She Dressed Me Like Bait, Not Knowing the Shark Was My Brother Chapter 05

She Dressed Me Like Bait, Not Knowing the Shark Was My Brother Chapter 05

“Ms. Ryan! Ms. Ryan, please reconsider!”

Mr. Thornton was still hollering after us as we left. But the second we got outside, Jack grabbed me

by the arm and guided me into his car.

“This isn’t the way home! Where are we going?” I pressed my face against the window, watching

unfamiliar streets pass by.

Jack kept his eyes on the road, but gave me a disgusted glance out of the corner of his eye. “Shopping. If Mom and Dad see you in that rag, they’ll kill me.”

My brother is a man of action. He didn’t just take me to the mall, he even called my best friend, Sophie Lane to help. The mission, according to him, was, “How to dress Nicole so I don’t get

screamed at.”

After we threw the deep-V nightmare in the trash, Sophie held up two new arrivals against me.

She’d heard the whole story and was rolling her eyes so hard I thought they’d fall out. “So you just

quit?”

I nodded and took a soothing sip of my iced latte.

Sophie handed the dresses to the salesgirl and snorted. “The only reason I had Lane Holdings work

with that rinky-dink company was because of you.”

“If you’re out, I’ll call them tonight. We’ll pull the funding and send the termination letter

tomorrow.”

I put my hand over hers, pulling out my phone. “Hold on, “I said, smiling. “Too soon. If we cancel

it’s too easy for them.”

now,

Sophie glanced at me and grinned. “Okay, Nicole, You’ve gotten sneaky. What’s the play?”

“Jack pulled his deal,” I said. “They’ll see Lane Holdings as their last lifeline. So since the project is

‘Emily’s’ now… shouldn’t we let her have a little fun with it?”

The next few days were chaos at my old company.

After Jack pulled his contract, Mr. Thornton was bleeding money. He pinned every hope he had on the Lane Holdings deal.

Hayes deal. If you blow this inspection too, you’re out on the street, got it?”

Emily was all meek nods. “Don’t worry, Mr. Thornton. I’ll have everything perfect.”

“I heard the rep is a woman,” he warned. “So keep your sleazy tricks to yourself. Don’t screw this up for all of us.”

Emily smiled bitterly, cursing Nicole in her head.

The day of the inspection, the entire office was on edge. Emily wore a boring pantsuit and waited at

the entrance until her legs ached.

At two in the afternoon, Sophie strolled up, wearing sunglasses and four-inch heels.

Emily rushed over, pasting on a bright smile and sticking out her hand. “Hello, I’m Emily Foster, the project lead. Welcome.”

Sophie took off her sunglasses and gave her a cold look. She didn’t shake her hand. She just walked

past her into the conference room.

Emily just stood there, as if an invisible wind had slapped her face.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

The next two hours were hell.

“This is your plan?” Sophie threw the folder on the table.

“The layout is a mess, the font is ugly, the focus is completely off.”

“Ms. Foster, is your company run by amateurs? I wouldn’t wipe my table with this garbage.”