Chapter 464: Chapter 464: Slapping Vera Sawyer’s Face
Vera Sawyer looked Estelle Lockwood up and down. "You complained to Mr. Sloan, didn’t you? That’s why he’s making me come here to apologize, right?
"But even if I have to apologize, I’ll only apologize to Mr. Sloan. Who do you think you are!
"Besides, I wasn’t even wrong to begin with! You know nothing, yet you went to the site and started pointing fingers. That was your problem from the start. I was just defending Miss Yeats. Even if Mr. Sloan were here right now, I’d still be in the right!" Having said her piece, Vera tilted her chin high, looking entirely unyielding.
Estelle was speechless. She couldn’t hold back a laugh.
Vera instantly flared up. "What are you laughing at?! I want to see Mr. Sloan!"
She figured Estelle was just throwing her weight around because she was Mrs. Sloan, acting without any scruples.
Estelle slowly raised an eyebrow. Her voice was unhurried, as if she were speaking of something entirely trivial. "You don’t have the qualifications yet."
"That’s hilarious!" Vera planted her hands on her hips, her arrogance flaring. "I’ve known for a long time that the boss behind Radiance is Mr. Sloan. You found out too, didn’t you? That’s why you lost your mind and stormed over to Radiance to cause a scene.
"What a pity, Estelle. You just don’t get it. Men like gentle, virtuous wives. You can’t help him with anything, yet you threw a tantrum over some trivial matter and stalled the handover ceremony. Do you even realize how you look right now?
"Miss Yeats, who genuinely has Radiance’s best interests at heart, is still over there helping out. And you? You only know how to throw fits and waste everyone’s time!" She shot Estelle a look of pure contempt. "I’m begging you, have some shame! Do you really think just because Mr. Sloan is your husband, you can do whatever you want and turn the world upside down?
"I’ve seen plenty of women like you. Don’t think your position as Mrs. Sloan is secure. Let me tell you, Miss Yeats is Mr. Sloan’s friend. Tell me, if a woman who outshines you in every single way appears in front of Mr. Sloan, do you think he’d still have eyes for you?"
Estelle put down her phone, her interest piqued. "What are you trying to say?"
Vera thought to herself that Estelle was indeed afraid after all. She grew even more haughty. "Go and apologize to Miss Yeats. After all, you’re the one who wasted her time.
"When you do, Miss Yeats will take into account that you’re Mrs. Sloan and won’t hold it against you. Naturally, she won’t say anything to Mr. Sloan either.
"Otherwise... take a guess. In Mr. Sloan’s heart, does Miss Yeats carry more weight, or do you?"
Estelle looked at Vera calmly for a moment. Seeing the genuine contempt in her eyes—without a trace of pretense—Estelle realized that Vera truly believed this. In Vera’s mind, Claire Yeats was Nathaniel Sloan’s "friend of seven years" and therefore far more important than Estelle.
Would a normal person really have this kind of logic?
Estelle’s lips curled into a faint smile. Her calm gaze landed somewhere in the distance as she spoke mildly. "That’s a very interesting question. I’d like to know the answer myself."
Vera sensed that something was off. What was Estelle looking at? She instinctively turned her head.
Suddenly, a cold, clear voice struck like a biting winter wind, exceptionally indifferent. "Yes, I am curious too."
Vera froze for a second before joy flooded her face. That voice belonged to—
But before she could properly rejoice, Nathaniel spoke again in an even tone. "I am curious to know exactly what connection Claire Yeats has with me."
Vera choked on her words, her mind instantly scrambling into chaos. What did that mean? What relationship did Claire have with him? Wasn’t Claire his friend? Seven years... they had been friends for seven whole years!
Vera stammered, "M-Mr. Sloan, you’ve already given Radiance to Miss Yeats. T-There’s no need to hide it anymore. As your wife, Mrs. Sloan will just have to accept it..."
Right, that had to be it. It must be because Estelle was present that Mr. Sloan refused to admit it.
Nathaniel’s voice was ice-cold. "On what grounds do you believe that, Miss Sawyer?"
Vera felt that something was wrong, but her empty brain simply couldn’t analyze what it was. She gritted her teeth. "M-Mr. Sloan, Miss Yeats told me everything. I know we neglected Mrs. Sloan earlier, but it was only because we were busy. Miss Yeats had already arrived, and everyone was attending to her. Besides, Miss Yeats is the new boss of Radiance. How could we ignore our own boss just to entertain Mrs. Sloan?
"We may have been poor hosts in that regard, but... but we can’t let Mrs. Sloan’s temper delay the handover!
"Everyone over there is waiting for you right now..." Vera bit the bullet and pressed on. "Please don’t just coddle Mrs. Sloan’s tantrums, or else Miss Yeats will be heartbroken!"
As her voice faded, dead silence fell over the office.
The corners of Nathaniel’s lips curled up inch by inch, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Though he was smiling, he radiated an extreme, bone-chilling aura. "Miss Sawyer, there is one thing you seem to be mistaken about."
Vera swallowed hard, a sudden wave of foreboding washing over her. Wait, what was she mistaken about? What did she get wrong?
"The proceedings at Radiance haven’t stalled because they are waiting for me." Nathaniel wore a half-smile as he dropped his words into Vera’s heart one heavy syllable at a time. "They are waiting for the new boss."
Vera was thoroughly dumbfounded. She could understand those words individually, so why did they make no sense when strung together? What new boss? Wasn’t the new boss Miss Yeats? Miss Yeats was already at Radiance, so why couldn’t they hold the handover ceremony?!
The new boss... the new boss...
Vera’s brain suddenly kick-started into high gear. She thought of President Kerr’s phone call, thought of how Mr. Sloan had specifically called her out to apologize, and thought of how Estelle had inexplicably shown up at Radiance...
She stumbled back a step in sheer disbelief, her hands and feet turning icy. Her blood felt as if it were flowing backward as she abruptly whipped her head around to look at Estelle.
Did Mr. Sloan mean that the boss of Radiance was Estelle?! The new boss of Radiance was actually Estelle Lockwood, not Claire Yeats?! It was actually Estelle? How could it be Estelle...? Her entire understanding of the situation shattered.
Thinking about how she had just treated her new boss, Vera shuddered violently.
Estelle met her horrified gaze, finding it utterly amusing. "Figured it out? Apologize."
Vera’s face drained of color, her entire body going stiff. She still didn’t want to believe it. In her mind, Estelle was nothing more than a lucky woman who had latched onto Mr. Sloan. How much better could she possibly be than Vera? By what right was she now the boss of Radiance!
Vera was furious to the core. "Why didn’t you say so earlier!" She shifted all the blame onto others. "If you had just said so earlier, I—I wouldn’t have chased you away! It’s your own fault for not making things clear... How could you retaliate against me like this! I—I was doing it all for the company!"
Nathaniel stepped in front of Estelle, shielding her. "Estelle didn’t say so?" he asked smoothly.
Vera choked.
"Before Estelle even arrived at Radiance, you had already decided that Claire Yeats was the new boss. Don’t tell me you forgot, Miss Sawyer?"
Vera gritted her teeth, the veins on her forehead bulging. She was caught between panic and complete loss, buzzing around like a headless fly with her mind in absolute disarray.
Just then, she heard Estelle chuckle. "Actually, I could forgive you."