The Call Boy I Met in Paris – Episode 44
Derek entered with a smile that made Sophie’s victory feel suddenly premature. Her father did not look surprised to see him, confirming that the visit had never been a private family conversation.
“Very moving,” Derek said. “You got your Lake contract and decided you no longer need anyone.”
Sophie refused to let him see concern. “I never needed you.”
“You will.” He walked to the table and tapped the Maple Plaza plans. “Have you checked the project’s final fire-safety approval?”
The question landed too precisely to be casual. Sophie had submitted every document, and the preliminary review had found no deficiencies.
“The inspection is scheduled,” she said.
Derek exchanged a satisfied look with her father. “It was scheduled. Now you will not meet the fire-safety protocols.”
Sophie opened her laptop and searched the project portal. A new notice glowed at the top of the file: approval suspended pending technical review.
Her stomach tightened. Without clearance, construction could not begin. Missing the Lake Enterprises deadline would place Swift Company in breach before the ink on the contract dried.
“What did you do?” she demanded.
“I made certain the inspectors noticed a few complications.” Derek’s pleasure stripped away any attempt at innocence. “You are screwed.”
Justin read the notice over Sophie’s shoulder. The objections were vague, the timing artificial, and the reviewing officer’s name familiar enough to tell him whose influence had been purchased.
Sophie’s father folded his arms. “This is what I tried to warn you about. A contract is worthless if you cannot deliver.”
“You knew?” Sophie asked. His refusal to answer was answer enough.
She felt betrayed less by Derek’s sabotage than by her father’s willingness to gamble the company merely to force her into submission.
Derek stepped closer. “Divorce your little employee. Ask me properly, and I may convince the right people to let you off.”
Sophie shut the laptop. She would not beg him, but beneath her anger she could already hear the project clock counting down.
Justin’s voice cut through the silence. “I can help with that.”