Chapter 2

I went to the office anyway. It had been a long time since I had set foot there. The place barely looked the same.

The receptionist, Amanda Crew, immediately greeted me, “Good morning, Mrs. Freeman!”

I frowned. “Mrs.? Why are you not calling me Ms. Freeman?”

Amanda’s expression stiffened. Around here, Carter was the one everyone considered the head of the company.

I decided not to make things difficult for her. “I heard there was a new receptionist. How come I don’t see her?”

Amanda seemed reluctant to tell me.

“Amanda, I may not be involved in the day-to-day operations anymore, but I still have the authority to fire people.”

Terrified, Amanda quickly explained, “Mrs. Freeman, Mr. Freeman personally transferred her to his office this morning. She is his executive assistant now.”

He was so impatient. He could not even wait.

I headed straight upstairs. Every “Mrs. Freeman” I heard along the way grated on my nerves.

Outside Carter’s office, I could hear laughter coming from inside.

I entered without knocking. Neither of them looked the slightest bit startled.

The young woman, Nikki Harris, actually smiled and walked over to greet me. She said, “Oh, hi! What brings you here, ma’am?”

“Ma’am?” I repeated in confusion.

Carter, however, put on a serious face. “Nikki, why don’t you step outside for a minute?”

Instead of lashing out of the spot, I sneered and said, “Carter, did you tell that girl I was your mother? Go on then, call me ‘Mom.’ Let’s hear it.”

Carter’s expression darkened. “She made the assumption herself. I’ll clear it up with her. What are you doing here?”

Since when did I need permission to enter my own father’s company? “I came to work, of course.”

To my surprise, Carter did not try to stop me. “Fine. Go ahead then. I’m taking some time off.”

He grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.

It did not take long for me to understand why Carter had agreed so easily.

No one in the company would listen to me.

No matter what I tried to do, no one cooperated. As I walked past the break room one afternoon, I overheard the employees talking about my sudden return.

“Why can’t she just stay home and enjoy her life? What does she even know about running a company?”

“Exactly. Old Mr. Freeman had real vision. Look how well Mr. Carter has done.”

“Money is supposed to make people look better, right? Well, she has neither the looks nor the presence. Honestly, Carter deserves a medal for not divorcing her.”

Determined to regain control, I threw myself into work without rest. Fortunately, one of the company’s long-time veterans remained loyal and helped me. With his support, I managed to land a major contract.

At the weekly all-staff meeting on Monday, I was about to announce the good news when I heard a commotion outside.

“This is terrible! Ms. Nancy’s deal just blew up! The company is looking at losses in the millions!”

I immediately opened the company’s records on my laptop. It was true.

I turned to look at that veteran employee. A triumphant smile spread across his face.

Before I could even confront him, a sharp, stinging pain exploded across my cheek.

I pressed a hand to my face. The arm of Ben Russell, my father’s old friend, was still raised from the slap.

“How did Mark end up with a daughter this incompetent? Not only have you failed to hold on to the company he built, but you’ve also cost us millions! Is this a business or your personal playground?”

Before I could respond, another slap landed across my other cheek.

“Since Mark isn’t here to do it himself, I’ll teach you a lesson on his behalf. Pack your things and get out. If you pull something like this again, don’t expect me to show you the same kindness I have in the past.”

“It wasn’t me.” I pointed directly at the employee. “You should explain what really happened.”

That old veteran put on a wounded yet innocent expression. “Ms. Nancy, you can’t push the blame onto me just because something went wrong. I’ve devoted decades of loyal service to this company. I’ve never suffered such humiliation. Mr. Russell, if this is how things are done now, I can’t continue working here.”

That only infuriated Ben even more. “Mark made the right decision all those years ago. Starting today, you are not to set foot in this company again.”

With Ben’s verdict, I could no longer remain at the company. As I carried my things out of the building, I felt as though I had been stripped naked and paraded through the streets for public humiliation.

Everyone was pointing fingers at me and whispering things.

“I told you she was never qualified for this job. Look at her now, slinking out with her tail between her legs.”

“She should just stay home and raise kids. Trying to play the independent businesswoman was a joke. Who knows how many late nights we’ll need to work to clean up this mess? She’s a walking disaster.”

When I got home, Carter was sitting on the couch in high spirits, waiting for my return.

He already knew everything that had happened.

Carter could not suppress his smile. He handed me a document. “Nancy, take a look at this.”