5. The Storm Group President Came

"Y-yes, Mrs. Winston hasn't called me. My call can't get through to her. M-maybe she blocked me."

Clink!

Troy set down his fork, his face dark, and walked off without a word.

Laura froze.

She had gotten it all wrong. If Ayla upset Troy, he would always lose his temper.

Laura used to hope Ayla would give Troy the cold shoulder for a few days. Not anymore.

Even as an outsider, Laura could see Troy only responded to gentleness, never to pressure. Ayla must know this even better than her. She never should have tried to play hard to get with him from the start.

And now, because of this game she was playing, she made Laura's life harder.

What a pain.

When Troy got to the office, he finished the routine meeting. Not long after, his secretary knocked on his door and brought him a gift bag.

He opened it.

Inside was a plain silver ring.

Max had already mentioned Ayla sold their wedding ring and went shopping at other jewelry stores.

So that was the new trick she had up her sleeve after she went missing from his life for the last two days? Ayla would probably show up at the office with a lunchbox for him later.

Troy's brows furrowed at the thought.

He snapped the ring box shut and tossed it aside, then buried himself in work.

A moment later, he called Jed and told him coldly.

"Don't let Ayla into the office today."

He hated her games.

After hanging up, Troy threw the ring box straight into the trash.

...

Monday morning. Workday.

Ayla sat at her desk on time.

When they first married, she was a full-time housewife.

At one family dinner, when Martin wasn't there, Carmen tore into her in front of everyone.

She mocked Ayla for doing nothing, eating off the family, failing to care for Troy, and worst of all-still not giving him a child. Carmen said she couldn't even hold her head up in front of friends when Ayla's name came up.

Troy had been right there. He didn't defend her. He just let his mother stab her with cruel words.

That same night, Ayla sent out her résumé.

Not to Winston Group, but to Storm Group.

Storm Group was a tech giant worth over a trillion dollars, built in just five years.

Even for a simple secretary job at Storm Group, you had to be a graduate from one of the top universities in the country.

Ayla had that covered. She graduated from Agron University with a degree in computer science, the most sought-after major at the time.

She could have gone straight into the research department. But tech jobs usually meant brutal hours, endless overtime, and staying up all night when projects got big. If she worked there, she would have no time left to take care of Troy.

So she chose a lighter role instead-an administrative position as a secretary in the president's office.

When Martin found out, he wanted her to work at the Winston Group.

X

After all, at the family company, she wouldn't have to follow strict office hours, the workload would be lighter, and she would have more freedom.

But Ayla knew how much Carmen despised her. If she joined the Winston Group, Carmen would only make her life harder and accuse her of scheming for the Winstons' fortune.

At Storm Group, she didn't have to deal with any of that. Last week, when she found out she was pregnant, Ayla had already written a resignation letter. But now she wasn't planning to send it.

She needed to rewrite her thesis and keep up with industry research. Storm Group was on the cutting edge of technology, with access to resources and opportunities she couldn't find anywhere else.

And with her easy secretary job, she still had plenty of time to work on her paper.

"Ayla, how come you didn't bring your lunch today?" Her coworker leaned over curiously from the next desk. Sometimes Ayla brought a delicate homemade lunchbox to work. But every time noon came around, she would grab it and leave the office. No one ever knew who she was really bringing it to.

The lunch was something she prepared for Troy.

Whenever Troy went out drinking at business dinners, she would wake up early the next morning to make him something gentle on the stomach.

The easiest way would have been for him to carry it himself, but Troy didn't like the hassle.

So Ayla had to bring it to the office and deliver it to him by taxi during her break.

Luckily his office wasn't far, and she could make it in time.

"Not in the mood to pack lunch," Ayla said flatly. It wasn't necessary now.

Just then, Blake Pope, the head of the secretary's office, burst into the room with big news.

"The president is returning to the country next Monday.

We need every department to organize their files and reports. Make sure everything is complete and accurate for review."

She rapped the table sharply. "Move quickly, people."

The rise of Storm Group over the past few years had been nothing short of a miracle. But the most mysterious part of all was its founder.

He had been overseas, opening new markets, while Vice President, Herman Howell managed things at headquarters.

The true leader of the group was someone Ayla had never even seen.

After the initial shock and excitement, everyone hurried into action.

***

Winston Group.

Out of nowhere, a woman appeared in Troy's office.

Normally, seeing Troy required a scheduled appointment, and her name wasn't on the list.

What shocked the staff even more was that Jed, Troy's personal assistant, went downstairs himself to escort her in. Jed even closed the office door behind them. Such a special reception left the secretaries buzzing with curiosity. "Who is she? She's gorgeous-looks like a movie star."

"Mr. Winston hates unplanned meetings. For him to make an exception for a woman? Strange."

The staff kept whispering. "Mr. Winston never gets close to women. I've worked here for years, and I've never once seen him alone with one in his office."

A thought started to spread through the room. "Do you think she might be the future Mrs. Winston?"

No one at the company knew Troy was already married. He kept it hidden, except from a few close friends.

He was a man with a spotless record-no scandals, no gossip. So his unusual treatment toward this woman made the guess sound all the more likely.

Inside the office, when Troy saw Skyla, he put his work aside.

She walked up to his desk, leaned forward with both hands on the table, and glanced at his bare finger. "You didn't get the ring?" she asked.

Troy was stunned. "You sent it?"

Wasn't it from Ayla?

"I promised to have dinner with you last night, but something came up at Professor Payne's office. I had to cancel. So I sent you a gift as an apology."

Skyla lifted her hand, showing the ring on her finger.

"This brand doesn't make many men's rings. The only decent one is the couple's design that matches mine. I wear mine just for fun. I picked the one with the best design for you. You don't mind, do you?"

Of course, she already knew he wouldn't.

Troy suddenly remembered tossing the ring box in the trash. He bent down, pulled it out, and held it in his hand. His look wasn't the same disgusted one from before.

Skyla's face tightened. "You threw it away?"

Troy gave her a glance, seeing right through her thoughts.

He opened the box, took out the ring, and slid it onto the ring finger of his left hand.

His gaze softened. "I didn't know it was from you."

That finally eased the tight expression on Skyla's face.

Max had once mentioned that Troy never wore a wedding ring unless it was absolutely necessary.

The reason was easy enough to guess.

Troy asked, "Were you upset?"

Skyla shook her head. "Not really. What you dislike isn't the ring itself."

It was the person who gave it.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"It looks great." He nodded, then asked, "So what kept you busy yesterday?"

Skyla sighed. "The project hit a major problem. I spent all night going through research at home but didn't have much luck. Luckily, a friend of mine runs a company that works in that field. I plan to ask her for help."

The owner's name was Halle. Funny enough, she was also an Agron University alum and a junior a few years younger than her.

They graduated from the same university, which made it easy for her to reach out to Halle.