Suddenly, it clicked for Kylie.

Seeing her expression, everyone figured Kylie wouldn't have trusted a big project to Lilah.

But then, Kylie threw a curveball. “I came looking for Lilah. I wondered why you were the one greeting me. I thought maybe she was tied up and sent you as a stand-in. Guess I got that wrong..."

Did Nevaeh try to steal someone else's thunder?

Eyes wide, the designers turned to Nevaeh.

In a heartbeat, Nevaeh's stock took a nosedive.

She was hit with a barrage of judgmental stares. Her cheeks flushed a deep red, and she felt a chill run down her spine. She wished she could just melt away.

Kylie didn't come for her! Nevaeh had been riding high, and Lilah kept mum probably to watch her crash and burn, right? The more Nevaeh stewed on it, the hotter her blood boiled, and her disdain for Lilah grew.

Lilah led Kylie to the exit, shooting Joseph a look that screamed, “Deal with this."

Joseph couldn't face Lilah. In such a short time, he'd made a complete spectacle of himself in front of L.P, who was from the main office.

When Kylie and Lilah were out of sight, his voice went cold. "What's the holdup? Why hasn't a single design draft been turned in?"

Nevaeh tried to compose herself. "Look, Mr. Merritt, you can't put this all on us. Lilah's the new kid on the block and doesn't quite have a handle on team dynamics. That's part of the problem."

Phoebe, from her spot in the corner, took a deep breath and approached with two design drafts in hand. “I have to hand it to Miss Phillips. She's got a real gift. She helped me out with these.”

Joseph eyeballed the drafts and was visibly impressed by the jump in quality. But then, his eyes darkened, and he shot Nevaeh a look that could freeze lava. She went white as her ruse unraveled right in front of her. Joseph's disappointment was palpable. "Nevaeh, you're the deputy director of this firm. You swiped someone's hard work, dragged the design team into your web of lies, and now you're gonna pay. You're on the bench, starting now. Oh, and kiss your year-end bonus goodbye. Everyone else who slacked off? Your paycheck this month will be cut by half, and your bonuses just evaporated."

“But Mr. Merritt!"

Nevaeh tried to get a word in, but Joseph was out of there.

The design crew was drowning in remorse. This whole thing went sideways, and they didn't see it coming.

"Seriously, Nevaeh? What's the game plan? I've got a kid. How am I supposed to buy baby food with half a paycheck?"

"You said we'd send Lilah packing..."

Their view of Nevaeh had done a 180.

Nevaeh's mind raced. Everywhere she turned, fingers were pointed at her. Finally, she burst out, "Okay, okay! Is this what I wanted? I'm stuck here, aren't I?"

The designers were a cocktail of regret and disbelief.

Lilah didn't bat an eye when she returned. She breezed past, heading for her office. Before calling it a day, her phone buzzed to life.

“Your project went smoothly today, right?"