Chapter 61

Chapter61 Doesn't The Woman Look Like Marissa

Phil's brow creased at Susanna's words. Was Marissa stirring up trouble at the wedding just to muscle in on the dividends?

"I can't believe she's become so money-hungry."Phil's expression hardened, though he kept his voice steady. "Don't dwell on it. I'll sort it out."

"But,honey..." Susanna began.

"Enough. Dry your tears." Phil rubbed his temples,remembering the important banquet he had to attend that evening. "There's a big event tonight.Go get ready, and call me when you're done. I'll have someone pick you up."

Susanna sniffled, putting on a lovelorn tone. "Can't you come pick me up yourself?"

"If I finish early, I will." With that, Phil ended the call and tossed his phone to his assistant. The PR team sprang into action, preparing the statement Phil had requested to release at the appointed time. Meanwhile, an intern from Fletcher Group named Berkley Reid-who had been guided by Marissa-stumbled across a hot topic on the internet.

"Mr. Marc Curtis and his partner were spotted dining out."

"Mr. Marc Curtis is getting married soon."

"Marc Curtis and his girlfriend made their first public appearance."

During the afternoon tea break, the break room buzzed with colleagues swapping the latest rumors.

"The new CEO of Curtis Group was seen eating out with a girlfriend?" Berkley read aloud, shifting from casual to shocked as she scrolled through the trending piece.

Her voice pulled several coworkers over.

Some of them fumbled for their phones to check.

"No way-isn't Marc single?

How is he suddenly out with a woman? Ah! I'm so sad!" "He pretended to be single the whole time and you fell for it? You're too trusting!" "Exactly. The rich have messy private lives; they're just better at keeping them out of the headlines." "Hey, Berkley, look at the photo. Doesn't the woman look like Marissa? The profile is so familiar."

An employee zoomed in on the photo, revealing a woman stepping out of a Rolls-Royce while Marc bent down to speak with her.

The photographer likely hadn't meant to catch such a scene. The camera had wobbled at just the wrong moment, making the figures blur into one another. In the shots that followed, only their backs and faint side profiles were visible.

The woman's face was mostly hidden, but the man's-clear as day-was unmistakably MAarc's.

"I don't think so. Marissa's not that skinny. That can't be her!"

"Exactly. Marissa's got a toned figure, not this frail build.Definitely not Marissa."

"Come on, are you guys saying that just because you can't stand the thought of Marc being taken?"

"What kind of nonsense is that? We're not delusional fangirls. No need to throw shade at anyone!" one of the employees shot back.

Then she typed into the comment section of her gossip account. "My heart is shattered-Marc is taken." "I'm serious, though," another insisted, squinting at the photo. "This side profile-it really looks like Marissa. I'm sure of it." She leaned closer,studying the blurred image with practiced precision. She'd always had an exceptional memory for faces and rarely got them wrong.

"Missing her already?" someone teased, earning a few quiet laughs.

In truth, hardly anyone in Marissa's department at Fletcher Group knew her real background. She didn't resemble Phil or Susanna much, and her modest demeanor gave nothing away.

When she'd first joined the company, Phil and Susanna had been adamant-she was to hide her identity as the Fletcher family's daughter and work her way up like everyone else.

Coincidentally, Evelina had joined the company at the same time.

She didn't last long in Marissa's department,though-after struggling to meet expectations, she was quietly moved elsewhere. Still, her resemblance to Phil had sparked whispers across the company.

Meanwhile, Marissa never used her family name to her advantage.

If anything, her association with Evelina caused more problems. Many assumed she'd used connections to land her job, and she faced more than her share of cold shoulders and snide remarks. But Marissa's quiet determination and steady competence eventually earned her colleagues' respect.

Only a handful of people at Fletcher Group knew who she truly was-and among them were the PR staff preparing Phil's statement.

One of them, pausing mid-sip during her coffee break, overheard the gossip floating from across the room. Curious, she set down her cup and asked, "Who's this woman that looks like Marissa?Let me see."