Phoebe came out after drying her hair, and the office was dead quiet. Theodore put out his cigarette and waved her over. "Come here." Phoebe hesitated but walked over and sat next to him.

He placed his hand on her neck, gently massaging her scalp. "Good, it's dry."

Phoebe and Vanessa were both stunned by his intimate gesture.

Phoebe felt a tingle on her scalp, her nerves on edge, and her mind went blank for a few seconds.

Vanessa couldn't believe Theodore's closeness to Phoebe. Something had definitely changed between them.

Panic hit Vanessa hard. She had to stop them from getting together.

Vanessa coughed loudly to get their attention. "Ms. Ziegler, I don't think I've ever wronged you. Why are you plotting against me?" Phoebe snapped back to reality, trying to ignore Theodore's hand on her head. "Ms. Fitzroy, I don't know what you're talking about."

Vanessa looked at Phoebe with jealousy and hatred. Why did Phoebe get all of Theodore's affection?

She put on a pitiful look. "I know Theodore gave Queen Entertainment to me, and you're not happy about it. But causing trouble behind my back isn't fair." Phoebe squinted her eyes, realizing that Vanessa was trying to make Theodore resent her with these accusations. It was quite a sly move.

Theodore's fingers stopped massaging her head, and Phoebe felt a sense of relief. Vanessa's tactic was simple but effective on Theodore.

Theodore said, "Phoebe, explain it."

Phoebe replied, "Noah and Claire are artists I promoted. After I left, the company couldn't support them. Was it wrong to terminate their contracts early and set them free?" Vanessa interjected, "Well, you promoted, but with Queen Entertainment's resources. You made them famous and then let them go. Did you think about the company's future?" "It's not my company. Why should I care about its future?" Phoebe shot back.

Vanessa turned to Theodore, furious. "Theodore, listen to her. She's targeting me because you gave Queen Entertainment to me."noveldrama

Theodore frowned. "Phoebe."

Phoebe felt a chill. She turned to Theodore. "When you asked me to manage Queen Entertainment, it was an empty shell. I fought for all the resources. I only let two artists go when I left. Is that too much?"

Vanessa gritted her teeth. "Without the Reynolds Group's backing, could you have secured those resources? You didn't just let two artists go; you turned them into a drain on the company! They hired lawyers to demand early termination penalties. The company relies on their endorsement fees to stay afloat. Where am I supposed to get the money for their penalties?"

Vanessa got more agitated. After taking over Queen Entertainment, she had the financial manager audit the accounts and found the company had barely broken even in the past six months.

If they had to pay Noah and Claire's penalties, the company wouldn't last three months before going bankrupt. Phoebe had handed her a ticking time bomb. Phoebe smirked. "You're right. I did rely on the Reynolds Group's backing to get those resources. Now you have the same backing. What's the problem?"

Vanessa's face twisted.

When Theodore first gave her Queen Entertainment, Vanessa was eager to impress him.

But once she was in charge, with employees constantly asking her how to handle things, she was lost.

Vanessa had never run a company, let alone an entertainment one. With dozens of employees and artists waiting for her direction, she had no clue what to do.

She had seen Phoebe sitting in the office, occasionally going out for coffee and securing resources effortlessly. She thought managing an entertainment company was easy.

'If Phoebe can do it, why can't I?' she pondered. however, reality hit her hard.

Vanessa seethed with rage, rendered speechless by the betrayal she felt. Her eyes pleaded with Theodore for understanding. "Theodore, Phoebe is setting me up. Are you just going to stand by and do nothing?" Phoebe sneered at Vanessa, while Theodore shot her a disapproving look. "This mess began with you, Phoebe. You need to fix it," he remarked.

"What do you want me to do?" Phoebe asked coldly.

She knew Theodore would always side with Vanessa.

Seeing the indifference in her eyes, Theodore frowned. "You can terminate the contracts, but the penalties should not be mentioned again."

"No way!"

"No way!"

Phoebe and Vanessa spoke at the same time. Vanessa quickly added, "Theodore, we can't let Noah and Claire go. The company relies on their endorsement fees. If we let them leave, the company will be hard to manage." Phoebe sneered, "When I took over Queen Entertainment, the company only had a useless piano queen. How come I could make two artists famous, but you can't even manage one?"

Vanessa was furious. She knew Phoebe was mocking her by calling her the useless piano queen. She snapped, "That's because I'm not as luck as you. The company doesn't have any talented people. I suspect you deliberately signed a bunch of nobodies to dump on me."

Phoebe almost laughed. She had always believed Vanessa was full of hot air without any real backbone. Even if she hadn't hinted at Noah and the others to turn against Vanessa, Queen Entertainment wouldn't last three months under her management.

She retorted, "Queen Entertainment has no nobodies except you!"

"You!" Vanessa was livid. Phoebe had the audacity to call her a nobody. She bit her lip and looked tearfully at Theodore.

She pleaded, "Theodore, you have to stand up for me."

Theodore's temples throbbed. He said firmly, "Vanessa, you're not suited to run a company. I'll hire a professional manager to help you. You should go back to the hospital and rest." Vanessa stared at Theodore in shock. "Theodore, I..."

"Leave now. I have more to discuss with Phoebe." Theodore raised his hand to stop her from speaking further. Vanessa bit her lip, maneuvered her wheelchair, and left in a huff.