Chapter 16
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Carlene, with her arms over her chest, was instantly stunned. “What? Are you serious? How could you not have backups? Don’t you know how important the drafts are?”
Phalicia answered, “I took my computer for repairs, so I had deleted them in advance to prevent leaks. But the folder I sent you wasn’t empty.”
When saying this, she walked toward Carlene’s computer and pulled up the send records.
“See? This is the file size.”
Hearing this, Caleb, who was standing behind her, glanced at Carlene, his gaze questioning.
Carlene panicked, snapping, “I’ve never opened the folder! What are you suggesting? Are you saying it’s my fault that the folder is empty?”
She grew even more displeased with Phalicia.
If it were before, Phalicia would have never argued. She would have just tried to find a solution right away.
Phalicia put her hand away from the mouse and straightened up to stare at Carlene. “I sent you the folder a week before I took my computer for repairs. Besides, I had my secretary review it in advance to make sure nothing was wrong. You were the one who never opened it, and now, you’re blaming me?”
“You…” Carlene parted her lips but didn’t know what to say. She was a bit terrified by Phalicia’s cold, razor–sharp gaze.
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Phalicia had never looked at her in this way.
It made her feel like they were enemies instead of besties.
Clenching her fists, she was about to snap again when Caleb stepped forward.
He stood in front of Phalicia protectively and said to Carlene with a frown, “This isn’t the time to fight. The drafts are missing, and our priority is to fix this. Besides, it’s your fault to begin with. Don’t blame Licia for it.”
Carlene widened her eyes.
Meanwhile, he shook his head slightly, casting her a meaningful glance to tell her not to provoke Phalicia.
Phalicia keenly noticed every bit of their silent interaction and pursed her lips slightly.
If it were in the past, she’d have been so touched, watching Caleb take her side over Carlene’s after all their years of friendship.
But now, from an outsider’s perspective, she realized he merely found that arguing was pointless. The only reason he supported her was to get her to salvage the situation willingly.
As it turned out, she was right. Caleb said to Carlene in a feigned reproachful tone, “Carlene, this is entirely your fault. Stop trying to pin it on Licia and let her focus on recreating the designs.”
After saying this, he turned around and grabbed Phalicia’s hand, looking
torn.
“Licia, we’re on a tight schedule here. You’ll have a week. You can stay at the company during this time.”
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She stared at him intently. “A week? Those drafts took me a month.”
“But you don’t need any time for inspiration or details this time because they’re already there. You just need to recreate them according to what you remember. Sleeping three hours a day should suffice.”
He smiled at her encouragingly and ruffled her hair.
“I’m sure you can nail it, Licia. I have faith in you.”
Then he signaled Carlene with his eyes.
Carlene curled her lip and walked over, saying reluctantly, “It’s my fault that the drafts are missing. Come on, Phalicia. Could you please do us this favor? No matter what, the winter collection is your painstaking effort. I’m sure you don’t wanna see all that go to waste, right?”
She looked at Phalicia with a half–smile, apologizing perfunctorily with blatant provocation in her eyes.
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