Chapter 17

Emily's Pov

   I blinked at the two approaching figures.

“It couldn't be.” I thought to myself.

 But as they came to a raging halt before me, I knew it was really them.

  “Why did you block us, Emily?” Susan’s eyes went over me with contempt.

  I considered ignoring their presence but decided against it.

  “I didn't block you. I changed my contact.” I replied calmly.

  “That's no way to talk to your mother.” 

  My eyes landed on Jane's face— her signature horrendous makeup and silly words made me chuckle.

  “Mother? Has your old brain forgotten the night I was disowned?” 

  Both of them gasped.  

  Their faces mirrored a mix of horror and surprise.

  “How dare you talk to your family that way?” Susan said, pointing her finger to my face.

  I shoved her hand away with a scoff.

  “We cut ties that night” I eyed Jane's figure. “And I'm no longer married to your son. How are we family?” 

  

   If they were shocked before, they were now completely horrified.

  “You…” Susan tried to point again but quickly put down her hand. “You shoved me.” 

   “And?” 

  Like the cat had cut their tongue, they became speechless.

  Irritated by their silence, I added.

  

 “I don't have time for this. What do you want?” 

  Jane was the first to recover. 

  “Your sister is sick.” 

  I shrugged. “What does that have to do with me?” 

  Susan's face had since turned red. “You're the cause of her distress. If she loses the baby, it will be your fault.”

  “What the hell are they talking about?” I quietly thought to myself.

    “Oh please Emily, quit pretending. We know you slept your way to get this job so you can try to seduce Wesley.” 

  For a second I remained dumbfounded— then I burst into a round of laughter.

  “What?” I managed to say in-between my laughs.

  Susan chimed in. “We’ve heard all about it. And we’re here to tell you to resign. Your sister is in a delicate state and if we're not careful, she might lose the baby.” 

  I was stunned by their sheer ridiculousness.

 “Are you people crazy?” was all I could manage to say out.

   “You don't have to be bitter , Emily. Your sister's health and the baby's health is more important than any job. Resign.” said Jane.

  For a moment, I wondered how their brains were wired and if they really expected me to resign.

   Ava arrived just in time.

  I casted them one last look.

  “I don't care about Sophie or any of you. Don't find me again.” 

   I began to walk towards the car but they trailed after me.

  “Why are you always jealous of Sophie, what did she ever do to you?” I heard Susan yell from behind.

  I didn't bother to reply her silly question and made my way into the car.

  “What was that?” Ava asked immediately as I hopped into the car.

  I sighed. “You're not gonna believe me.” 

   By the time I was done narrating the encounter to Ava, we were both howling in laughter.

     News of me handling Wesley's manuscript spread like wildfire.

  There were a lot of snide comments but frankly, I didn't care. 

 It took two hard days to go through the whole manuscript.

  And the only review I could give was “thrash” 

  Wesley was still as much of a terrible writer as he was four years ago.

  I can't believe I helped such an idiot get a place in the literary world.

  Ava was most excited about the manuscript, claiming she couldn't wait for everyone to know he was a fraud. 

   The next step after review was scheduling a meeting with the author and going over any holes in the plot.

  Knowing Wesley, I was certain of what reaction to expect.

 He would lash out and claim I'm biased which will only lead to more stress for me.

 To save myself the trouble, I tried a different tactic.

  “Listen everyone.” 

  The office went silent at the sound of my voice.

  Their faces mirrored the same look of surprise since it was the first time I'd ever spoken out loud.

    “As all of you are aware, I was given Wesley Sterling’s manuscript to review.” 

  Some of their gazes turned contemptuous. 

   “Do you want to gloat about it to our faces?” Someone yelled from his seat.

  “No” I began to walk around the office, distributing copies of the manuscript to everyone.

  “As a matter of fact, I want all of you to review and give me your thoughts. Since this is very important to the company, I want to make sure everything is perfect.” 

  

  Their faces were a mixture of surprise and hesitation.

  “Of course, I’ll personally let the Boss know it was a team effort.” 

   Everyone’s face lit up and different choruses of appreciation rang through the office.

  Except for one person–Lydia.

  From the corner of my eyes, I saw her glare at me before tossing the manuscript aside.

  Not giving her a second thought, I returned my attention to others.

Some heads were already buried in the manuscripts.

  With a satisfied smile, I walked back to my cubicle and awaited the drama. 

  

   Barely two hours later, different sighs and groans rang through the office.

  

  A guy named Jace was the first to lash out.

  

  He dumped the manuscript with a huge thud and announced loudly to the office, 

  “I'm done! This is the most boring and uneventful story I've read in my life.”

 Anna groaned from her seat. “Emily, are you sure this is really Wesley's book?” 

  “How can the man who had written so many genuis books write this?” complained another colleague.

   From beside me, Sean asked. “Did you really finish this? Does it get better?”

  I offered him a smile. “You have to see for yourself.” 

  He reclined on his seat and let out a frustrated sound.

    It a week for a handful of people to finish the manuscript and the general conclusion was, 

  “It was not up to Hasting’s standard.” 

    Exactly as I expected.

  Quickly, a meeting was arranged with Wesley.

  I choosed Anna and Sean to accompany me for the meeting.

  It was in one of the many conference rooms in the company.

  Two senior editors were already there with Wesley— who’s eyes held a gaze of surprise as he saw me.

   I gave all of them a general greeting and quickly took my seat– not oblivious to his fixated eyes.

  When everyone was comfortably seated, I began.

  “Mr Sterling, I'm Emily Byrce.”his eyes seemed to widen in surprise at the mention of my last name.

  “I was in charge of reviewing your manuscript. And after my careful evaluation…” 

   He adjusted himself and sat upright with an air of arrogance. 

  I let out a subtle smirk.

  “I’m sorry to inform you that your book is not up to Hasting's publishing standard.” 

  In an instant, I watched the smile on his face crumble to ashes.