His Favoritism Bankrupted Him

My husband, Keaton Smyth, CEO of Orion Corp, ran the company under strict rules.

I brought in a $10 million investment. But I clocked in one second late, so bye-bye VP promotion. I got accused of disrespecting company policy, demoted, and slapped with a pay cut.

Then there was Evie Larsen, his shiny new assistant.

She ditched work on the day of a huge contract signing and trashed Orion's only shot with a public company.

Keaton's response?

No punishment. No write-up.

He called it "personality," promoted her right there, gave her a raise, and tossed her a river-view apartment as company housing.

Evie still wanted more.

She pushed to take over Orion's core project, all so she could "prove herself."

I shut her down.

That same day, she marched into Keaton's office and accused me of power-tripping, insulting her, and refusing to train her.

I thought Keaton would see through it.

The next morning, my name was gone from the project team. My file access was revoked, too.

"Since you're too senior to mentor new hires, you're starting over. Entry-level sales rep. Same level as them."

Everyone waited for me to snap.

I just smiled and handed over the flash drive with the project data.

Keaton nodded, pleased.

"Don't let it happen again."

What he didn't know?

That data wasn't complete.

The second they uploaded it, the errors would tank the project—and trigger a breach-of-contract penalty big enough to bury them.

Keaton took the flash drive from my hand, smiled at the teary-eyed Evie, and placed it in hers.

Then he looked at me, his face going cold.

"This demotion is your warning. Screw up again, and I won't go easy on you."

After a brief pause, he added, "I hope everyone takes this as a lesson. Just because you've been here longer doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. Don't end up like Tessa."

I stayed quiet.

My teammates didn't.

"Mr. Smyth, this isn't fair. Everyone knows Tessa built this project. Why does Evie get to take it over when she hasn't even been here six months?"

"Tessa lived at the office for this project. She worked herself so hard she nearly ruined her eyes. How does Evie get all the credit just by saying a few words?"

"She's brand-new. She barely knows how anything works. If she takes over a project this big and blows it—or misses the deadline—we're the ones who'll pay for it."

Keaton frowned. "Enough. This is a company, not a circus. Stop making a scene. If Tessa can run the project, someone else can too. Evie's new, but she's every bit as capable. Get her up to speed, and she'll do even better.

"And that's final. Anyone who keeps arguing can join Tessa in entry-level sales."

The room slowly fell silent.

My teammates still looked ready to fight for me, but I lifted a hand and stopped them.

Keaton had already made up his mind.

Pushing him now would only get them dragged down with me.

Evie's eyes filled with grateful tears.

"Mr. Smyth, I won't let you down. I'll prove you made the right choice. I'm just as good as anyone else."