No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric) novel Chapter 301

Xenia broke out in a cold sweat, her hands trembling so badly she could barely hold onto her phone. Panicking, she stepped away from Noelle's desk.

Lucas blocked her path. "You haven't answered my question. What were you doing just now?"

Xenia's hands were shaking, and she didn't dare look Lucas in the eye. She stammered, "I… I was just trying to help with Donovan's project. After all, Maple Enterprise is Donovan's competitor right now, and I wanted to help."

"You can help, but do you realize what you just did is illegal? Your actions will hurt Noelle!" Lucas said sharply.

He couldn't believe Xenia would go so far as to do something like this.

Then, he suddenly recalled something Frank had mentioned. "Could the surveillance footage from the coffee shop be real after all?"

"No, Lucas, it's not like that," Xenia quickly denied.

Lucas didn't want to hear her explanation. He grabbed her and said, "Go apologize to Noelle right now!"

Although Lucas had his differences with Noelle and had even been trying to dissuade her from joining Team Celestial earlier, he would never stoop to something so underhanded.

Xenia's face drained of color, and she pleaded, "Lucas, I'm just doing this for Donovan. Please don't tell anyone."

If Noelle found out, she would be finished. With Noelle's personality, she would never forgive such a betrayal.

Lucas looked at her in disbelief. "Are you saying Donovan told you to steal Noelle's data?"

"Yes! Why else would I take such a risk? It doesn't benefit me at all." In her panic, Xenia dragged Donovan into the mess to shield herself.

Lucas stood frozen, stunned by the revelation. He never imagined Donovan would go this far. Given Donovan's character, it wasn't surprising, especially now that he had such strong negative feelings toward Noelle. He had even talked about ruining Maple Enterprise.

Sensing Lucas's hesitation, Xenia pressed on. "Frank has invested half his fortune into this project just to gain a foothold in Yasnia. If it fails, it'll be a devastating blow for him!"

Xenia jumped in fright and quickly explained, "Nothing, we were just discussing the team. Now that you're the captain of Team Yole, do you really need to join Team Celestial?"

"Well, it's possible. Team Celestial is strong, has great benefits, and a bright future!" Noelle said.

She returned to her seat, glanced at her computer, and smirked. "You two have been messing with my computer, haven't you?"

"No, we've been chatting here the whole time! Maybe someone else did," Xenia stammered, looking at Lucas.

She desperately hoped Lucas wouldn't say anything.

Lucas nodded vaguely, then turned to Noelle. "Donovan is determined to win this project. He'll use every method he can. After all, you're just an employee. You should leave while you still can."

"Who says I'm just an employee? If this project wins the bid, I'll get stock options and shares in Maple Enterprise," Noelle said.