Chapter 2

Her outburst left me completely stunned.

"But... the company's been making money this whole time..."

Brynn sneered.

"And you think that's thanks to you?

"You're a useless freeloader who lies around collecting dividends. How do you have the nerve to sit in the chairwoman's office?"

I pressed my lips together.

"But the chairwoman does get dividends. And the chairwoman's supposed to sit in the chairwoman's office. What's wrong with that...?"

For some reason, that seemed to make her so mad she laughed.

"So you think you're entitled to it?"

She grabbed my wrist and dragged me straight out of my office.

I stumbled after her all the way to the open floor of the main office.

"Everybody, stop what you're doing! This is Mabel Kingsley, the chairwoman of Kingsley Technologies!

"All of you should take a good look at who you're working your butts off to make money for!"

Brynn narrowed her eyes at me.

"I won't make this hard on you. I'll just ask about one recent technical decision that everybody at this company knows about."

She picked up a project file from a desk and tapped it.

"Why did our next-generation flagship product abandon the original technical approach and switch to a new one?"

I froze.

I stared at the file, my mind a jumbled mess.

But everyone was staring at me, so I had to force out an answer.

"Because the new one is... better?"

Brynn rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Dumbass."

Then she pressed on.

"Can you stop spouting nonsense? Better how, exactly?"

I strained for a long time.

"Because... because Leander likes it?"

That did it. A few people around us couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Brynn slapped the file right in my face.

"Chairwoman Kingsley! While you're sitting in your office drinking coffee and scrolling on your phone, could you maybe read some company documents?

"The R&D team spent six months validating this technology and invested tens of millions. You're the chairwoman, and you don't even know why it was chosen?"

The moment she finished, whispers rose all around us.

"Some people are just born lucky. All it takes is being born a Kingsley."

"Seriously. We work overtime every day, and she does nothing, but every year her dividend's worth way more than I make."

"Damn, I'm sick of it. Why can't people like her just drop dead? What makes her so special?!"

Every word cut like a knife.

My whole life, I'd never been surrounded and laughed at by so many people.

Mom couldn't bear to say a single harsh word to me.

Dad lived in fear of me suffering even the slightest bit.

My throat tightened, and my eyes welled up.

Without thinking, I started looking around for Leander.

At some point, he'd appeared at the entrance to the office floor.

He was just standing there, quietly watching it all.

Like I'd finally found a lifeline, my tears spilled over.

"Leander..."

I grabbed his sleeve and pointed at Brynn.

Before I could get a word out, Leander pulled his sleeve out of my grip.

Then he reached out and moved Brynn behind him.

"Mabel, Brynn just started here, and she's young. She can be a little blunt.

"Besides, what she said is true. I always thought you at least knew your own limits. Can you stop making a scene?"

He frowned and rubbed his brow.

"Handling your family's company all day is exhausting enough.

"Either stay in your office or go home. Just stop causing trouble for me, okay?"

Brynn peeked out from behind him, not bothering to hide the smug challenge in her eyes.

Looking thoroughly fed up, Leander pushed and shoved me all the way back to my office.

I felt hurt and angry all at once.

I remembered what Mom and Dad had told me on my first day at work.

"There are plenty of people who can make money for the Kingsleys.

"If someone rubs you the wrong way, fire them."

But then I thought about Leander.