Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Konni was waiting by the door when we returned home. His turbulent gaze swept over me, catching on my scraped knee, which I hadn’t noticed while in the pond—probably due to the wine I’d consumed.
“See? It’s a minor injury,” Kaya said.
“No, it’s not. It’s a major injury,” I said with a sad pout. “I’ll need to be pampered for the rest of today, including being carried to bed, where I’m going to sleep by myself because I’m too tired for anything else.”
Kaya choked on her laugh. “I think I’m going to go start dinner while you two work through this. Is Abbye back?”
“No.”
Konni’s clipped response had Kaya beating a hasty retreat.
“Does it hurt?” he asked when she was gone.
“My arms hurt from all the balls I hit, and my legs are sore from straining them last night. My knee isn’t even on my pain radar. Your unrequited love interest is though. She’s a huge pain in my ass and the reason I landed in the pond.”
“Mom said you slid off the seat.”
“I did. Ask yourself why the seat was so slick? Lianna sent us drink after drink. Your mom thought it was a test to see if I could handle my alcohol and had us drink water between glasses. But it wasn’t.
It was a test for my bladder and a way to get me to hitch a ride on the drink cart when there wasn’t a bathroom nearby.
“If I weren’t worried about her dragon-stomping me, I would have throat-punched her by now.”
His lips twitched, and he pulled me into his arms for his version of a hug, which included rubbing against me.
“She’s not my anything, and I love seeing your jealousy.”
“Pfft. This isn’t jealousy. It’s annoyance. I think I swallowed pond water, Konni.”
Silent laughter rumbled through him.
“Careful. I perfected my swing and might be in the mood to hit a few more balls.”
He kissed the top of my head, then swung me up into his arms.
“Let’s start you a bath. While you soak, we can shop for some compensation purses.”
I melted against him.
Sitting at my desk with a happy smile, I turned toward Edi, who was the only one there.
“Did you have a good weekend?” I asked.
“It was passable. I’d ask how yours was, but I already saw.”
He held up his phone, showing me two pictures side by side. One was a distance shot of me standing in the pond—no one would ever know it was me since I was facing away from the camera. The second one was of me walking through the building, smiling, waving, and completely drenched.
I scrolled to see the headline: First fire, now water. What’s next for Steele Corp’s newly acquired infamous employee?
I kept reading.
Sophia Elmantas, Steele Corp’s Walking Catastrophe, is splashing headlines yet again after a dramatic plunge into a golf-course pond on Sunday during an outing with Mrs. Steele herself.
This happens just weeks after her involvement in that eyebrow-raising data leak (from which she was cleared with remarkable speed), and her home mysteriously caught fire last weekend, leading to a Friday arrest that some netizens say wrapped up a little too neatly.
Netizens can’t help noticing that each calamity only seems to pull Sophia closer into the Steele family’s inner circle, raising the question: Is she simply the unluckiest employee on record, or is her meteoric rise through misfortune a bit too convenient?
Whether she’s social climbing or just cursed, one thing’s for sure: The saga of Sophia Elmantas is far from over, and we’re watching eagerly to see what disaster—or opportunity—she stumbles into next.
“It just popped up a few minutes ago,” Edi said. “I was going to call Mr. Steele to see how he wanted to address it.”
They’d written the article carefully this time, making sure to lean on public speculation rather than sources that could be proven incorrect.
“Not my best picture, that’s for sure,” I said. “Leave it.”
“You sure?”
“Positive. Only take down the stuff that’s a lie or infringes on privacy—like that car photo.”
He nodded and turned away.
I realized what it meant that he’d gone to me instead of Konni about this. He knew I had the final word. Wrinkling my nose, I faced my computer just in time to see a message pop up from Konni, asking us to join him.
Thinking it was about the article, I was mentally preparing reasons to back my choice when I walked into the office behind Edi.
“I need to pull together a meeting with the project managers as soon as possible this morning. All of them,” Konni said. “I’ll need you there too, Sophia.”
“Why?” I asked.
“The work you did last week highlighted an issue with the planning phase.”
The designs I’d reviewed last week had been in the operations phase, pre-construction, already out of the project development queue.
Konni read the question in my gaze.
“I’d like you to keep looking for improvements on the bigger projects currently in the project development queue. Especially the projects that are hesitating to sign a contract.”
I immediately thought of the Riverside project that was supposedly on hold because of my presence. Konni was giving me a chance, not only to prove myself to the co-workers and clients who questioned my place at Steele Corp but also to shift public opinion about why I was here.
He was also handing me a golden ticket for something even better.
“Lianna will be thrilled to hear I’m reviewing projects. I look forward to bringing in more contracts for Steele Corp in her place.”
Konni chuckled. “Thought you might.”
Edi was already checking the project managers’ schedules on his tablet. “How much time do you need with them?”
“Fifteen minutes should work.”
“I can make room first thing this morning.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Edi.”
Edi left while I lingered.
“This is even better than the purse,” I said, sitting in the chair across from him. “I need to know that you were impartial about giving me this chance, though.”
“Not even a little. I’d give you the world if you let me. But that doesn’t mean you’re not ready or able to do this. You’ve already demonstrated your ability to find design improvements is better than Lianna's. She signed off on every design you modified.”
I almost pointed out that there’d been plenty of designs where I hadn’t found room for improvement, but I was too petty to defend her like that.
“Fine. Does this mean I get to sit in her office?”
He shook his head. “You stay where I can see you.”
His computer pinged with a notification. He glanced at it.
“The meeting is in an hour. Make a list of projects you modified last week with summaries of the changes and client responses.”
“On it.”
I popped out of my chair and got to work on an SOA that showcased my impressiveness. Finishing with five minutes to spare, I forwarded it to Konni then joined him.
He quietly looked it over, asked Edi to print off seven copies, and indicated we should move to his seating area.
I was glad he was keeping the meeting casual. Hopefully, it would make my involvement in the project managers’ process feel more like help and less like a hostile takeover. I could only handle ruffling one person’s feathers at a time. That was a lie…I was an excellent multitasker.
They arrived together, filing in one after another and exchanging nervous glances as they uncomfortably took a seat. Their reactions were understandable. How often did a CEO call an employee into his office for a good conversation?
“Thank you for making time on short notice,” Konni said. “I know you’re all busy, so I’ll keep it brief.
“Ms. Stonestock’s sudden resignation put everyone in a tough spot last week. You’ve all stepped up, and I want you to know that I see your efforts. If any project owners are still raising concerns, please bring them to me so we can address them quickly.
“To help strengthen our client relationships, Ms. Elmantas will be reviewing projects. The goal is for her to identify opportunities for improvement and familiarize herself with departmental workflows. Which projects pose the biggest concerns around our credibility right now?”
No one looked my way, but they shared plenty of side glances as the silence grew.
Finally, one cleared his throat.
“I agree that we need to strengthen client relations, but is Ms. Elmantas the best choice? Given her limited time here, I’m not confident she has the experience needed to make insightful contributions.
We’re spending all our time putting out fires.
We don’t have time to try to train someone with no background. ”
“She has a background and experience.” Konni nodded to me, and I handed out the SOA.
Konni gave them a minute to skim over it, then said, “As you can see, she has a keen eye for details. Every project she revised last week received immediate client approval and gratitude. That level of client satisfaction is exactly what we need right now. Wouldn’t you agree?”
The man who’d spoken up nodded without meeting Konni’s gaze.
“I’m confident that Ms. Elmantas will need minimal guidance to contribute meaningfully. Rather than time, I’m asking for your support in ensuring only the strongest work reaches our clients. Her fresh perspective and limited experience allow her to spot improvements others might overlook.”
“Does this mean she’s stepping into Ms. Stonestock's role for approving design plans?” another manager asked.
“No. I wouldn’t hand over that level of responsibility to someone with limited experience. HR is actively recruiting Ms. Stonestock’s replacement, but it may take some time.”
“It wasn’t on the internal job posting,” the first man said, looking up from my SOA.
“Correct. We’ve decided it would be more beneficial for Steele Corp to recruit talent externally.”
He didn’t look happy about that answer.
“For now, all projects will go through me for approval after they’ve been reviewed by Ms. Elmantas, which is why she’ll remain in my secretariat.”
I mentally snorted at how smoothly Konni spun my reason for staying where I was.
“Does anyone have any other questions?”
No one did.