Chapter 2

The very next day, I noticed something was wrong as soon as I arrived at the company.

All of my office supplies had been thrown into the trash can by the entrance. The moment I pushed the door open, I met Mason’s mocking gaze.

“Chris, you’re here.”

Seeing my cold stare, he pretended to have a sudden realization.

“You’re looking for your office, right? Yeah, it’s over there now.”

The young man casually pointed somewhere, and I looked toward it.

It was a storage closet.

“Chris, you’re basically just a piece of decoration around here. You don’t need to take up actual office space. I figured that this closet would suit you perfectly. I mean, whoever contributes more to the company deserves more say, right?”

I raised an eyebrow and smiled. When did he get so confident? Another employee noticed the tense atmosphere and quickly pulled me aside.

“Mr. Gage, he has just secured the collaboration with Marriott Group and earned Ms. Jewell’s recognition. He’s currently got the wind in his sails. Don’t stoop to his level.”

The smile on my face froze.

Marriott Group?

My father, Arthur Gage, had already planned to invest in a project I founded, and we had agreed to sign the contract in three days. When exactly had Mason been put in charge of securing an investor? Seeing me lost in thought, the boy grew even more convinced that I was intimidated.

He smiled contemptuously, picked up the contract from the table, and tossed it into the trash can in front of everyone. Lance Lawson, the manager responsible for this project, turned livid.

He stepped forward furiously to intervene. “Have you lost your mind, Mason?! This partnership is our ticket into the international market. Mr. Gage spent a whole month negotiating this deal. How dare you just throw it in the trash? You’re tossing away months of work from the entire department—”

Mason let out a scornful laugh and impatiently cut him off.

“Enough, you idiot. It’s just one deal.

“Once I sign the contract with Marriott Group, every problem this company has will disappear. Who even needs this one?”

Seeing his arrogant demeanor, I laughed. So this was the reason he acted so emboldened!

Hearing me laugh, he walked over to me with a grim expression and sneered, “Chris, if Ayla hadn’t handed you that vice president title to mooch off, you’d probably be panhandling on the street corner right now.”

The surrounding employees all kept their heads down. No one dared to speak.

Just then, Ayla walked in carrying some documents. She quickly sensed the tension between Mason and me.

She frowned as she looked at me with disdain. “Chris, have I been letting you get away with too much lately? Are you really picking fights with an intern? Is this how you act as vice president?”

Without understanding the situation at all, she lashed out at me with a torrent of accusations. To make matters worse, Ayla went as far as saying unusually harsh things to me just to defend Mason.

“If you can’t handle the job, there are plenty of capable people who can. My company doesn’t keep useless dead weight.”

Her demeanor suggested she was handling the matter with impartiality. My heart could only sink. I understood why Mason acted so cocky. He knew she had his back.

I had poured all my money and energy into helping Ayla become the person she was today, that was, the one running the company. I had been the one pulling all-nighters, writing the proposals, and closing the deals. I had fought for every partnership she had gotten. I had basically carried her to the top! I had even leveraged my father’s connections to smooth out her relationships with partners across the supply chain, from providers to clients.

But she had apparently fallen for Mason, a rookie who had just stepped into the corporate world, and decided to hand all of my work to him on a silver platter.

The surrounding employees held their breath. They were afraid of being dragged into this conflict and stared at Mason with wariness.

Having established Mason’s authority, Ayla gracefully backed off.

“Alright, that’s enough. This ends here. Signing the deal with Marriott Group is what really matters now. That’s our top priority.”

Upon hearing this, Mason grew even more smug.

“Don’t worry, Ayla. With me around, you won’t have to work so hard.”

Watching the silent communication passing in between them, my heart turned icy cold.

Later that night, I sat alone in the living room. My phone screen lit up with a message from Ayla.

[Chris, I’m still at the office. Don’t wait up for me.]

I opened my Instagram feed.

A newly posted update from Mason hit me like a punch to the gut. In the photo, Ayla wore the dress I had given her. The two of them were locked in a passionate kiss on the Ferris wheel.

The caption was even more jarring.

[Ayla says that I’m making her discover the real thrill of young love, that I make her feel a spark that actually burns.]

Not long after, another post appeared.

Ayla’s cheeks were flushed. She lay fast asleep on the hotel bed. Anybody could guess what had exactly just happened. Mason looked like a victor fresh from battle. He stared smugly at the camera. The caption was outright provocative.

[Hate to see someone sitting alone at home. Guess you’ll just have to watch real love from the sidelines.]

I did not erupt in anger as one could have expected. There was no hysterical breakdown as I stared at the photos on my screen. Only a strange, endless calm settling into my chest.

I dialed John’s number and spoke in an ice-cold tone. “Execute the plan. Tomorrow’s signing ceremony between Marriott Group and Ayla’s company needs to go off without a hitch.”

After hanging up, I thought about how fiercely Ayla had defended Mason and smiled. I wondered if she would still act that tough tomorrow when she finally learned the truth at the signing ceremony.