Chapter 4

The second I stepped into the building, I noticed something was off.

Inside the elevator lobby, I froze for a beat.

Standing right in front of me was the CEO, Gabriel, alongside a delegation of senior executives.

I gave them a polite nod.

"Ah, Gina!" dynamic senior VP, Mr. Brown, smiled and asked. "I hear Catherine has been doing a fantastic job running the sales floor lately?"

Before I could answer, I felt Gabriel’s sharp glare drilling into the back of my head.

"My apologies, Mr. Brown," I replied smoothly. "I haven't been in the office, so I wouldn't know.

“If you want to know how well she’s doing, you might want to see it for yourself."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"Catherine is a sharp kid," Gabriel cut in quickly, trying to control the narrative. "With Gina out of the office these past few days, the sales department was a bit chaotic.

“Thank goodness Catherine stepped up and turned things around. In fact, she’s finalizing a major contract with Mr.Klaus from Alpha Tech today!"

Alpha Tech was one of the biggest heavyweights in our industry.

I had dealt with Mr.Klaus before, he was notoriously difficult and insanely demanding.

The only reason I closed our last deal with him was because I spent weeks digging into his operational pain points, prepping contingency plans, and negotiating every detail to perfection.

"Plus," Gabriel added proudly, "Catherine brought in a crew of elite Ivy League grads to form a high-IQ, young talent squad.

“Extremely capable. I’m planning to pit her group against Gina’s team in a direct performance race to spur healthy competition."

I mentally rolled my eyes.

Healthy competition? He just wanted to spark internal warfare to elevate his niece.

Thank God I had already walked away.

Ten years of loyalty, and it turned out people change when greed comes into play.

"What do you think, Gina?" Gabriel asked, casting a warning glance.

I forced a tight smile. "Gabriel, you might not be aware, but I’ve actually…"

"Elevator's here," he interrupted with a wave of his hand. "We'll talk later.

“Come with us to the main boardroom. We’re signing with Mr.Klaus today. You should watch and learn a thing or two."

Before I could correct him, he swept past me into the hall.

---

When we entered the boardroom, Stella’s eyes lit up with immediate relief the second she saw me.

Catherine, on the other hand, sneered.

"What is Director Collins doing here? Nowhere else to go, so you came crawling back to beg for your job?"

The room went dead silent. The senior execs frowned, their faces darkening instantly.

"Who is this?" Mr. Brown asked, his voice cold.

Gabriel quickly jumped in.

"This is my niece, Catherine. She’s young and a bit unfiltered, don't mind her."

Mr. Brown glanced at Catherine, unimpressed, before turning to Gabriel.

"It’s no exaggeration to say that Gina is the backbone of this enterprise. Keeping her just in sales is already underutilizing her talent.

“You’d better make sure she’s treated with the respect she deserves."

Catherine choked on her words.

Panic flashed in her eyes, but she didn't dare say another word, quietly backing into the corner.

---

A few minutes later, Mr.Klaus arrived.

The moment he spotted me, he walked right past the executives to chat.

"Gina! Good to see you," Mr.Klaus smiled. "I was catching up with Ms. Brown from Beta Corp the other day and she mentioned you had resigned.

“I was ready to pull out of our deal entirely. After all, if you're not overseeing it, there's no point.

“But your team assured me you were still on board. Looks like I misheard!"

I glanced over at Stella. She looked at me with pleading, terrified eyes.

So that was her game.

She had lied to keep the client at the table, expecting me to bail her out when things got sticky.

Ignoring everyone's tense glares, I stepped forward and looked Mr.Klaus dead in the eye.

"You didn't mishear, Mr.Klaus," I said calmly.

"I was officially laid off by our new Director, Catherine.”