Theodore grabbed my chin, his eyes locked on mine like a vice-cold, sharp, and more than a little overbearing. "You seriously don't take any responsibility, do you? Just pretend stuff you did never happened? Who do you think you are? Think everyone's just gonna put up with you?"
I was already pissed off about his betrayal, and now he had the nerve to come at me like this? That set me off. "At least I don't lie to myself and everyone else like some people do."
My sass lit a fire in his eyes, his voice low and almost sinister. "You'll thank me for this one day."
I gave a cold snort, rolled my eyes and reached for the car door, wanting to get the hell out, only for him to slam it shut and lock it before I could even breathe. "You think you can just walk away?"
My chest was rising and falling in rage. I cursed him six ways to Sunday in my head, and still couldn't hold it back. I clenched my teeth and spat, "What, you wanna keep me prisoner now? You think I forgot what a scumbag Graham is? And what right do you have to get all worked up about a stupid tire? You're just pissed for the sake of it. Didn't you say you hated me, that I was beneath you? So what now? You suddenly can't stay away? What are you into-pain? Or did a few nights together mess with your head?"
I gave a mocking smirk. "Honestly, between the two of us, you're the pathetic one."
His jaw clenched so hard I thought the veins in his neck might pop. His eyes were pure fury, like he wanted to end me right there. And yeah, I was scared-who wouldn't be-but I stared right back at him, refusing to flinch.
"Get out!" he barked, flinging the door open with one violent sweep, voice hoarse and brimming with rage.
His glare could've set me on fire.
That look of pure hatred felt like someone stabbed my heart, deep and brutal. It hurt-more than I'd admit.
I didn't say a word. I turned, stepped out of the car-and bam, he shoved me from behind and slammed the door shut behind me. Windows rolled up, total silence. Didn't even glance back.
I stood in the wind, freezing to my bones.
Right then, Fiona Holmes called. Said there was something urgent and I needed to get back to the office right away.
When I got back and barely sat down at my desk, one of the girls from my department-someone who'd never been on good terms with me-shot me a smug side-eye and muttered loud enough for the whole office to hear, "Homewrecker. Desperate little attention-seeker."
She wasn't loud, but boy, the room got quiet. Everyone turned to stare at me like they were waiting for a circus act.
Across from me, Fiona wheeled her chair over and leaned in close. "Where the hell were you? You have no idea what's gone down. Early this morning, someone came from the Sterling Group. Said they were Mr. Theodore's assistant. They went into Mr. Hatcher's office, had some kind of secret talk.
"Originally, Mr. Hatcher had told HR to prep your termination paperwork. But right after that assistant left, he stopped HR and even told Finance to bump your salary by twenty percent. Is it true? Are you actually messing around with your sister's fiancé?"
I almost passed out. Twenty percent?! What the hell even happened while I was gone?
Oliver came out of his office just then, spotted me, and beckoned with a polite, steady tone. "Natalie, come in for a minute."
My nerves instantly went haywire. I stood up shakily under the thick stares and low whispers swirling around me like vultures.
Inside the office, I sat at the seat opposite his desk. That fake, overly sweet smile plastered on his face made my skin crawl.He stood next to me and patted my shoulder approvingly. "Natalie, you've been with the company for a while now. You've shown solid work ethic. Honestly, you're the only one under me right now I actually trust and see potential in..."
"Mr. Hatcher, whatever it is, just lay it out," I cut him off straight.
Only then did Oliver nod and sit down. "What happened last night, that was on me. But President Graham used the ongoing project we're doing with his firm to pressure me. You know how cutthroat the industry's been-this project has top-level attention. We're halfway through now, but if it gets scrapped out of the blue, I'll be the one taking the fall."
I frowned. "So what exactly are you saying?"
He sighed. "I'm saying, can you talk to Mr. Sterling and ask him not to go against us? Besides the raise, if there's anything you're still unhappy about, just tell me-I'll try to fix it. Once things are smoothed out with you, Mr. Sterling will likely greenlight our collaboration. This is a rare shot. If things go well, we'll all benefit big time."
My mind was spinning. I'd been getting ready to resign, and now I couldn't even get the words out.
But the moment I heard Theodore's name, a chill shot up my spine. That man-he was sneaky, manipulative, and impossible to figure out. Totally terrifying.
I got through the day at work spaced out. Didn't write up a single proposal. And then, while heading home, I bumped into my landlady coming to collect my rent. I pulled out my wallet, ready to pay, but she just laughed and said I was silly-it had already been taken care of.
Confused, I entered my place and spotted Lucille lounging on my sofa, legs crossed like she owned the place. That explained it.
I grabbed my phone from my bag. "I'm sending you 3,000 bucks."
"Hold it right there," Lucille waved me off with a grin, looking secretive. "Keep it for now. Once I help you settle something major, you can pay me back-with interest."
She looked so smug, like a cat that just stole a fish, I instantly knew something was up. "Spill. What's going on?"
Raising an eyebrow, she said slyly, "What do you think? Just watch."
She pulled out her phone and opened up a video. Instantly, loud moaning filled the room. "Ah, yes, Kevin... harder, don't stop..."
The scene showed Isabella completely naked under that call boy Kevin, totally lost in it. They kept switching positions, and her breathy sounds were downright explicit. It was borderline porn. Even I blushed hard watching it.
Lucille tapped my nose, grinning wickedly. "What, reminded you of your first night with your dear Mr. Sterling? Come on, spill it-good or not? Did he deliver?"
Flushed as hell, I kicked her with embarrassment. But deep down, I couldn't stop the rush of excitement bubbling inside.
"And that's not all. My brother helped me dig into Julian's whereabouts-turns out he ran off overseas. But get this-he's flying back soon."
My heart thudded. "That's sketchy. If he fled, what's he coming back for?"
"Apparently his dad's turning fifty-five. I also heard Julian's been living it up abroad-partying, sleeping around, even dating a exchange student. Oh, and I pulled some bank records-Vivian's account recently transferred several large sums to an overseas account. Isn't that suspicious?"
I clenched my jaw tight. Julian had dumped me for a fat paycheck from Vivian. I'd been dying for payback. And now, with this video in my hands?
There's no way Theodore could keep ignoring this and go through with marrying Isabella. Unless he's seriously messed up. And Vivian-you owe me. Time to settle the score.
