Forced Love Would Never be Sweet

Alina's POV

At a dinner with our client to sign the contract, Yorick Holland’s female assistant suddenly threw a glass of red wine at me in front of everyone.

“A no-name college graduate who’s always late, leaves early, snacks at her desk, and spends all day watching dramas. You think you’re qualified to meet a CEO worth tens of billions?” she sneered. “I’m not going to tolerate some gold-digger trying to seduce her way up the ladder. Get lost, and the farther the better!”

I turned to look at Yorick. His expression was detached, not even a flicker of acknowledgment in my direction. Instead, he looked at his assistant with obvious approval.

Seeing that, I smiled, then turned toward the CEO client, sitting near the door with a grim expression.

“Bro,” I said evenly, “why don’t you tell them yourself. Am I trying to seduce you?”

——

I had skipped work the whole day today. After a bit of shopping, I timed my arrival perfectly for dinner and drove straight to the hotel, where we were supposed to sign the contract with the client tonight.

Just as I was about to get on the elevator, a few Holland Corporation employees stepped in my way.

“Miss Hayward,” one of them, Dane Rios from Sales, said awkwardly, “Miss Payne specifically told us you don’t need to attend tonight’s contract signing.”

I frowned, thinking I must have misheard. “And why’s that?”

From my very first day at Holland Corporation, I’d been to every single contract signing where the deal was worth more than two hundred million, not one exception. And tonight’s contract was the biggest in company history, worth over two billion. It was a deal that could decide whether we successfully went public later this year.

Dane shifted uncomfortably. “Miss Payne didn’t really say why, but she hinted it was probably the President’s decision too.”

That made even less sense. I pulled out my phone and called Yorick three times, but he didn’t pick up once.

“Forget the other contract signing,” I said, brushing past them, “but this deal won’t happen without me, so I’m going.”

I didn’t bother explaining further. I shoved past the people blocking me and stepped into the elevator.

When I reached the private dining room, I heard Yorick’s voice from inside.

“Before the client’s team arrives, I have an announcement,” he said. “The proposal Alina drafted had too many problems, so I’ve decided to replace it with the updated plan provided by my assistant, Lucy Payne. I believe her version will bring even greater benefits to Holland Corporation.”

“Lucy, why don’t you brief everyone?” he added.

Through the glass wall, I saw Lucy open her laptop and connect it to the projector, launching into an energetic pitch to the senior executives.

I forced myself to listen for a while, but the more I heard, the more absurd it sounded.

Her “new plan” completely scrapped the strategic layout I had been building for years. Instead, she proposed starting over in an entirely new field, the same field where our client, the Porter Group, already dominated, which was artificial intelligence.

According to her, Holland Corporation should throw in its entire cash flow as an upfront investment, while expecting the Porter Group to offer unconditional, full-scale support. The only thing missing was renaming the company to “Holland & Porter Enterprise.”

“In conclusion,” she finished dramatically, “as long as we invest one billion, we can seize the advantage in this industry and, before long, surpass the Porter Group to become the leader in AI!”

As she said that, her voice shot up a pitch, like some overhyped pyramid scheme seminar.

The executives exchanged uneasy glances, but out of respect for Yorick, they gave a polite smattering of applause.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I shoved the door open.

“This isn’t a proposal. It’s a daydream,” I said coldly. “First of all, Holland Corporation doesn’t even have a billion in liquid cash. Second, what makes you think you can suddenly change the project and its terms, and still have the Porter Group accept everything without question, let alone hand over their market share to you?”

After a brief pause, I continued, “If you want to drag Yorick into your fantasy, fine. But do you seriously think everyone at the Porter Group is just a bunch of clueless drunks who’ll let you rearrange their business on a whim?”