Chapter 2

Two days later, Chloe dropped a dozen images into the agency's WhatsApp group.

They were gaudy, oversaturated, neon-soaked perfume ads.

She sent a voice note, her tone sickeningly sweet:

"Hey everyone! These are the first-draft posters I ran through the newest AI model."

"Just type in a few prompts and it spits them out in a minute. So effortless!"

"Unlike the art department taking weeks to sketch things out. So outdated!"

The group exploded.

The shareholders who only cared about quarterly spreadsheets rushed to shower her with praise.

[Looks bold and modern!]

[Eye-catching colors. Chloe really knows her stuff.]

Logan dropped a thumbs-up emoji.

[Great work. Keep refining it.]

Zoe sat across from me, rolling her eyes so hard they almost fell out.

"Scarlett, look at the trash she posted!"

She slid her tablet across my desk.

I glanced at it. The images were flashy, but that was all.

The lighting made zero sense, and the perfume bottle was warped and distorted.

Worst of all, the filigree pattern in the background of one ad was lifted straight from House of C's iconic monogram.

Classic AI flaw: scraping generic datasets with zero regard for copyright.

"If she presents this to House of V, they'll sue us into the ground," Zoe whispered.

I let out a cold smirk.

"Then let her present it."

Zoe gasped.

I logged into the internal portal and pulled up Chloe's marketing budget request.

She requested thirty thousand dollars to run targeted pre-launch hype campaigns across social media.

She framed it as "testing market sentiment," but in reality, she just wanted to build clout for herself.

I clicked approve and typed my note: [Innovative concept. Maximize reach. Budget boosted by an extra fifteen thousand.]

Zoe's eyes bugged out.

"Scarlett, are you crazy? Putting these online will trigger a massive copyright lawsuit!"

I leaned back in my chair.

"The person facing that lawsuit is Logan, the legal rep. What does that have to do with me?"

"She wants to fly? I'll give her wings."

"The higher she flies, the harder she'll hit the pavement."

That afternoon, Chloe grabbed the approved funds from accounting. On her way past my door, she knocked and stepped in.

"Scarlett, thank you for greenlighting the budget."

"I honestly thought you'd be petty and block it since I replaced you."

Listening to her passive-aggressive garbage, my voice remained silky smooth.

"Why would I? You're so talented. The agency should support you."

"Keep up the momentum. Knock 'em dead at the House of V pitch."

Chloe raised her chin proudly.

"Don't worry. I won't let anyone down."

She strutted out of my office.

I shut the door and dialed a number.

"Mr. Hayes, did you look over the partnership proposal I sent?"

A deep, steady male voice came through the line.

"I did. I appreciate your sincerity, Scarlett. But you're still Logan's co-founder. How can I trust you?"

I tapped my fingers on the desk.

"In three days, I'll be completely out of the company."

"And I'm bringing Zenith Corp and CloudTech with me."

"As for Logan's agency... in three days, it won't exist."

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a low chuckle.

"Fair enough. I'll be waiting."

Hanging up, I backed up every client file onto my encrypted drive.

Now, all that was left was watching Chloe's grand performance.