99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 126

The next morning, I arrived at the office as usual, turned on my computer, and began checking my emails.

When I saw that one of my recent design drafts had won the gold medal at the Innovative Home – International Future Furniture Design Competition, joy surged through me like a rising tide.

It was the kind of happiness that came when dreams collided with reality, even more thrilling than the time I had unexpectedly won a major fashion award.

Yet before I could savour that joy, a colleague from the design department walked over with a dark expression. He tapped my desk lightly.

“Claire,” he barked roughly. “Mr. White has called for a company-wide meeting. Head to the conference room right away.”

Since joining Moonves, this was the first time the company had ever held such a large employee meeting.

Confused but alert, I quickly gathered my notebook. With a trace of unease, I walked into the conference room.

The moment I stepped inside, I sensed something was off.

“Claire, just wait and see what’s in store for you. I already told my cousin last night about you offending an important client and throwing a bottle at my head. This early-morning meeting? It’s obvious to fire you in front of the entire team. Sorry, not Sorry.” Queenie stood with her arms crossed.

My face remained impassive.

Without uttering a word, I went to the seat opposite Queenie and sat down.

My fingers brushed against the resignation letter tucked inside my folder. I was ready to hand it in. I didn’t want to leave Moonves, but I was at my end of Queenie and Breanne’s bullying in the workplace. I thought

I could handle it all, but it was becoming too much, with no reprieve from it inside or outside of work.

It was time to move on to something new.

At that moment, Merlin entered with his assistant.

He strode to the head of the table, his eyes sweeping the room before speaking slowly.

“The reason I’ve called everyone here today is-”

Before Merlin could finish, Queenie cut in.

“Mr. White, we all know the truth. Claire Reese doesn’t care about clients, and none of us can stand her. If we take a room vote on whether to kick her out, every single one of us will raise our hands!”

With that, she raised her hand high. Several colleagues, as if part of a staged play, quickly followed her lead.

In that instant, I understood everything.

I took a deep breath and was about to hand Merlin my prepared resignation.

“Who told you I was letting Claire go?”

The anger on his face pressed down like an invisible weight, silencing the room. Those who had raised their hands quickly lowered them, heads bowed, not daring to meet Merlin’s eyes.

Queenie froze, her hand stiff in the air, her smile faltering.

“Mr. White, Claire-she broke company rules. According to policy, she should be dismissed.” With an awkward laugh, she stammered.

“Shut your mouth right now, Queenie!” Merlin snapped, his glare cutting into her. “From where I stand, the one who’s always stirring up trouble and disrespecting Claire at every turn has been you. Tell me, if I revealed that Claire has been collaborating off the books with Moonves for three years and that she was the very designer who once saved this company with her creations-the legendary Seere-would you still dare to speak to her with such contempt?”

His words exploded like a bomb in the room.

Everyone stared in shock, eyes wide. Queenie nearly sprang from her chair, trembling with disbelief.

“She-she’s Seere? That’s impossible. Why has she never said a word about it!”

I sat quietly, my back straight as a pine, as though Merlin hadn’t been talking about me at all.

My serenity stood in stark contrast to the stunned expressions around me.

The conference room erupted.

“She’s actually Seere? Seere is a legend in the design world. Moonves owes its rise to her best-selling creations.”

“Exactly! Didn’t you get the email this morning? Her design just won another award-the most prestigious international gold medal this time! She’s been so humble, never once mentioning her true identity.”

“We were blind all along. Our idol has been working beside us every day without us realizing it.”

“We’re sorry, Mr. White. Queenie had filled us with horrible gossip and stories about Claire, so that we thought she was a horrible, undeserving employee.”

The designers looked at me with newfound admiration and shame, their gazes brimming with both respect for my talent and regret for their ignorance.

The tide had turned.

Merlin strode to me, extended his hand, and said with sincerity,

“Claire, I know you wanted to keep your identity here a secret, but I am at my end of patience with how Queenie and her followers have been behaving. I want to say thank you once again for bringing honour to Moonves. Today’s meeting is not only to announce your award but also to ask you to accept the position of Vice President, overseeing all company affairs. Please, don’t refuse me this time.”

He handed me a beautifully bound letter of appointment, while his assistant respectfully presented me with a bouquet of fresh, radiant flowers.

For a moment, the employees were stunned-then applause thundered through the room, filled with recognition and congratulations.

I looked at Merlin in surprise.

I hadn’t expected this meeting to be for my promotion. I was honestly expecting to be publicly fired.

Instead, Merlin, the company’s leader, had lowered himself to treat me with such respect and honour. Warmth bloomed in my chest.

Lost in thought, I weighed the moment.

Across from me, Queenie crumbled, collapsing into her chair, her eyes vacant and her forehead slick with sweat as if she had glimpsed her own downfall.

Word by word, I declared, “I’ll accept-on one condition. That condition is that Queenie Taylor must resign.”

“No! That’s impossible! I’m one of Moonves’s veterans. Cousin, you wouldn’t really throw me out because of Claire, would you?” Panic-stricken, Queenie leapt to her feet and screamed.

Merlin looked from me to Queenie. Without the slightest hesitation, he agreed, “Very well. From now on, you’ll oversee all personnel decisions. If you don’t like someone, you have the authority to dismiss them.”

“Cousin, l-I’m your family! I’ve worked at Moonves since graduation. You can’t fire me!”

Queenie was like a peacock stripped of its feathers, pitiful and lost.

But Merlin never spared her a glance. His gaze remained fixed on me.

“Ms. Reese, from this moment on, you and I will fight side by side. The future of Moonves will shine because of you.”

“All right.”

My voice was calm as ever. The instant my palm met his, Liam’s face flashed in my mind.

‘Goodbye, Liam. My life was never yours to define. In love, and in career-it was always my own.’

I was one step closer to achieving everything that I set out to do. With this new status and promotion, I would grow closer to it all. I didn’t need Liam to dangle his carrots anymore; I was above it.