Chapter 90
Her attempt to cozy up to the “woman in charge” had ended in a colossal embarrassment. Now, her only option was to focus on revising the design proposal, hoping it would pass on the next submission.
In the afternoon, Penelope went to the kitchen to make a coffee.
As she carried her mug back to her study, she found Rebecca inside, looking at her design drafts.
“Put that down,” she snapped, her tone sharp.
She could toy with them at other times, but when it came to her work, she was serious.
Startled by her harsh tone, Rebecca put the papers down with a pout.
“I’ve seen you cooped up in the study for the past two days. Is this what you’ve been busy with? I thought you didn’t have a job. Did you start working for another company p>
“That’s none of your business p>
“Penelope, I know we’ve had our misunderstandings, but I still think of you as my best friend. You shouldn’t speak to me like that, and you shouldn’t keep your new job a secret from me p>
“I don’t have time for this right now. Please leave p>
“Penelope p>
“Have you forgotten that this is my house? Do you want me to throw you out?” The words were laced with venom. Rebecca huffed angrily and stormed out. Penelope let out a breath, momentarily pushing Rebecca and all the other chaos out of her mind to focus on her proposal.
She ended up falling asleep in the study again. Her sleep was fitful, and she was jolted awake early the next morning by a phone call.
“Penelope, it’s me p>
She glanced at the screen. It was a professional acquaintance, someone she was on good terms with.
“You were fired from Stone Group? For leaking a project proposal to a competitor p>
“Lilian, what are you talking about p>
“Penelope, Stone Group has blacklisted you throughout the entire industry p>
Blacklisted?
Before she could ask more, the line went dead. Penelope was still trying to process it when another colleague called with a similar warning.
“Stone Group carries a lot of weight in our field,” he said grimly. “And leaking company proposals is a cardinal sin. I don’t think any other firm will be willing to hire you now p>
It took a few moments for the reality to sink in. Then she remembered Rebecca in her study yesterday, seeing her proposals and asking if she’d started a new job.
She must have told Mr. Sullivan.
But even so, what right did he have to blacklist her?
Furious, Penelope stormed out of her house and went straight across the street to the Sullivan’s.
Luna opened the door and tried to block her, but Penelope shoved her aside.
She burst into the dining room, where the entire family, including Rebecca, was gathered around the table for breakfast.
“Why are you slandering me? Why did you have me blacklisted?” she demanded.
“We blacklisted you because we felt like it. There is no why,” Mrs. Sullivan sneered.
“Everything you know, you learned at
Stone Group, Mr. Sullivan added
coolly. “If you’re not going to use those skills for our benefit, we can’t allow you to use them for anyone else. It would damage our interests. Blacklisting you was the logical course of action p>
“Penelope, Stone Group invested in you. If you had any sense of gratitude, you wouldn’t have gone looking for work elsewhere,” Rebecca said with a sigh.
“Hmph. You should be at home, taking care of your in-laws and your husband. That’s your place,” Zebulon said coldly.
Penelope gritted her teeth and laughed. A sham marriage, played for a fool by this entire family, her project stolen fired, thrown out of her home and now blacklisted. They were systematically trying to destroy her.
“We were too good to you before, and it made you ungrateful. Now, even if you got on your knees and begged, you would never be
welcomed back into this family! My son doesn’t want you, and the Sullivans don’t want you. And you’re still asking why, I’lftell you. It’s because your body is useless! You can’t even give the Sullivan family an heir p>