She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 824

And legally, it would have been considered a pass.

Yet Melanie was willingly digging her own grave, stubbornly insisting on holding herself to the Royce Group's absolute peak historical standard.

By doing so, she had practically mathematically guaranteed her own defeat.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Before Leila could even respond, Julian Lester started slow-clapping in mock admiration.

"Ms. Royce has such incredible courage and resolve! Well, since she's laying down the law herself, we will absolutely hold her to the 0.91% standard. After all, it's her personal request. It would be rude of us to refuse her generosity, wouldn't you agree?"

Julian's tone was entirely dripping with malice, clearly relishing the impending disaster.

No one in the room laughed, except for Julian himself.

However, while he was laughing so hard he was practically doubled over, his eyes accidentally locked with Preston's.

The sheer, abyssal darkness in Preston's gaze made a violent shiver shoot down Julian's spine.

Actually, Preston wasn't even glaring at him.

He had simply glanced at Julian because the man was mocking Melanie.

But that single, passing glance instantly choked the laughter right out of Julian's throat.

Swallowing hard, he leaned close to Dominic and whispered, "VP Hale, who is that guy standing next to Ms. Royce?"

"You mean Preston?"

In Dominic's eyes, standing next to Melanie made Everett look entirely invisible.

So he naturally assumed Julian was asking about Preston.

"He's Melanie's assistant... and her ex-boyfriend."

Julian raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Just an assistant, huh..."

Then why the hell was his presence so terrifying?

For some inexplicable reason, Julian felt an overwhelming sense of impending doom just standing in the same room as Preston.

"Ms. Royce, you said it yourself in front of everyone. No going back now!"

"In business, integrity is everything. My word is my bond."

She completely ignored all the technical jargon and standard formatting at the top.

Skimming straight down, her eyes zeroed in on the final conclusion.

Suddenly, in front of the massive crowd and flashing cameras, the report slipped from Leila's trembling fingers and fluttered to the floor.

Dominic frowned.

Leila was frozen in place, looking absolutely completely utterly petrified, as if she had just seen a ghost.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you just standing there?"

Scolding her impatiently, Dominic bent down and snatched the report from by her feet.

The moment his eyes landed on the final conclusion, it was as if he had been struck by lightning, freezing him solid.

"This... how is this possible...?!"

Hearing Dominic's horrified gasp, and seeing their combined paralyzing shock, Julian darted forward, ripped the paper out of Dominic's hands, and read the bolded text out loud for the entire room to hear:

"The Arctigenin content of the Royce Group's current batch of Arctic Burdock Roots is 1.18%... Final Verdict... Pass..."