“Yo, Casella’s adopted child, Victoria, what are you doing here?” Johanna asked.
“I am here to work,” Victoria replied.
Johanna laughed, “You’re working for Luca Group?” She sneered.
“Is there a problem? I passed the evaluation so I will work,” Victoria calmly said.
Johanna was surprised, this wasn’t the Victoria she knew. She wanted to smear Victoria about the drug incident that happened three years ago, but she had just returned and she had no news about Bella. “Whatever! Anyway, you will work for me.”
“Why should I work for you?” Victoria asked.
“Hey, maybe you didn’t know this is the chairman’s wife,” Kc arrogantly interjected.
Victoria smiled, not wanting to expose Johanna. In reality, if she did that, her plan would be ruined. “Oh, Johanna, I didn’t know you were married to Lucas.”
Johanna awkwardly smiled, “Do you have an opinion?”
Victoria smiled, “Of course not. When did you get married?”
Johanna pondered, she didn’t know when Lucas got married. She saw Victoria’s smile and panicked, not knowing what to say. “Um-”
“What are you asking, Victoria? Of course, the chairman has been married for three years and his wife just returned from abroad,” Erica impatiently said before Johanna could speak.
“Yes, we’ve been married for three years, and I just returned from abroad,” Johanna awkwardly said.
“Johanna said you’re just a Casella’s adopted child, that’s why you know nothing, do you see Johanna’s blue tear pendant? That’s one of the jewelry designed by the famous artist V, an international artist”
“It first appeared in the UK and there are only two of them, one with the queen and the other at auction. Johanna probably got hers from the auction, as only the chairman’s wife would have the capability to buy it,” Kc proudly said upon seeing Johanna’s pendant, confirming it from the TV.
Johanna looked at the pendant she was wearing before touching it, ‘I just bought this randomly, never thought it had any significance.’
Victoria nodded as if she had just seen clowns in front of her.
“Let’s go, where is my working place?” Johanna asked.
“Upstairs,” Manager Jen said, leading the way up. Veronica followed silently behind.
When they reached the top, Johanna sat down like a queen, with two regular employees buttering her up. Victoria sat in her seat, paying no attention to Johanna’s presence.
Only Erica and Kc were flattering Johanna, as the Manager went back into her office.
“Madam, would you like some coffee?” Kc asked as he massaged Johanna.
Johanna nodded before pointing at Victoria. Erica gestured for Victoria to make the coffee. “Hey, madam wants coffee,” she told Victoria.
Victoria nodded, “You make it, I don’t have the coffee maker.”
Erica got irritated, “Do you want to lose your job right away for not obeying?”
“Why would I lose my job? Making coffee is not my job,” Victoria calmly replied as she reviewed the papers in her hand.
Erica kicked her foot, “Make coffee for madam, the chairman’s wife!”
Victoria looked at Johanna’s stern face. ‘If I didn’t have to hide my identity, I would have slapped this pretentious woman,’ she thought before standing up and showing a fake smile. “Madam, please wait,” she said before leaving to make the coffee.
Johanna felt a sense of pride as Victoria obediently followed her orders.
Victoria opened the coffee maker before making coffee, she was about to return when she saw the pure coffee placed in the jar, she thought of something before returning. When she came back, she saw the peaceful face of Johanna, sitting leisurely as her shoulders were being massaged. Victoria grinned before walking towards them.
Handing Johanna the coffee, she sarcastically remarked, “Here is your coffee, your majesty.”
Johanna took the coffee with a smile and said, “Great, please have a seat.”
Victoria fake-smiled before returning to her seat, glancing at Johanna and waiting for her to drink the coffee.
Johanna took a sudden sip of coffee, her eyes widening before she accidentally spewed the bitter liquid on Erica’s face in front of her. “What kind of coffee is this, so bitter!” exclaimed Johanna before placing the cup on the table. She caught a glimpse of Erica’s face and immediately wiped it off with tissue.
“Allow me, Madam,” Erica politely said as she wiped her face.
Johanna glanced at Victoria, who was struggling to hold back her laughter. She stood up and pointed at Victoria, “Victoria, you shameless person! How dare you embarrass me,” she said angrily.
Victoria feigned innocence, “Did I embarrass you?” she asked with a puzzled expression.
“Did you not intentionally make the coffee bitter?” Johanna asked furiously, pointing at the cup on the table.
Victoria shrugged, “You told me just to make you coffee. There’s your coffee; you never said I would sweeten it or add sugar to make it sweet.”
“Victoria! Are you deliberately provoking me?!” Johanna shouted, stomping her foot.
“Me? Why would I intentionally provoke the chairman’s wife,” she replied with a smile, emphasizing the words ‘chairman’s wife’.
“You!” Johanna was speechless, knowing she couldn’t escalate the situation. She just sat there, sulking.
Manager Jen emerged and witnessed what had happened. She held a document, grinned, and walked over to Victoria’s table, slamming the document down.
“Do this proposal, the company needs it. I want you to represent tomorrow. A two million project is at stake here,” the Manager said with a smile, not believing that Victoria could handle it. If she couldn’t pull it off, she would make sure to make things difficult for her before kicking her out of the company.
Victoria glanced at the document, read the theme, smiled, and calmly replied, “No problem.”
The Manager noticed the confidence in Victoria’s tone, grinned, then turned to Johanna. “Madam, that project will be challenging. Let’s allow Victoria to struggle,” she said wickedly.
Johanna smiled upon hearing this,”Good job,”
…
Johanna worked on what her manager asked until she returned home to the villa. Victoria worked until late at night and completed the project proposal. She created various jewelry designs that suited the theme provided, working until she finished and fell asleep from exhaustion.
Lucas saw what Victoria had accomplished and was amazed by her skill. Not only was she excellent at creating jewelry designs, but she also knew how to write descriptions and strategies for the proposal. Lucas carried the sleeping Victoria to their bed before lying down next to her. He kissed her forehead with a smile, happy that Victoria was his wife, embracing her before falling asleep.
The next day, when they arrived at the company, Victoria had printed everything she would use for the meeting. She placed her work on her desk before going to get some water.
Johanna saw the proposal on Victoria’s desk, smirked, and opened it to see its contents. She was surprised, unable to believe that Victoria’s design and presentation were better and more polished. Feeling a sense of inferiority, she thought that Victoria should not succeed in this matter. Johanna took the papers, replaced them with blank ones, threw away Victoria’s work, looked at Victoria’s laptop, deleted her presentation, and went to the conference room as if nothing had happened.
After drinking water, Victoria returned to her desk and noticed that everyone was already in the conference room. She took her proposal from her laptop and headed to the conference room.
In the conference room, Mr. Alejo, the investor in the project, was present, along with the manager, Johanna, Erica, and Kc. The four of them had a strange smile when they saw Victoria enter.
Victoria noticed the odd looks from the four of them, smiled, shared her printed proposal, and started connecting her laptop to the conference room’s projector.
Johanna displayed a wicked grin as if she had succeeded in something.