The Sleeper's Wrath and His Wife's Strike novel Chapter 137

Lindsay ignored Naomi’s provocative glare completely. She couldn’t care less about who ended up with the coveted spot.

After a string of pointless pleasantries, the manager finally got to the point.

“After two days of review, we have decided on the candidate for the fashion design slot. Unanimously, we found Naomi’s work to be the most striking and original.”

Naomi leapt to her feet to thank everyone before the words had even finished leaving the manager’s mouth.

The manager cleared his throat, visibly awkward. “Ahem, Naomi, hold on—I’m not finished yet.”

Naomi sat back down, but the smug look on her face didn’t budge. She kept shooting Lindsay taunting glances, hoping to catch a flicker of disappointment or anger on her face. But Lindsay’s expression stayed tranquil, as if the outcome had nothing to do with her.

That only made Naomi angrier. Clearly, Lindsay was just jealous but too proud to show it, afraid Naomi would see and mock her.

It had to be that!

The manager went on, “Honestly, all the designs this round were impressive. Lindsay’s in particular stood out as fresh and well-executed—keep at it, and go for it again next time.”

If Naomi hadn’t submitted her design, Lindsay would have easily claimed the spot.

After the meeting, Lindsay sought out the manager. She snapped a photo of Naomi’s winning design.

Once the slot was finalized, the manager would take the designs to get them approved and then manufactured.

Back at her desk, Lindsay sent Naomi’s design to Cheryl.

It took a while before Cheryl replied:

[Are you sure this is Naomi’s work?]

[Naomi’s got some nerve, I’ll give her that—even plagiarizing my rejects! What I can’t figure out is how she got them. I never threw those sketches out—they’re all locked in my office drawer. How did she get in and steal them?]

Lindsay had her doubts. Naomi might want to win badly, but was she really reckless enough to do something so foolish?

[Isn’t it more likely that someone from your own design team sold her the sketches? Only someone close to you would have access to your work. Naomi’s an outsider—there’s no way she could just stroll into your company and break into your office. It doesn’t add up.]

Cheryl paused. Suddenly, she remembered her assistant who’d quit two weeks ago. That woman had spent more time in the office than Cheryl herself.

Most tellingly, she’d once complimented that exact design and even asked why Cheryl wasn’t using it.

Looking back now, the pieces started to fit together.

The Green Group had always treated its employees well, and Cheryl made a point to be fair. But her assistant’s sudden resignation now seemed far from innocent.