Chapter 1

Right after submitting my resignation to HR, I was summoned to Lindsey Corwell's office.

As soon as I walked in, a cup of coffee came flying at me. The impact felt like a sharp slap across my face. It stung.

On the side, the man sitting on the leather couch stared wide-eyed, looking deeply aggrieved.

"Ms. Corwell, please don't blame Julian. This is my fault. The failed contract deal was partly my responsibility. If anyone should leave, it should be me, not Julian."

Lindsey's fury was plain to see. She almost never revealed her emotions like this, yet it was for Gerald Whitaker again.

"Are you unhappy about my criticism yesterday? Is that why you went to HR to submit your resignation and pressure Gerald? You were his supervisor. When the contract fell through, the responsibility was yours. How could you push all the blame onto him?

"Do you know how people in the company see him now? They all think you couldn't tolerate him, the so-called troublemaking intern, and were forced to resign because of him. Go out there right now and clear things up."

I had thought she couldn't bear to lose me after seven years together. In reality, she only feared the company would turn on Gerald once I was gone.

Gerald pulled out a tissue and blew his nose, then casually tossed the crumpled, mucus-stained paper to the other end of the couch.

Lindsey frowned almost imperceptibly. Three seconds later, she walked over, picked up the tissue, and threw it into the trash.

I froze for a moment. My heart tightened as a dense ache spread through my chest.

In our second year together, Lindsey and I had watched "Buddy's Last Journey" at home. It was a classic tearjerker.

I had gotten emotional, and my eyes reddened as I reached for a tissue.

She had shoved me away in disgust. "Sorry, I'm a germaphobe. Please clean that up yourself."

She went straight to the bathroom and scrubbed herself repeatedly, as if she had touched something toxic.

A quiet, bitter laugh escaped me. Even a germaphobe like her could make exceptions.

I met Lindsey's gaze calmly. "I resigned because I didn't want to work here anymore, nothing else."

She didn't believe me. "Why today of all days? You could have resigned earlier or later. It's clearly because of the contract that fell through yesterday. Julian Stark, don't drag Gerald into your little schemes, or don't expect me to go easy on you."

I sighed. I no longer felt the need to argue with her like I used to. Around Lindsey, my emotions were like water in a cracked vessel, flowing in only to drain away just as quickly.

She had been there when the contract fell apart.