Chapter 381

"Or else, you'll face the consequences!"

Elizabeth's legs trembled with fear. Tears welled in her eyes as she stammered, "Director, I... you're asking me to come up with a hundred thousand dollars all at once. How can I possibly afford that? My ex-boyfriend just left me, and now I have to cover my car payments, mortgage, and living expenses. I barely have enough for my monthly bills—where would I get that kind of money?"

The design director shot her a furious glare.

If this issue wasn't resolved, the entire design department would suffer. The director let out an exasperated sigh, then turned to Sophia with a pleading expression. "Sophia, I know you were wronged last week. Here's what we'll do—Elizabeth owes you a hundred thousand, but she doesn't have the funds right now. I'll personally take you to the company's finance department and arrange for them to pay you upfront. How does that sound?"

Sophia replied coolly, "Fine."

She didn’t care about the details.

As long as she was compensated fairly.

It wasn’t that she was unwilling to help—it just depended on who was asking.

She had only worked at this company for two days, and in that short time, she had been mistreated at every turn. Now that she'd been fired, if they wanted her to solve their problems, they had to pay.

"Good. Now, tell us—how do we fix this?" the director pressed.

"Yeah! You'd better have a solution, or else—" Elizabeth snapped at Sophia.

All eyes were on her.

Half the design department was already mentally preparing to tear her apart if she failed.

Sophia remained composed. "It's simple. Replace the hollow bricks with solid load-bearing ones—that'll handle over half the issue. The remaining problem can be solved by reinforcing the faulty section at a ninety-degree angle and adding stabilizing supports on both sides."

This method wasn’t typically used on large-scale construction sites, which was why the engineers hadn’t thought of it. But in smaller projects—like the ones Sophia had worked on for six years in Willowbrook County—quick fixes like this were common.

If she had been the one drafting the blueprints, she would have anticipated the problem from the start.

Just like that, the crisis was resolved.

Even the design director was impressed.

She grasped Sophia’s hand gratefully. "Sophia, I had no idea your architectural expertise ran so deep. We were blind not to see it before."

Sophia smiled faintly. "It's just practical experience. Now, about the money—"

"Right! Let’s head back to the company." The director was already scheming how to convince Sophia to stay.

On the return trip, Sophia didn’t ride the company bus—she was ushered into the director’s private car.

As they stepped out at the company entrance, a sleek sports car screeched to a halt in front of them.

"Sophia, did the design team go out for lunch?" Julian Montgomery stepped out, flashing her a charming smile.

At the sight of him, Sophia felt a wave of disgust.

If she was being honest, the reason she’d only lasted two days at this job was largely because of him.

His excessive attention had made her a target for jealousy—especially from Olivia, who had sabotaged her chair out of spite.

In Sophia’s eyes, Julian was no different from Liam Sterling six years ago—a spoiled playboy with a penchant for toying with women’s emotions.

But she wasn’t the same naive girl anymore.

She met his gaze coldly.

The design director nudged her discreetly. "Sophia, Mr. Montgomery clearly favors you. This is an incredible opportunity. Half the women in this company would kill to have dinner with him. If he takes you under his wing, no one will dare mess with you—not even Olivia."

Sophia didn’t flinch. "I’ve already been fired. I’m only here to collect my payment."

The director fell silent.

Before she could argue further, the other female designers swarmed around Julian, giggling and batting their lashes.

"Mr. Montgomery, are you here to take our lovely Elizabeth out? You promised her dinner weeks ago!"

"Can we come too?"

Julian ignored them, his eyes locked on Sophia. "Olivia’s been fired. No one will harass you anymore. You must be much happier working here now, right?"

Behind him, Elizabeth and her friends seethed with jealousy.

But Sophia remained indifferent.

"Mr. Montgomery," she said icily, "we don’t know each other. Please stop harassing me. Besides, I don’t work here anymore. I’m just here to collect what I’m owed. Now, if you’ll excuse me."

Julian blinked.

Rejection had never smelled so sweet.

This was the first time a woman had ever turned him down so bluntly.

To his own surprise, he laughed.

He was about to press further when someone emerged from the building.

Sophia Carter.