He opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something.
Calmly, I turned and walked the other way.
"Zoe Sullivan, here's my promotion paperwork. Take a look and tell me if anything's missing."
Zoe from HR flipped through the file, puzzled.
"Your department's promotion form was already submitted."
"What?"
I froze.
"Director James said that for that project, your department's intern, Claudia Fox, was the one who did the real work. He asked that the promotion slot go to her, that she be made permanent early and promoted to supervisor."
Department supervisor. That was my position. The one I held right now.
Robert wanted to take my results, my work, and use them to pave the way for his ex.
My phone buzzed.
I looked down. A message from him.
【Claudie took the heat on that mix-up for us. When it got cleared up, it must've been humiliating for her.】
【Just think of this as our way of making it up to her. We can talk about your promotion later.】
I stared at the screen, a boundless fury rising in my chest.
Fury at Robert's shamelessness.
And even more fury that I'd once loved him so much I lost myself, which was the only reason he could treat my feelings like they meant nothing.
But this time, I wasn't going to swallow it.
Without a moment's hesitation, I reported Claudia's promotion paperwork.
Once it was confirmed that I had completed the project on my own, her paperwork was verified and rejected in under half a day.
The whole time, Robert sent me message after message. I ignored every one.
I looked at the notification on my computer screen: my promotion application, approved.
I let out a long breath, finally.
I opened my phone. Robert had sent one last message.
【Got it out of your system now? Come home early tonight. Dragging this out any further won't look good for either of us.】
Even now, Robert still thought I was throwing a little jealous tantrum.
With a light tap of my finger, I moved him to my blocklist.
Then I went straight back to the hotel where I was staying for the time being.
The next day.
After the sales department's morning meeting, I was held back alone to go over the details of my promotion.
But the moment I stepped out of the conference room, the whole office had changed.
People passing by looked at me like I was something filthy, dropping their eyes and hurrying away.
Snatches of conversation drifted past, just out of reach.
"That's the one who's the mistress?"
"She always seemed so normal. You'd never guess she was that kind of person…"
A bad feeling crawled up inside me.
Back at my desk, I picked up my phone.
The work group chat was buried under messages from Claudia.
【A certain supervisor, surname Mason, has repeatedly harassed and tried to seduce my fiancé.
When seduction didn't work, she maliciously reported my promotion application. How does someone like that deserve to work at this company!】
The guesses started fast.
【Is it AM?】
【No wonder she didn't show up at the engagement party that day. Turns out she was just jealous of someone else.】
Dozens of screenshots, every one cropped at the head and tail.
Claudia had deleted all of Robert's replies to me, twisting it to look like I'd been harassing him one-sidedly.
To keep things discreet, Robert and I had never gone public with our relationship.
But plenty of these people had been to Claudia's engagement party. Whose side they'd take was obvious.
The thing had been brewing for nearly an hour, the messages racking up by the thousands.
And Robert, the actual person involved, still hadn't come forward to deny any of it.
The screenshots were even taken from his point of view, his own first-person view.
I didn't dare let myself dwell on it. I typed fast, trying to clear my name.
A sudden commotion broke out at the office door.
Claudia shoved past everyone trying to stop her and strode right up to me.
Before I could even react, a hard slap landed straight across my face.
"You shameless little tramp, seducing someone else's fiancé, and you've still got the nerve to show up for work!"
