Chapter 43
An aggrieved Sasha stood up in the midst of the whispers.
“If that's the case, why don't you open the design plan that you brought so that everyone can have their say?”
A hint of disdain flashed through her eyes from an angle that no one could see.
At that moment, Myra’s nails were sunk deep into her palms. The design plans that I brought have been changed. What's there to look at? Someone had obviously set up this meeting in
advance. However, she wanted to give it a try because she refused to admit defeat, but sadly, nothing she did would change anything.
“Fine! What's there to be afraid of? I trust Miss Stark!"
Tilly's angry voice was heard from below as Myra tried to stop her, but it was already too late.
Tilly quickly brought the design plan to the square table before she opened it. "Huh? What is this?!” Her scream was heard at first, but when she tried to cover the plans, she was quickly stopped by a hand next to her.
After the design plan was opened, no one knew who had started laughing from below, but what ensued was a mixture of laughter and a deep sense of mockery.
“Miss Stark, is this the design plan that the Chase Group decided to present to the Hart Group?” The deputy manager pointed at a charming man's different postures on the draft paper while saying disdainfully. “Looks like the Chase Group didn’t send a designer over here to discuss the project. Instead, they sent a fangirl over!”
Looking at the design plan, Myra’s face immediately flushed and her body trembled slightly after experiencing such an unprecedented embarrassment.
“Mr. Gardner.” Suddenly, a man's deep voice was heard in the meeting room.
Ever since she started explaining her design plans, Tony had remained silent, but now, he was slowly standing up.
His figure was imposing and the black suit managed to restrain the intimidating aura around him; instead, others did not dare to look him right in the eyes. He remained a calm expression as he scanned everyone with his eyes, causing everyone to subconsciously remain quiet. Even Mr. Gardner let out an awkward cough as he did not dare to speak again.
As Tony's gaze reached the design plan, he realized that the man in the drawing was him. It contained various postures of him walking, sitting, thinking and raising his brows. After that, he turned toward Myra whose eyes were closed.
“If Miss Stark is a one of a kind genius who has the ability to remember everything at first sight, I'm really impressed by her audacity to “plagiarize’ the Hay Group's designs in front of everyone.” Tony's voice was calm, but at the same time, it seemed to have exerted a sort of pressure, and caused everyone to breathe heavily. On the surface, he was accusing Myra of having the audacity to plagiarize in front of everyone, but there was a strange feeling about his words. Even Mr. Gardner was starting to furrow his brows because he obviously understood the meaning behind Tony's words.
When everyone thought about it, they remembered that Lily continued to refer to her drawings while explaining her designs. When it was Myra’s turn, she never turned to look at the outline once even though it was laid out behind her, as though she was exceptionally familiar with the designs to a point where every piece of data that she explained was correct.
If she didn’t ask someone to spy on the Hay Group's design, how could she have such a deep understanding of the structure of their design? Or does she really have the ability to remember everything at first sight? However, both plans are exceptionally risky. For the first plan to work, she would have needed to draw the first pick whereas for the second idea to work, she had to explain her design after the Hay Group's presentation. No matter what, not many people will tend to believe her. The Chase Group is also a massive company, so why would they embarrass themselves? Logically, why would the Hay Group take such a huge risk too? This...
"Director Hart...” Seeing that everyone was starting to doubt the situation, Sasha stood up amidst the silence and whispered. “I remember that you once said that the Hart Group will severely punish those who plagiarize other people's work, but this time, I beg you to forgive Myra. She... might have a reason to do what she did. The Hay Group will not hold the Chase Group accountable, so I hope that the Hart Group will do the same.”
The people, who were doubtful at first, were now looking at her in shock with eyes of admiration. On the other hand, Myra's eyes instantly darkened.
However, as soon as Tony noticed that she was about to say something, he immediately stopped her while stoically looking at Sasha. “I'm not accusing Miss Stark of plagiarism.” His eyes were so dark that it looked like a bottomless pit, as if everyone in front of him had nowhere to hide.
Sasha felt her heart violently skipping a beat while her face darkened. “What are you saying, Mr. Hart?”
Just as his gaze was about to burn her alive, Tony redirected his glance toward Myra. “The Hart Group will not tolerate any plagiarism, but we won't simply accuse others either. Given the current situation, the Hart Group will discover the truth soon. No matter who the culprit is, as long as the evidence is conclusive, the Hart Group will be merciless toward any wrongdoings. Unless..."
His eyes swept from Sasha's watertight expression to Myra’s calm demeanor. When Myra saw the comfort in his eyes, she could not help but clench her fists.
A second later, he focused his sharp eyes on Lily. “Unless that person is willing to stand up and admit to what she has done; otherwise, she won't be willing to see her fate afterward.”
Her entire body trembled as her leg softened. Luckly, she was sitting on her seat, but her head immediately lowered.
Beside her was Sasha, who almost pierced her palms with her nails! Isn't he actually looking out for her?! I can confirm that the two of them are definitely in a secret relationship!
In the end, the meeting turned out to be a joke.
Myra tried to comfort herself again, but when she stumbled upon the gazes from everyone in the Hart Group, she still felt upset in her heart.
“Miss Stark, I'm sorry. I didn't know about the drawing...” Tilly was almost in tears.
Then, Myra patted her shoulder. “It's not your fault. If someone else has untoward intentions, it's hard for us to avoid it.”
"Who stole your design plan?!” At that point, even Tilly knew that someone had set them up. Myra's face immediately grew colder as she closed her gaping mouth. “I don't have any evidence, so I can only guess.”
“From the time of our departure from the Chase Group to the Hart Group and until the meeting ended, the Hay Group wouldn't have had any chance to lay their hands on the design plan, which means that it was possibly swapped when we were at the company... It's Elsie. It's definitely her! She was upset that she was booted from the Sunny Bay Project and demoted to an assistant. That's why she wanted to set you up!”
In the hallway, the employees from the Hart Group were still exiting the meeting room, one after another in groups as they continued to whisper about what had happened.
When Tony stoically exited with Leo behind him, everyone quickly stepped aside to make a path for them.
Thinking about how Tony helped her at the meeting earlier, Myra felt a sense of gratification inside, but as soon as she stepped forward, he simply went past her without even looking back at her. However, Leo blinked at her before quickly following in Tony's footsteps.
Myra was startled for a moment before Logan came up to her and whispered, “Director Hart doesn't want people talking behind his back. After all, he just helped you out at the meeting. That's why he can't be close to you in private.”
After that, he left in a hurry.
For a moment, she was touched as she remembered Tony's faint soothing gaze at the meeting earlier...
For some reason, it immediately reminded her of the same eyes that he had last time when he told her to “trust him".