hary Jones raised his brows in mild surprise. “Oh? Is that so?”

If she was close to Elissa, then her medical expertise must be impressive, too. That would certainly exin how she managed to be the project lead.

Elissa, however, had lost all interest in pleasantries. She settled back in her chair, making her detachment obvious. “We’re hardly close,i” /ishe said coolly.

Even the most oblivious person could sense there was no love lost between her and Marcia.

The two habitual ckers in Elissa’s team wasted no time seizing the chance to mock her.

Raymond clicked his tongue. “See? The people with real talent always go it alone. Unlike isome /iwho worm their way into the Murphy Group, padding their résumés without actually doing anything.”

Until Elissa joined the project, none of them had ever heard her name. Yet as soon as she arrived, she

became their boss.

James chimed in, “Exactly. If you’re so capable, let’s see some results. If you’re not up for the job, stop pretending you’re cut out for it.”

“That’s enough.”

Zachary Jones couldn’t stand their petty behavior any longer. “If you can’t keep up, that’s on you. No need to make a spectacle in front of outsiders.”

They failed to recognize Elissa’s abilities simply because she didn’t report every move to them. But as the project director, Zachary knew exactly what she’d aplished.

Raymond, emboldened by his years at the Murphy Group, shot Elissa a resentful look, barely able to contain his frustration. “Who says we’re not as good? When they picked the team lead, it wasn’t exactly a fairpetition, was it?”

Elissa’s gaze swept over them, her tone icy. “Then tell me, what progress have you actually made on the projecttely?”

James scoffed, shaking his leg impatiently. “What, so you can im our work as your own?”

Cliff finally spoke up, unable ito /ilisten any longer. He gave a shortugh. “I forgot to mention–Ms. Drummond has no need ito /isteal your research. She’s already moved on to minimizing side effects, and she’s managed to reduce them by fifty percent.”

The room fell silent–not just Raymond and James, but everyone present looked stunned.

Impossible. The Murphy Group’s project had only been underway for a short time. How could anyone have made such staggering progress?

Reducing side effects by half? Forget whether it was possible–no one could’ve done it so quickly. It sounded like pure fantasy.

Raymond and James exchanged a nce before protesting, “No way! If that were true, why haven’t

we heard about it?b” /b

18:02

They were convinced Elissa was making things up just to save face.

Every time she came into theb, they were there too. She never made a show of anything. If she’d really achieved a breakthrough like that, people would be celebrating her in the halls.

Elissa just smiled, unbothered. “This is our research. Why would we need to inform you?”

These two had been cking off and undermining her from the start, simply because she was iyoung /iand a woman. Elissa had never bothered to rein them in; theirziness didn’t affect her progress, after all.

James rolled his eyes. “If you didn’t get results, just admit it. No need to put on a brave face. iYou’re /iyoung and inexperienced–nobody’s expecting miracles. But you’d do well to step down as team lead before you embarrass yourself.”

bAt /bthat, Marcia let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief. She knew it–there was no way Elissa had that kind of talent. Impossible.

Zachary watched the two men’s stubborn posturing with growing impatience. He cut in, “It’s not Elissa who’s putting on a show–it’s you two who don’t know when to quit.”

James’s arrogant smirk faded a little. “What’s that supposed to mean, Zach?”

bChapter /b216