Chapter 1. Sabotage

Josh Morgan Sterling

“Sorry. I hope you did not wait long.” I slid on a booth of our favorite restaurant where Daisy, my girlfriend, had been waiting for me.

Then, I grabbed her hand and held it tight. 

I was in another boring meeting when she called and asked to meet. Her voice sounded urgent. 

Daisy nodded. She shook my hand off and reached for the glass of sparkling water in front of her.

The distraction prompted me to reach for the folder I had placed on the table when I sat down. I brought it as an afterthought. I initially wanted it to be a surprise, but when I heard Daisy’s sad voice on the phone, I took it and hoped it would brighten her mood.

Daisy’s voice, filled with an odd mix of resignation and urgency, interrupted me.

“I don’t think this is working, Josh.  Let’s break up.”  

My hand stilled. 

The smile painted on my face disappeared. Time froze for a moment as expectation plummeted, and then a wave of disappointment followed as Daisy’s words sank in. 

I could feel something shattered inside of me, and my face hardened to counter the pain that pierced through my chest.

“No,” I told her in a harsh but plaintive voice, brooking no argument. 

I saw Daisy flinch, but ignored it. The pain inside my chest was so massive that I could not even breathe.

There is no way she is breaking up with me. I won’t allow it.

I flipped the folder and slid it across the table toward her, eager to show what I had brought. It was the blueprint for the house I wanted to build for her. Our dream home.

Daisy bent her head to look down at the folder’s content, then her body stiffened before she confronted me. The sound of her chair when she pushed it back to stand sent a crashing wave of helplessness deep within me.

“Is this some kind of a joke? I am serious, Josh. I am breaking off with you.” She cried and shoved the folder back to my side of the table before leaving.

My eyes widened when, instead of the blueprint, I saw dozens of receipts inside: carwash, food delivery receipts, laundromat, credit card statements, and many more clipped inside.

My teeth gritted. My hands balled into fists when I realized what had happened and who might have caused the mishap. 

Olivia Barnett, my secretary.

I gathered the folder with the receipts inside. My movements were brisk, angry. Then, I marched out of the cafe.

With hurried steps, I followed Daisy to the parking lot. I was expecting that she was still there, and she would wait for me so we could sort this out, but she was already gone by the time I got there.

Frustration clutched at my being as I held on to the folder with so much rage. The first time I felt this way in so many years.  Then, I got inside my car and drove off, sending smoke along the way.

Back at the office, everyone seemed to avoid me. Every one who I come across either turns around to go in the opposite direction or totally ignores me. 

I sneered inwardly. 

I was in a foul mood. Everyone could see that.  It emanates in every fiber of my being. I was ready to bite everyone’s head off if they so much as do or say anything to catch my attention.

I was mad, furious even.

My body shook with my rage.

When I reached the executive office of the Sterling Enterprises, my eyes zeroed in on Olivia Barnett’s desk.

She was there, alright. Her head bent to whatever was taking up her concentration, oblivious to the storm raging inside me.

Olivia Barnett had been in our family since she was thirteen.  My grandfather took her in after her parents died in a vehicular accident, leaving her orphaned and alone.

While Sterling Enterprises had supported several children as part of its corporate responsibility, Olivia Barnett was different.  Grandpa Jonathan was very fond of her.  Probably because, according to Grandpa, her parents saved him.

At the thought of my grandfather, my face darkened and my lips were set into a grim. 

It had been Grandpa’s wish that I marry Olivia so that I could take care of her, but that was impossible because even before Olivia came into the picture, I already had Daisy in my heart.

Six months ago, Grandpa’s matchmaking schemes had gone to the extreme, to the point of assigning Olivia as my secretary. In the past, she worked in the company under different departments, but never in the executive office. Now, Grandpa stopped doing it the subtle way.

My hands balled. This has gone too far. I think Olivia and Grandpa should know that there is no way I am going to take this anymore. They had gone too far in forcing my hand. 

“Olivia,” I called out her name.

I saw her look up, and maybe she had recognized the danger lurking in the back of my eyes, so she shrank back in her chair. The custom-made chair made of pure black leather that screams of classic opulence and comfort looked too big for her.

My eyes glinted in satisfaction at the fear I saw registered momentarily on her face, before she shook her head and stood.

“Yes, Mr. Sterling.” She sounded too professional, like she hadn’t destroyed my life just a few minutes ago.

I smirked at the audacity of this woman. Had she no shame at all?

I raised the folder in my hands.  “You planned this, didn’t you?” I hissed.

Olivia stared at the folder, then at me. Her expression was blank.

She looked so innocent that no one would think she sabotaged me. But she won’t fool me with her looks. Even when the tip of her tongue darted out to moisten her pink, plump lips, my eyes followed every movement with my chest heaving.

I shut it down. I quelled the feelings by stepping forward and slamming the folder hard on her desk. It created a loud thud that made all sounds at the office stop all at once.

There was a tense silence.

Olivia reached for the folder, hands trembling, the only proof that she was not as composed as she made it appear. 

My gut wrenched painfully as I watched the color drained from her face. 

I was not sure if it was practiced, but I can’t be fooled by her. In the almost ten years I had known her, Olivia had mastered the art of faking it. 

Before she could make up an excuse to defend herself, I gave in to what I had been itching to do in the last six months.

My chest heaved and my body began to shake when I yelled. 

“You’re fired!” 

I let the words roll off my lips, feeling a sense of satisfaction coursing through my taut body when I saw Olivia jump in fright. It accorded me a sense of vindication. I had been wanting to do this, but every time, the possibility of earning Grandpa’s ire held me back.

After all, Grandpa Jonathan still sits as the Chairman emeritus of the conglomerate.

Now, I didn’t hold back. She should know better. She holds a very sensitive position as my executive secretary and in our line of work, there is no room for errors. St*pidity is a very big no.

Silence echoed around the room. The already tense atmosphere intensified as I marched back to my inner office, banging the door after I got in.