Chapter 2

Malcolm's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor. The coworkers around him scattered like they were avoiding the plague.

Winnie let out a shrill scream. "Raven Stone, you're slandering him! Malcolm would never do something like that! This is defamation!"

She charged toward the stage, wanting to claw at me, but the security guards held her back with practiced ease.

Fred was furious, too. He barked at the top of his lungs, "Security! Where the hell is security? Get this crazy woman out of here!"

Unfortunately for them, the security at the venue had already been "invited" by my people to take a nice, long coffee break. Right now, I was the one in control.

I looked at Winnie, my gaze cold. "The police will get to the bottom of this and let everyone know whether I'm slandering anyone. Oh, I forgot to mention that I've already called the cops. They should be here any minute now."

My words hit Fred and Winnie like a bolt of lightning. They were dumbfounded.

Winnie's face went from red with rage to pale with fear. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't say a word.

Fred, on the other hand, clearly hadn't expected me to go this far. His hand shook as he pointed at me. "Raven, you… You actually called the police?

"Have you forgotten that this is the company's annual dinner? You're ruining the company! We shouldn't be airing our dirty laundry in public! Don't you get that?"

I laughed. "Dirty laundry? Fred, when you brought your mistress into the company, planted your relatives everywhere to bleed the company dry, and humiliated me, your wife, in front of all the employees, did you stop to think about your dirty laundry?

"When you handed over the top sales award and that million-dollar commission check that should've been mine to her, did you think about it then?"

I jabbed a finger at the check in Winnie's hand, the seven-figure amount glaring under the lights. "That commission is what I earned from countless all-nighters, God knows how many client dinners, and deal after deal that I closed.

"Now, you're using my work and my results to buy favors for your mistress. And you even have the nerve to turn this on me and call me immature?"

My voice rose with every word, each accusation slamming into Fred like a sledgehammer. "Do you think you're worthy of what you have now, Fred?"

The employees below the stage went wild. They'd put up with Fred and Winnie for long enough. They'd just never dared to say anything out loud because Fred was the boss.

Now that I'd torn away the last shred of their dignity, all the resentment everyone had been bottling up instantly exploded.

"Mrs. Colson is right! This is too much!"

"Mr. Colson is such a sleazebag! He's using the money his wife made to keep his mistress!"

"Winnie's always throwing her weight around at the office—so this is what's been going on!"

"Treating the company like home? Please, she's just been treating Mr. Colson's bed like home!"

The comments crashed over Winnie like a tidal wave. The color drained from her pretty face, and she swayed on her feet as if she might collapse at any moment.

I almost laughed at her pathetic, pitiful act.

"Everyone, quiet down." I raised my hand to signal for silence. "The awards ceremony isn't over yet. We've only handed out the first award. Now, it's time for the second."

I turned to Winnie and flashed her a dazzling smile. "This award was specially prepared for you. Congratulations, Ms. Winnie Lane. You've won the Best Sleeping-Your-Way-Up Award!"