CHAPTER 4

Vivian's Pov

I walked into Blackwood Tech like I owned the place, because once upon a time, I almost did. The receptionist looked up at me with wide eyes, and I could tell she was scared. That made me smile because people should be scared of me, and I was here to fix a problem before it got worse.

"Is Aiden in?" I asked, even though I already knew he was, because I had someone watching his schedule. Rachel nodded quickly.

"Yes, Miss Stone, but he is busy and.." she started to say, but I was already walking past her. I didn’t need permission to see Aiden. We had history, and he would see me whether he wanted to or not.

I walked through the office. Everyone stared at me, i saw a young guy with brown hair sitting at the assistant desk. He looked up at me, and I knew immediately this was him, and this was the problem. I looked at him, he was just an average looking guy. I couldn’t understand what Aiden saw in him.

"You must be the new assistant," I said, making sure my voice had enough ice to let him know I thought he was beneath me.

"Yes," he said, looking nervous, good, because he should be.

"Good luck," I said. I meant good luck surviving, because I was about to make sure Aiden fired him today. I walked to Aiden’s office, knocked once, and walked in without waiting because that was the kind of relationship we used to have.

Aiden looked up from his computer, and his face went hard when he saw me. I felt a flash of anger because there was a time when he looked at me differently. Now, he looked at me like I was an enemy.

"Vivian, what are you doing here?" he said. He didn’t stand up, and he didn’t smile. I closed the door behind me.

"I came to talk to you," I said and sat in the chair across from his desk without invitation. He leaned back and crossed his arms.

"About what?" he asked with annoyance in his voice.

"About your new assistant," I said. His eyes narrowed.

"What about him?" he asked. I leaned forward.

"Aiden, come on," I said, trying to sound friendly but coming off fake. "You and I both know you are making a mistake." He didn’t respond, just stared.

"He is just an assistant, and you are treating him like he is special," I said. Aiden’s jaw tightened.

"How I treat my staff is none of your business," he said. I laughed, but it was not a happy laugh.

"It’s my business when it affects you," I said. I stood and walked around the desk. He stood too, and we faced each other.

"You’re getting distracted, Aiden," I said, putting my hand on his arm. He pulled away.

"I am not distracted," he said, but I saw the lie in his eyes.

"Yes, you are," I said, my voice hardening. "I’ve been watching you, and everyone can see it." He stepped back.

"You’ve been watching me?" he said, voice dangerous.

"Of course I have," I said. I saw no problem with it.

"I care about you, and I care about this company," I said, even though that was only half true. What I really cared about was getting back what I lost.

"I think you should fire him before he becomes a problem." His face went cold in a way I’d never seen before.

"Get out," he said, his voice quiet but scary.

"What?" I said, shocked he just said that to me.

"Get out of my office," he said and walked to the door, opening it.

"Aiden, you’re being ridiculous," I said, trying to keep calm but getting angry.

"And don’t ever come back here and talk about my staff," he said. My face heated because everyone could hear, and everyone was staring.

"Fine," I said, grabbing my purse and walking toward the door. Before leaving, I stopped and looked at him.

"You’re making a mistake," I said. He looked at me with eyes empty of feeling.

"The only mistake I made was letting you in here," he said. That hurt more than I wanted to admit. I walked out, everyone was looking at me. I saw the assistant boy staring, and I wanted to slap him, this was his fault.

I got in the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. When the doors closed, I let out a breath and felt rage building in my chest because Aiden chose him over me. That was not supposed to happen, I’d worked too hard to let some nobody assistant ruin everything.

I pulled out my phone and texted someone I knew who could help. I told them I needed information on Elliot Hayes and I needed it fast. If Aiden wasn’t going to fire him, I’d have to find another way to get rid of him.

The elevator doors opened. I walked through the lobby and out onto the street. I got in my car and sat for a minute, thinking about what just happened and how Aiden looked at me like he hated me. Something twisted in my chest because once, he looked at me like I was the only person in the world.

That was before everything fell apart, before the engagement ended, and before I left to work for his competitor. I told myself I did it because I wanted power, but the truth was I did it because I was angry. I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me.

But now, he had moved on. He was looking at someone else the way he used to look at me. I couldn’t let that happen, if I couldn’t have Aiden, then nobody could, especially not some random assistant who probably didn’t deserve him.

I started the car and drove away from Blackwood Tech, thinking about all the ways I could destroy Elliot Hayes. I smiled because I was good at destroying things, and this would be easy.

That night, I got the information I asked for. I sat in my apartment reading through it all. I found out Elliot Hayes had no social media and no online presence before six months ago. That was strange because everyone had an online presence. I knew he was hiding something.

I kept digging, made some calls, talked to people who owed me favors, and slowly pieces started coming together. I realized Elliot was not who he said he was. He had secrets, and I just needed to find out what they were.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to a number I wasn’t supposed to have. I typed a message and read it over before hitting send.

"Stay away from Aiden Blackwood if you know what’s good for you."

I hit send and smiled. This was just the beginning, I was going to make Elliot’s life hell until he quit or got fired. Then things could go back to the way they were supposed to be.