Chapter 5

When I walked through the entrance of the company, all eyes immediately turned to me.

I was, after all, known for keeping the boss happy in more ways than one. Now that I was suddenly quitting without warning, I was bound to become the talk of the office for quite a while.

The more blatant their stares, the brighter I smiled. I breezed through each department, collecting signatures as per the exit procedure. Finally, only one department head's signature remained.

Clutching the paperwork, I knocked on the company president's door.

"Come in," he said.

As soon as I entered, I felt his piercing, almost aggressive gaze settle on me.

I kept my gaze steady. My heels sank silently into the carpet as I placed the form on his desk.

"Your signature please, Mr. Thompson."

Sean didn't move. His right hand rested on his desk as he twirled a pen with a slow, lazy flick.

He had strikingly beautiful eyes. They were the kind that gave you the illusion that he cared whenever his gaze met yours. I knew that bastard's dirty tricks by now, so I stared vehemently at the glass window behind him instead.

I didn't believe he was the kind of person who could part ways amicably, nor did I think he'd make any foolish attempts at reconciliation that would only bruise his ego. So, I waited quietly for him to speak.

"Got everything you wanted?" he asked.

I nodded. "Pretty much."

He probably hadn't expected me to abandon the pretense entirely and simply lean into the mess.

The corners of his eyes lifted slightly as he leaned back in his chair. He was clearly smiling, yet his smile felt utterly insincere.

"I've underestimated you," he said.

My lips twitched.

Sean continued casually, "You seem very eager to bail Adrian out. What, is prison life not treating him well?"

"That's no longer any of your concern," I replied before turning to leave. I didn't feel like wasting another word on his snide bullshit.

Just as I was leaving, Sean called me back. "What's on my schedule today?" he asked.

His itinerary for the next two weeks was etched into my mind. I found myself replying instinctively. "You have a meeting with R&D at 3:00 pm and dinner with Mr. Julian Brosnan at 6:30 pm."

Sean let out a meaningful, "Oh." The pen between his fingers clattered onto the desk.

"I seem to recall you were the one who arranged this dinner with Julian," he remarked.

My brows twitched.

Sean continued, "If the host can't even be present herself, how can we expect anyone to trust our company's commitment to this partnership?"

His smile was faint. "I'm not against you leaving your job. But you should see things through to the end, Ms. Price."

My desk had already been cleared, so I didn't linger for the spectacle of my colleagues crowding around me and asking what happened. Instead, I hailed a cab back to the hotel, rested for half the day, then arrived at the agreed-upon hotel restaurant half an hour early.

Sean's words didn't faze me. I was dying, and his project schedule ranked pretty low on my list of priorities. I'd come merely because Julian had been closely involved with Dad prior to Price Corporation's collapse, and there were many things I wanted to understand about that.

When I arrived at the private room, the coffee in front of Julian seemed to have already turned lukewarm. When he saw me, he stood cheerfully before pulling out a chair for me. I took off my coat and sat down, silently wondering why Sean had yet to show up.

Since I'd blocked Sean's number, I called his assistant instead. She answered quickly, informing me that the company meeting wasn't over yet and that I should handle things there on my own.

Damn that bastard!

I apologized to Julian on behalf of Sean. He simply waved me off, saying it wasn't a big deal.

I breathed a sigh of relief before accepting a cup of coffee from him. I took a sip of it and set it aside. I'd never been much of a coffee drinker anyway. Moreover, I had no idea what kind of beans he'd used or where he'd gotten them from. Something about the taste felt off.

Julian was quite the smooth talker. For 30 minutes, he managed to dodge every one of my questions with small talk. My head grew foggy as he steered the conversation toward me. He asked me why I'd quit my job, why I fell out with Sean, and whether I would be interested in being his secretary instead.

It seemed Julian was surprisingly well-informed.

I deflected his questions, my answers vague and evasive. I only realized something was terribly wrong when my vision blurred.

Julian's hand reached out toward me. I stood abruptly, fighting the sudden weakness in my legs.

"Mr. Brosnan, what are you doing?" I asked.

He grinned brazenly.

"You're a smart woman, Ms. Price. Now that you've broken up with Sean, you might as well come with me. I promise you'll be as well provided for—if not better."

A chill ran down my spine. Julian's two bodyguards had just stepped outside, and the click of the lock behind them sent a jolt through me.

Julian inched toward me. My whole body burned. I saw my phone, which I had left on the table, light up. I reached for it, but someone blocked my path before I could do so.

Julian dragged me toward the lounge round the back. I struggled hard, but despite all my strength, I couldn't break free from his grip. My mind went blank as I was thrown onto the bed.

I could hear his lecherous chuckle as he began tearing off my clothes. I trembled uncontrollably.

His greasy hands roamed over my body. Disgust rolled deep within my gut. I bit my lip until it bled, the pain sending a flicker of clarity through me. I summoned every last bit of strength I had to fight back, my arms flailing wildly until my fingers closed around a bottle of wine.

Without hesitation, I smashed the bottle hard against Julian's face.

He screamed in agony. But before I could feel any relief, he snatched the bottle from my hand.

"Stupid bitch!" he cursed, then slapped me across the face.