CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FIVE – WORK OF A NARCISSIST

As she brushed past Lance, he caught her arm, holding her in place. "Kayla, wait - " She wrenched free of his grasp, fixing him with a look of pure venom. "I was giving you the benefit of the doubt, thinking you didn't really see what kind of shitshow spectacle this self-absorbed narcissist turns every situation into. But now...?" She shook her head in cold disbelief. "I don't know whether to be more revolted by her flagrant lack of professionalism or your apparent willingness to enable and indulge it." With that, she spun on her heel and stormed away, leaving Lance gaping open-mouthed in her wake. In the hall, she nearly ran headlong into the rest of the group - apparently abandoning ship as quickly as they could in the aftermath of Valeria's debacle. No one would meet Kayla's furious gaze, the men all staring fixedly at their shoes like shamed schoolboys. Only one of the younger marketing associates had the courage to hazard a sheepish half-grin and a shrug, as if to say, "well,