The Doormat Wife’s Ultimate Glow-Up novel Chapter 35

“How many times has Reese ever gone against Sebastian since they got married?”

“Exactly. All she does is fuss over him. What would she even understand about this kind of tech event? She’s only ever there as a plus-one. No way she’ll actually show up.”

Sofia let out a small laugh. “Good, then. The last thing we need is her and Sebastian getting into it in front of everyone. That would be embarrassing.”

Truth was, Sofia kind of wanted Reese to come. No matter what, Reese could never measure up to her. Besides, if Reese just went home like she was told, Sebastian would probably feel bad for her and get distracted, trying to take care of her.

The three of them took their seats. Before long, Reese stepped onto the stage, dressed in a crisp, professional pantsuit.

“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to be here. I’m Reese, and I’ll be your keynote speaker…”

Standing tall at the podium, Reese called up her slides on the AI traffic management system and dove right in, explaining real-life case studies with total confidence.

She looked completely at ease, like she belonged there, her eyes shining with determination.

Watching her speak so smoothly, Elijah let out a low whistle.

Sofia snapped out of her thoughts and tightened her hold on Sebastian’s arm. “Don’t be upset, Sebastian.”

He didn’t say anything, so she glanced up at him—and caught something unexpected in his eyes. Was that… admiration? Was Sebastian actually impressed by Reese?

Sofia’s face darkened.

The presentation went perfectly. Reese handled every tough question from reporters without breaking a sweat. Several company reps said right then and there that they wanted to work with BlackOak, and their stock price jumped almost immediately.

***

In a private room at the Crestview Club...

After dinner, Neal habitually reached for a cigarette, but Elijah nudged him and nodded at Sofia.

“There it is.” Neal slapped the table. “That’s why Alan put her in the spotlight. She took your research and brought it over to BlackOak!”

Elijah sounded worried. “Sebastian, what are you going to do about this?”

“BlackOak’s system is already on the market. If people find out, the Ratcliff family’s reputation will really take a hit.”

Sebastian’s face was unreadable. “What does this have to do with the Ratcliff family? No one even knows who she really is.”

A slow smile tugged at Sofia’s lips. As long as Sebastian kept out of it, she could make sure everyone believed Reese was guilty of stealing her work.

That research data had taken her ages to find in the institute’s archives. The moment she saw it, she knew it would be the breakthrough for her own traffic system.

She’d asked around, but none of the senior researchers knew who had written it.

If it was the work of some forgotten predecessor, there was no way Sofia would let Reese claim it as her own.