He whirled on me with a snarl. "Maggie! You have no class!"
I pulled out my phone and hit play.
Every word Queenie had said in the break room—every taunt, every insult—rang out crystal clear.
Barret's expression froze.
Queenie immediately latched onto his waist, sobbing.
"Barret, she called me a homewrecker first! I only snapped back because she provoked me!"
"You're my ex-boyfriend, but there was never anything improper between us while you two were together."
"How could she slander us like that? How am I supposed to show my face around here?"
Barret believed her instantly.
"Maggie, stop making a scene."
"And do you really have to be this vicious? How is Queenie supposed to hold her head up in this company after what you said?"
I didn't even bother looking at them again.
I walked around them and headed straight to my office to pack my things.
I put everything I needed into a cardboard box.
I had just picked it up when Barret walked in and gripped the edge.
"Alright, enough. Stop this. Once things settle down, I promise I'll make it up to you."
I peeled his fingers off one by one.
"Barret, I don't need you anymore."
I carried the box toward the front door.
Barret shouted after me, furious.
"Maggie! If you walk out that door today, don't ever think about coming back!"
I went back to Marcella's place.
When she found out I'd quit, she was so angry she hurled the glass in her hand against the wall.
"Maggie, have you lost your mind?!"
"You ate ramen with him! You slept on basement floors with him! You built that empire for him, and you're just going to hand it over to that snake on a silver platter?"
"I'm going over there right now and ending both of them!"
I grabbed Marcella before she could storm out.
She pulled me into a tight hug, her voice cracking.
"Don't worry. I'm going to find you the highest-paying job in the industry. We'll make that scumbag choke on his regret."
I thought she was just trying to make me feel better.
One day later.
I received an invitation from venture capital titan Bernard Delgado.
Bernard was my senior in college.
He was also Marcella's cousin.
Four years ago, he'd asked me to join his startup team.
I'd turned him down to help Barret instead.
Four years later, he'd become the kind of man whose every move sent shockwaves through the entire industry.
And he was still waiting for me.
"Come to the Delgados. I'll give you the platform, and you take back everything that belongs to you—with your own hands."
I didn't hesitate. I signed my name on the spot.
That evening, Bernard invited me to attend an industry gala as his plus-one.
I stepped into the ballroom wearing a gown his people had delivered to my door.
Bernard went to greet the hosts and told me to mingle on my own for a bit.
I had just taken a glass of champagne from a passing waiter's tray.
Barret walked toward me with Queenie on his arm, dressed to the nines.
She was draped over him like she had no spine, clinging to every inch of him.
Barret looked me up and down. When he noticed I'd gotten thinner, his brow furrowed.
"Where have you been the past few days? You can't even bother to eat properly? Starving yourself into this pathetic state—who's that performance for?"
"Sneaking into a gala of this caliber just to grovel and apologize to me, is that it?"
He was absolutely certain I couldn't survive without him.
Queenie sauntered up to me with a glass of red wine, her voice deliberately low.
"Maggie, doesn't this couture gown fit me perfectly?"
She thrust her chest forward, showing off her curves.
"Barret picked it out for me himself."
"He's so talented. Didn't even need my measurements—one touch and he knew every inch of my body."
I watched her preen like a circus act, my gaze ice-cold.
"If you want it all so badly, it's yours."
Queenie's face stiffened. She hadn't gotten the reaction she wanted.
