I Quit Being a Stepmother (Cypress Gem) novel Chapter 492

Chapter 492

Carter wasn’t exactly sure when he had fully accepted the reality he now faced.

Perhaps it had been a gradual process, one that sank in until resistance was futile. Or maybe it was Lauren’s recent verbal tirade that finally broke through.

Regardless, he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he entered Solaris Ventures full of energy.

Jamison Group hadn’t been a particularly famous company. People in Draventh knew of it mostly because of the messy personal scandal involving Rhea.

Solaris Ventures had only entered Dalea earlier that year, so almost nobody knew Carter had once been a big–time CEO.

The moment he walked into the project team’s workspace, everyone was taken aback.

Rhea’s ex–husband? He was working here?

The memory of that dramatic scene still lingered in people’s minds. They even occasionally gossiped

about it with relish.

Now,

one of the key players had reappeared.

No one suspected much of it. They figured that if he could join the project team, Rhea must have approved.

Everyone had their own thoughts, but being professionals, they all greeted Carter as if it were their first time meeting him.

“As for the team you’ll be in… Ms. Levy?”

Annie suddenly appeared and glanced at Carter. “Follow me.

Earlier that morning, Melanie had told her that a particularly promising employee had joined the project team and asked her to take him into her team.

One of Annie’s team members had resigned, leaving a vacancy. She certainly hadn’t expected it to be filled by Carter.

Once inside the office, Annie got straight to the point. “Does Ms. Ravelle know you’re here?”

Carter kept a straight face. “I went through the interview process properly. What does Ms. Ravelle have to do with this? I’m not close to her.”

Not close to her?

Annie sneered.

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“Your only job here is to work. Cause as little trouble as possible. Talk less, and do more,” she said. ” Your probation period is six months. You need to produce a project approved by the company within that time to secure a permanent position.”

Carter nodded.

Annie asked, “Did the HR team tell you your salary?”

He thought for a moment. “I think so.”

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As a former CEO, he hadn’t really been through interviews before and had clearly forgotten to confirm this.

“It’ll be three thousand dollars per month while you’re on probation,” Annie said. “Once you’re a permanent employee, there’ll be a project bonus. The more of your proposed projects the company approves, the more you earn.”

Carter understood.

“Your desk is near the entrance. You can go now.”

“Thank you, Ms. Levy.”

Annie was surprised. She had expected Carter to be arrogant and difficult, yet he had accepted everything with such calmness.

She thought that it was fascinating.

She wondered whether Rhea had any opinion about Carter joining the company–or if she even knew

about it at all.

Annie’s situation went smoothly, but Camilla’s was another story.

The moment she arrived at her office and turned around, her ears started buzzing.

She didn’t know what that woman was back here again, or why she had a work ID hanging around

her neck.

Lauren was dressed formally. As she stood there, she looked tall and poised.

Camilla looked at Heidi and Gisselle on the right, then at Kate, who had just entered.

Kate frowned, clearly annoyed by Lauren’s presence.

Earlier, when Kate first saw Lauren, she had been chatting with Gisselle about the latest luxury handbags. Kate had asked, “What are you doing here?”

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Lauren had snapped, “We’re not at your house. So, why can’t I be here?”

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Having witnessed Lauren’s explosive behavior that day, Camilla now looked thoroughly exasperated.

What kind of employees did the HR department hire? Did they want the company to fall?

“What’s going on?” Camilla asked patiently.

Heidi replied, “Regarding staff assignments, both Ms. Bowman’s team and mine are each short one person. The HR team said they won’t be hiring for now.”

The vacancies in Gisselle’s group had already been filled, but one member quit to attend urgent family matters abroad, opening up a spot.

The new hires over the past couple of days had joined Heidi’s team. Lauren, therefore, became the

extra one on Gisselle’s.

Camilla asked, “So? What do you two want?”

Gisselle remained silent. She certainly didn’t want Lauren, the ticking time bomb. What if she bullied Kate again?

Camilla then asked Lauren, “Which team would you like to join?”

Lauren put on a polite smile. “You’re the boss.”

Camilla turned to Heidi, “Any thoughts?”

Heidi didn’t hesitate. “I’ll take her.”

“Alright. Get to work,” Camilla said quickly, sending them off.

She had a feeling that Lauren would inevitably clash with Kate, which would be too much of a

disturbance at work.

She figured that it wouldn’t take long before Lauren was fired. However, she couldn’t reject her simply because of the events that had occurred a few days ago.

Camilla decided to wait for two days to see how things would turn out.