Chapter Three

Violet

The next day, as I parked my car and walked towards the office, I kept seeing people staring at me, gossiping with each other.

Apparently, word had spread about the new post.

“I heard there is going to be an announcement of a new Director soon.”

“Ruling the alpha both at home and office…what more can you ask for?”

“She’s got the alpha wrapped around her finger.”

Hushed whispers reached my ears, and I fought to keep the grin off my face.

“Good morning, Miss Violet,” my office assistant, Jenna, greeted me as I walked in my cabin.

She would address me as Luna soon after we made it official. 

I smiled at that thought as Jenna briefed me about today’s meetings and my schedule for the week.

“Can you check when Nate’s calendar is free?” I asked, and she quickly connected with his secretary.

After a brief conversation, she informed me, “Alpha Nate has cleared all his schedule to accommodate a new client for today.”

“New client?” I looked up at her.

I was the head of acquisitions, so all new clients came to me first. Only after my approval did they get a chance to meet Nate.

We followed a strict protocol, so it was weird that a new client had shown up without my knowledge. Maybe he was keeping it all a secret for the big reveal.

“Did she tell you who it was?” I asked, and Jenna shook her head.

“It is some classified information.”

“Classified sounds like a lie,” Rain warned.

“Maybe he is planning the promotion,” I told myself rather than her.

I gave Jenna a brief nod, kept my calm, and focused on work, despite Rain’s pestering.

An hour later, I had reached the last page of the file.

The contract was ready to be signed. Only Nate’s signature was pending before I sent it out to our legal team.

I could have sent it through Jenna, but curiosity got the better of me, so I headed towards his cabin myself.

His secretary wasn't at her desk, but Derek, his beta, stood guarding the door.

“I am sorry, but I am under strict orders from the Alpha not to let anyone in.”

“I am not just anyone,” I reminded him, but a voice drifted down the hallway.

“Hey, I am here to meet your alpha as he requested.”

I turned around to see Nicole smiling sweetly at Derek, and completely ignoring me.

“Of course, he has been waiting for you,” Derek replied and let her in readily.

My stomach turned.

I meant to follow her, but he put his hand in front of me and closed the door.

“Sorry, alpha’s orders.”

“Let me in! I have an important contract to discuss,” I explained, but he shook his head.

“You will have to wait until the alpha is free”.

“Like hell I will,” I seethed and pushed the door open before he could intervene.

And inside, I saw Nate watching something on his laptop while Nicole was leaning close, her hand thrown on his shoulder possessively.

“What is going on? Nate, why have you been avoiding me all day?” I demanded.

He was about to get up, but then Nicole gently pushed him back and then cupped his face.

“Relax. No need to get worked up.”

“Why the hell are you letting her touch you like that?” I lost my calm.

As if to mock me, Nicole let her arm stay on his shoulder and looked me in the eye.

“Relax, he is overworked, and I am helping him unwind a little.”

“By putting your hands all over him?” I spat, and she had the nerve to look offended.

"Watch your tone, Violet," Nate barked, and I stared at him in shock.

"I told you to relax, didn't I? You don't need any more stress in your life."

She coddled him like she was his girlfriend while he was shooting glares at me.

"Look, Violet, I know staying honest to your partner is a slippery slope if he is just working all day. But you have to understand that he is doing it for you."

I blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Really, Violet. How long are you going to play all dumb and naive?" Nate asked, voice laced with venom.

Nicole shook her head and whispered.

"This is your office, Nate. Do you want the employees to gossip and talk badly about you? You have clients waiting outside. Relax, please."

She insisted, and Nate leaned back on the chair as if she were the one in charge.

"Please, just accept your mistake, and beg for his forgiveness, Violet. It is not that hard."

"Forgiveness for what?" I shouted, hating the way she was pacifying him over something I didn't even understand yet, and he was letting her.

She turned the laptop screen around and said, "You really shouldn't have done that, Violet."

I stared at the screen in horror to see a dating profile on an app with my details and some very suggestive photos. The kind I’d never taken.

I looked from the screen to Nate.

"That is not me, nor did I create that profile."                                                                                                                     

"Yeah, and you didn't have those chats either, right? Are you so desperate for attention that you were willing to sell yourself?"

He slammed his hand on the desk as he clicked open the messages containing some very explicit chats.

Nicole, meanwhile, shook her head.

"I get it. You wanted his attention, but this is really not the way to do it, Violet. We were somehow able to take down the profile and chats, but what if word got out that Nate's would be wife was being so..."

She trailed off, and I saw Nate's knuckles turn white.

"You are being too kind to her, Nicole. If not for you, I would have thrown her out already. She makes me sick."

Nate looked at me with pure hatred, and I was taken aback by shock.

"Nate, you have known me since childhood. I would never do something like this."

I pleaded, but he raised his hand as if he had already reached a decision.

"Shut up!" Nate snarled, and again Nicole stopped him from getting up. As if she was trying to keep him from exploding.

“Is this what you wanted all along, Nicole? You barely showed up two days ago and are already trying to drive a wedge in our relationship. If you had some shame, you would not go after committed men.”

I was furious.

But she blinked in surprise and looked at Nate, eyes growing moist.

“I told you I don't want to be blamed for anything…” She began, but Nate held her wrist.

“You aren’t taking any blame, Nicole. Stay”

He held her hand as I struggled to form a coherent sentence.

"That profile is fake, Nate. Believe me! Anybody can use Photoshop to frame me," I looked at him, teary-eyed, to which he replied spitefully.

"Pictures might lie, but videos don't, right?"

What video?