After a moment, Shirley continued, “I can't ascertain who it was, but I retained a voice recording of the conversation. You may discern the identity yourselves."

With that, Shirley initiated playback of the recording.

"Hello," a familiar voice greeted, unmistakably Shirley's.

"Hello, Miss Shirley Hawthorne. I understand you've encountered some creative hurdles recently." The responding voice, slightly deeper and feminine, resonated through the room, its owner immediately recognizable to all present.

Nevaeh's face went as white as a ghost.

Her colleagues all looked at her with disgust.

As the recording stopped, Nevaeh slumped in her chair, knowing full well she was in hot water.

"You all heard it. You know who it is," Shirley announced.

“Thank you, Shirley," said Lilah politely, ending the video call. Her eyes, sharp and cold, stayed on Nevaeh, who remained quiet. Then, out of nowhere, Nevaeh smiled. "You set this up, Lilah, didn't you? You knew all along what I was up to, yet you held back until you could spring this trap with your friend!"

Hate flashed in Nevaeh's eyes as she stared at Lilah.

"You're giving me too much credit," Lilah responded, disgust evident in her gaze. "I just learned about this myself. But it doesn't alter your outcome. Taking someone else's work is illegal, and I'm going to call the cops."

Nevaeh's heart raced at this, considering that each of Lilah's designs was valued at hundreds of thousands. She could be looking at jail time.

The gravity of her actions hit her hard.

"It was all a joke. Lilah, no, Miss Phillips, you haven't really lost anything," Nevaeh pleaded, her tone suddenly gentle. “Let's forget this happened. I swear I'll dedicate myself to our company's success!"

“I don't want your dedication," Lilah retorted icily.

Joseph felt sidelined and uneasy.

He knew Nevaeh was in the wrong, but he was the one who should decide if someone got fired.

Lilah, the design director, didn't have the power to dismiss staff.

Joseph cleared his throat, pulling focus back to himself. "Miss Phillips, Nevaeh messed up, sure, but it doesn't have to cost her job. Let her reflect on what she's done. If she repeats her mistake, we can talk about letting her go. We don't exactly have designers to spare. Who's going to handle the workload if she's out?"

“Anyone can," Lilah shot back, her stare frosty as she faced Joseph.

“Word of this will spread, and Nevaeh will be blacklisted everywhere.

And you still think we should keep her?"

"I have the company's best interests at heart. Plus, Nevaeh failed, and you didn't lose a thing. We're all on the same team here. Is there a need to be so unforgiving?" Joseph argued, his frown deepening. He felt utterly disregarded by Lilah, despite being the head of the company.

“If she'd succeeded in her plan, the company would've been the one to pay. We can't have someone like that here," Lilah countered, her annoyance rising.