Olivia.""
The room buzzed with praise. Olivia Brooks basked in her clever ruse, happy that she had delayed the printing to make it seem like a late-night effort. ""Mr. Brooks, what do you think of my design?""
Cassie complimented her first, ""The design is great. Interestingly, it resembles a set I seem to have misplaced about two weeks ago,"" her tone suddenly shifted, casting a shadow of suspicion.
The room fell silent, all eyes shifting. Olivia, feigning shock, gasped, ""You're not suggesting I copied you, are you?""
Jonathan scoffed, ""Mr. Brooks, are you jealous of Olivia's talent?"" Everyone knows you two sisters have a rocky relationship. No need to bring your rivalry into the company.""
For a moment, the crowd viewed Cassie with disdain. As the CEO, her pettiness seemed unbecoming.
""I just knew you wouldn't believe it,"" Cassie exhaled, relieved. ""Good thing I reported this to the police station ten days ago. I handed over all the original design documents at the time, and the police have a record. Just one check and everything will be clear.""
Olivia Brooks felt a rush of panic and quickly put on a tearful facade, “I'm just a junior manager, Mr. Brooks. Do you really need to go to such lengths to target me? I had these blueprints ready a while back; I just printed them out.”
Her vulnerable act made many executives think Cassie was picking on her.
Cassie produced a blueprint and asked, ""You claim I'm framing you, fine. If you designed the house, do you know the orientation of this floor plan, which floor and which building it's for, and how big it is?""
Olivia Brooks was stumped and mumbled after a long pause, ""It's... in building six, facing from south to north...""
Right after she spoke, several executives frowned.
""Why did you put a large cabinet in the middle here?"" Cassie continued.
“...For more storage space,” Olivia answered feebly.
Cassie laughed sarcastically, "" Because there is a structural support column in the center that cannot be moved, I decided to encase it with a cabinet. Besides, this is a unit in building two, 1,385 square feet, facing from east to west.""
Olivia Brooks turned pale in an instant.
Cassie narrowed her eyes, "" You claim to have designed these blueprints, yet you lack knowledge about the units' actual specifications. You’re the manager of this new development, and yet you don’t have a clue about the layout. Can you even say for certain how many buildings are in the new complex?""
“...”
Olivia Brooks couldn’t utter a word in rebuttal; she indeed had not done her homework.
The executives shook their heads in disappointment.
At that moment, Joe walked in with a few officers.
One of them handcuffed Olivia Brooks, ""Miss Brooks, we’ve received a report of you plagiarizing someone else's work. Please come with us to the precinct for further investigation.""
""I didn't do it, I'm innocent!"" Olivia Brooks screamed in a panic.
""Enough talking, let's go,"" two officers said impatiently as they pulled her out.
""I'm being framed, I didn’t plagiarize anything!""
Her screams faded into the distance. Cassie's gaze swept the conference room and finally settled on Jonathan, ""Mr. Jonathan, I've heard Olivia Brooks was promoted under your endorsement. I'm really starting to question your judgment and ability to lead the company.""
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