Chapter 4

Harvey didn't reply to my message until the next day. "What kind of nonsense is this? You're acting more and more like an immature child. By the way, remember to bring the files from my study to the office later."

So he only bothered to check my text because he needed me to run an errand for him.

When I arrived at the office with the files, everyone gave me strange looks.

Vivian was sitting in her chair, wiping away tears.

Seeing me walk in, she clutched a contract to her chest and sobbed dramatically. "Lauren, everything went so smoothly with yesterday's deal. Why did you tamper with all the numbers in the contract? The client is threatening to pull out now!

"I just worked hard for my promotion. You didn't have to do this to me…"

No one doubted her for a second.

After all, I had just fought with Harvey over her promotion yesterday, making me the obvious prime suspect.

I looked at Harvey in doubt. "You think I did it, too?"

He frowned, a flash of disgust crossing his eyes. "You're the only one in the company with a motive. Lauren, I never imagined you were the type of person to pull dirty tricks behind someone's back."

A coworker who had always held a grudge against me chimed in, "Mr. Moore, why don't I head to the security room to pull the footage? That way, she can't keep playing dumb."

"No need." Harvey immediately cut him off, keeping his cold gaze locked on me.

"It's obvious she did it. Why bother asking another department to pull the security footage?"

The realization hit me instantly.

He could have checked the footage to prove my innocence, but he chose to condemn me outright just to maintain his precious "boundaries".

"Starting today, revoke all her bonuses and performance incentives, and transfer her to reception!"

He knew I had fought my way up step by step from reception to get where I was today, yet with a single sentence, he threw me right back to square one.

He tossed aside five years of my blood, sweat, and sleepless nights like disposable trash.

Harvey handled my suspension himself. "You can come back to work once you learn your lesson."

Right after, every client in my contacts unfriended and permanently blocked me. My name was wiped clean from every project I had ever closed, and my commission bonuses were fully clawed back.

Five years of built-up network vanished into thin air overnight.

As I packed up the clutter on my desk, the snide taunts of my coworkers echoed around me.

"The nerve of her trying to steal Vivian's guy. Talk about a shameless homewrecker!"

"How embarrassing. She thought Mr. Moore would keep spoiling her, but she got slapped hard right back into her place."

Vivian's once-innocent-looking face seemed to say, "See? I still won in the end."

As I brushed past her, Harvey walked straight toward me. "Just think of it as a little time off. I handed all your projects over to Vivian. Her performance is better than yours anyway.

"Besides, you started out at reception. You'll be a natural back at the front desk, and the team won't suspect anything about our relationship."

Saying that, he surprisingly reached out to help me carry my things, but I instinctively pulled away.

All these years, precisely because of his so-called "boundaries", I had been viciously ostracized by everyone at the company.

They thought Harvey despised me, so they purposely left me off company dinner invitations and fed me false information about client deals, costing me my bonuses.

Eventually, they took it even further, locking me in the bathroom. "Mr. Moore obviously wants you out of this company. Know your place and get lost already!"

I developed severe anxiety. I sent complaint after complaint up the ladder, but Harvey never read a single one.

I no longer wanted his belated crumbs of concern.

Without giving Harvey another glance, I carried my box straight out of the company and slid into a cab heading to the airport.

A second before stepping onto the plane, I sent Harvey one final text. "We're officially over."

With that, I blocked and deleted his number, then removed my SIM card.

…

Third-Person POV

When Lauren didn't send her usual apology text, Harvey felt a strange, sudden pang of anxiety.

Late that afternoon, he went to HR, intending to reinstate Lauren to her original role.

Sara looked at him blankly and said, "But Mr. Moore, Lauren has already processed her resignation."

His expression froze. Right at that moment, a text popped up on his phone.