Miss Josefina: Nobody's Princess

Before Noel even spun around to see who it was, he knew it had to be the ever-arrogant Josefina. Who else in the entire company could carry that air of haughty self-assurance but Josefina? With a turn and a grin, Noel faced her. "Ah, Ms. Josefina, so it was you. Was Kale stopping me because you didn't show up on time?"

A smirk played on Josefina's lips as she stood before Noel, her presence every bit as commanding as his. "Noel, are we about to have a little chat about your punctuality, or rather the lack of it?" she prodded.

Kale picked up his tablet and pulled up Noel's attendance record. "Noel, you never clock in. I've reviewed the security footage-you're consistently late, you duck out early, and frankly, you're not exactly breaking the bank for us here."

The color drained from Noel's face, embarrassment mixed with anger, especially in front of the crowd that had gathered. His blood ran cold with fury. "Lapdog," Noel hissed, throwing a glare at Kale. Kale's expression remained unflustered. "If I'm Ms. Josefina's lapdog, what does that make you? Her errand boy?"

Alex emerged from the restroom, catching the tail end of the conversation, and chuckled. "Then I guess I'm Ms. Josefina's right-hand man." After all the favors Josefina had done for him, Alex was more than happy to be on her team.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Noel's eyes narrowed at Alex, baffled as to why this fool would admit such a thing out loud. The guy must be an idiot!

In Noel's mind, there was no doubt that Alex became Josefina's sugarbaby.

Josefina's laughter was brief as she turned to Noel, her smile fading into a stern line. "Noel, Kale is my assistant and has the authority to make executive decisions in my absence. As a department head, don't you think your example of tardiness sets a poor standard?"

Noel felt cornered and clenched his jaw. "This is slander. My late arrivals and early departures are for the sake of securing deals for the company. Everything I do is for the greater good. I was about to land that factory deal until you abruptly cut it off. I have to wonder if there's a personal agenda behind your actions."

The eavesdropping crowd, though pretending to work, was all ears. They were curious to see if Noel could outmaneuver Josefina. Despite her youth, Josefina was a force to be reckoned with. Without anger, Josefina's calm gaze fixed on Noel, unblinking, and it sent a chill down his spine.

"If you want me to lay it all out, Noel, then let's be transparent. Since everyone's here, let's see who's hoarding power and who's deliberately crossing lines."

With a glance from Josefina, Kale

dispatched an email to everyone's inboxes from his tablet. As the employees opened the message and started whispering among themselves, murmurs filled the room.

UMS

"Wow, the factory owner sure gave Noel a lot of perks-dinner invitations, shopping sprees, expensive gifts."

"It's hard not to question Noel's integrity after seeing this."

"Despite his hefty salary, Noel sports a watch worth a year's earnings. He wouldn't splurge on that, would he?"

"I couldn't justify spending a year's salary on a watch. I guess I wouldn't need to eat or pay the mortgage, then."

"Noel's daughter is studying abroad. That's a significant expense, isn't it?"

"Noel's wife doesn't work either. They must be rolling in it!"

The murmurs turned into a cacophony of suspicion, leaving Noel flustered and incensed. "Josefina, what is this? You've been spying on me!"

"Noel, your tavish lifestyle doesn't

match your paycheck, and the company's profits aren't as high as expected. Can you blame me for being curious?" Josefina retorted without missing a beat.

Kale cut straight to the point. "Noel our investigation shows you've been accepting bribes, just like Jaxon You've been inflating costs and pocketing the company's money!"