Chapter 28

As the client left, James sat down, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, brows furrowed with frustration. "You're not the kind of person who makes this sort of mistake." As a boss, he treated everyone the same, but right now, Maria had genuinely let him down. She’d handled that embezzlement case so well before—she’d proven her skill. Maria let out a quiet sigh, unsure how to explain. Gone was the usual sharp-tongued confidence; she bowed her head and admitted honestly, "I’m sorry. This was my oversight. I’ll fix it, no matter what." Just then, there was a knock. Grace came in with red-rimmed eyes. She glanced at Maria, then lowered her head deeply. "Mr. Bennett, I’m sorry. It was my fault—the broken product, I dropped it. Maria was just trying to cover for me. But I can’t keep quiet. I’ll take whatever punishment you decide. Please don’t blame her." At that, James’s expression softened a bit. So it wasn’t Maria’s fault after all. But she actually chose to take the fall for som