While they were celebrating their successful collaboration with Zenith Core, things weren’t good at the Sinclair Group.

A woman rushed into Noah’s office in panic. "Sir, the client returned the shipment. They claimed the product quality is poor and are demanding a full refund."

"What?" Noah exclaimed in shock and disbelief. "Our company is known for premium quality. We never compromise on standards. How could that happen?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, growing anxious. "It’s because of the new supplier," she said carefully. "The raw materials are substandard."

"A new supplier?" He frowned. "What happened to the previous one?

The woman pursed her lips, seemingly flustered. "Miss Morgan terminated the partnership deal with the old supplier and signed a contract with another one..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a man rushed in.

"Sir, we have a serious problem," he said breathlessly. "The company recently invested in a new business venture. But it turns out to be a shell company. The entire investment has gone."

"What the hell is going on?" Noah barked. "Who approved that investment?"

The man swallowed nervously before replying, "Miss Tessa Morgan."

Noah’s gaze darkened dangerously. In just a few days, the company had lost hundreds of millions. And it was all because of Tessa’s wrong decisions.

"Miss Elena was always careful before signing any deal with a new venture," the man said carefully. "She verified every company thoroughly before making decisions. But Miss Tessa just signed the contract without any verification. We tried to stop her. But she wouldn’t listen."

With each word, Noah’s anger deepened.

"If Miss Elena were here," the woman chimed in, "she would have definitely found a solution already."

Those words were enough to snap the last bit of his patience.

"Enough," Noah roared furiously.

Both man and woman shut their mouths instantly.

Noah shot both of them a sharp glare, one after another. "She is not here. What is the point of talking about her? Get out and do your job."

They turned around frantically.

Before they could take a step toward the door, Noah commanded, "Tell Tessa to come to my office."

"Yes, sir."

The two employees practically fled the room.

Noah checked the file the woman had left behind. The more he read, the darker his face became.

Veins bulged visibly near his temple. His eyes turned frighteningly cold. Rage simmered inside him.

The directors and investors had already been furious with him over the failed collaboration with Zenith Core. Investors had begun questioning his leadership. And now, these losses...

This would only add to their anger. They would now pressure him more.

A headache pounded violently against his skull.

In frustration, Noah hurled the file across the room. Papers scattered everywhere.

Just then, Tessa entered. She froze right at the doorstep, looking at the scattered papers on the floor. She had never seen him so furious before. Her heart lurched violently.

She swallowed, but forced a smile as he approached. "What happened? Why are you angry?"

Noah shot her a cold glare. "What happened?" he repeated furiously. "After all this, you still have the nerve to ask me that?"

His voice rose. "The company lost millions already. Do you even realize what you have done?"

Tessa lowered her head. Her mind raced to find an excuse, but nothing came.

"Vertex Industries was our old supplier," he hissed fiercely. "But you terminated the partnership and signed with some cheap, substandard company without even verifying its credibility. How could you make such a careless mistake?"

Tessa’s heart trembled. She had never thought he would scold her like that. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but he spoke again, this time even more coldly.

"And then you invested company funds in a shell company." His eyes burned in anger. "Did you ever stop to think before approving that investment? Did you investigate the risks? The background? The market credibility? On what basis did you make that decision?"

Tessa grew speechless.

The truth was, she had not checked properly. She had trusted her overseas connections blindly and believed the investment would bring huge profits to the company.

More than anything, Tessa wanted to prove that she was better than Elena and that she would earn more profits in a short time. But she had never expected things to backfire so badly.

And now, she had nothing to defend herself.

"No, you didn’t think about anything." His voice rose even more. "You didn’t even bother checking at all."

"Why are you blaming me?" Tessa snapped back, unable to stay quiet anymore. "It’s not entirely my fault."

Her eyes welled up with tears.

"I am new here, and I don’t know many things. Vertex Industries raised its prices, while the new supplier offered the same materials at a much lower rate. I thought it would help the company save money. Who would have thought that they would send substandard materials?"

She wiped the tears angrily. "And that new company offered thirty-five percent profit returns. It was a big amount. I thought it would benefit us."

She covered her face and started sobbing.

Seeing her cry, his expression softened. His anger dissipated a bit.

"I’m telling you the truth," she said between the sobs. "I only wanted what was best for this company. I never expected things would turn out this way."

Noah exhaled heavily before walking toward her. He wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her closer.

"Calm down," he said tiredly. "I’m not blaming you anymore."

Tessa continued crying pitifully. "I am sorry. I caused so much damage to the company. But I swear I didn’t know any better."

She clung to his chest weakly. "You know how my health has been these days. I couldn’t focus completely on work. If I had someone to guide me, I wouldn’t have made those mistakes."

Noah also thought the same. He needed Elena badly, not only for work, but personally, too. He missed her. But Elena – she had not contacted him all these days.

Tessa looked up at him. "Can you ask Elena to come back and join the company again? She probably has not found another job yet, right?"

Hope flickered in his eyes. Maybe this was his chance to fix things between them.

"I’ll talk to her," he mumbled thoughtfully.

Tessa hid her sly smile against his chest. She believed Elena would never say no to Noah. And once Elena returned, Tessa would push all the difficult work onto her again while keeping her beneath her feet.

When she looked up at him again, her eyes sparkled innocently.

"How about inviting her to the auction with us?" she suggested sweetly.

Noah hesitated. He didn’t think it was a good idea. "Are you sure? Look, Elena is still mad at me. She might try to hurt you again."

"I don’t fear," she replied. "You will be there with me. And I know you will protect me."

At that, the last bit of his hesitation was gone. "Fine, I’ll call her."