CHAPTER TEN

~~ETHAN WILDER~~

My heels advanced through the mildly lit hallways. I stopped in front of her office. Somehow, I still wasn't satisfied even after lashing out at Julian in the meeting.

But maybe it wasn't even his fault. It wasn't anybody's in fact.

How could she just stand there and let everyone make a fool of her? Anybody would lunge at the advantages that came with this position, even going overboard already with the privileges but Alina…Alina was something else.

And it riled me up every time I witnessed her display of defenselessness.

She just had to be a reminder of my past self without power and foolishly blinded by love. Despite how disgusted her actions made me, it made me feel a pull towards her.

I knocked twice, my eyes squinting in worry when there was no response. So I softly pushed the door open, not surprised to meet an empty office. As I filled my eyes with the cozy space, I suddenly caught sight of a folder in the dustbin, right behind her door.

My guess was confirmed when I picked it up. It was the same folder they had all mocked. Rage filled me towards her. How could she let them get to her?

Dusting off the folder, I stormed out with an icy expression.

Settled in my office, my fingers drummed against the desk, my frustration increasing each passing moment

I sat upright, my eyes scanning the three documents at intervals. All of which had one thing in common. They were trashed.

Going through the company's reports and financial summaries for the month, I'd discovered that Some of the branches under the Vance Corporation were not being managed by Alina as supposed to due to her position as Vice President. That only meant they were being managed by somebody else. It didn't have to take another revelation to know that it was Sarah.

It perfectly explained why all of Alina's initiatives for investments and marketing sent to those branches were either stalled or abandoned.

Yet, there was a heavy flow of cash leaving the company for these same projects. All carrying her signature of approval somehow.

This was implicating…and threatening to her new position. Whoever did this had to be smart. Smarter than Sarah.

That backstabber couldn't have pulled all of this on her own. A low growl escaped me, as I already felt an incoming headache.

Something had to be done, not just for her sake but for the company as well.

But first I had to confirm something.

I stood abruptly, the chair creaking behind me, and made my way out of the office to the door at the other end of the hall.

My mind raced with all kinds of possibilities. I knocked twice first, then pushed the door open, receiving the unpleasant sight of Julian's face.

“Ethan,” he stiffly acknowledged, his voice tight with resentment. “What are you doing here?”, he asked, leaning backwards into his seat with his hands folded across his chest.

I took the nearest seat opposite him, slapping the papers on his desk. “I take it you have some explaining to do”.

He glanced through them with an air of disinterest, sliding them back to me dismissively. “I think you have the wrong person here Ethan”, he said, “it should be her who should be questioned”.

I leaned back, my eyes narrowed at him as I mimicked his posture.

His company was being robbed right in front of his eyes, still he remained this cool without demanding an investigation right away.

The realization hit me slowly…and a bit painfully. He knew.

Our gazes stubbornly remained fixated on each other, no one refusing to budge for the other until, “look Ethan, I know you still feel betrayed about the love of your life abandoning you for me and that is why you have targeted my company, finding a crime in every single thing”, he said, taking an upright position with his hands folded in his desk.

“But what do you think people would say when they found out you were doing all of these to get revenge for a woman who wasn't even yours since the beginning? Don't think you're very different from Alina, Ethan. You don't truly own anything you have now, and you could be stripped of it anytime soon”.

His grin widened

My stare remained on him, waiting until he was done laughing. “I need a thorough report on this case by Saturday else, I'm withdrawing all my shares…and I'm sure your father must have told you what that means”, my voice tone leaving no room for negotiation.

The paleness on Julian's face confirmed the response I was going for.

“Good. Now let's discuss this project”, I moved on, sliding the last folder towards him.

His brow furrowed, trying to hide the flicker of irritation crossing his features as he flipped through the pages, more intently this time. “This is the rejected project Ethan. It's not going to be approved”.

“Not unless you do”, I calmly shot back, observing his weak attempt to restrain himself from flaring up right in front of my face.

A few seconds after the prolonged silence, he began, “She’s new to all of this Ethan. Yes she did splendidly well at her previous role but this role is simply too big for us to trust her with decision making in matters like this. She isn't used to our style yet, we could come back to this another time”. He pulled out some paperwork from his drawers, turning his focus to them and leaving me without my desired response.

I rose to my feet, straightening my suit before resting both hands on his desk to look him squarely in the eyes.

“Till Saturday Julian. Till Saturday”.

His eyes shone in defiance but I didn't miss the beads of sweat forming along his forehead.

~~~ALINA JOHNSON~~

The following days passed by very quickly with no drama or any sign of Ethan in the company. Seemed like he only showed up when I was in trouble. I walked back to my office, my legs feeling heavier after a brief meeting with a few of the department heads.

They still didn't regard me much but this time around, more subtle. All that was left was to get Julian's signature of apprival for my proposal. That was the only stamp needed to get the approval of the others.

Unfair but I had no other choice.

As if on cue, I got a call directly from Julian's office, saying he requested to see me.

Suddenly energized, I made my way out the door and headed straight for his office.

I knocked lightly, then gently pushed the door open and fully stepped inside the grand office. However, the oppressive air around him subconsciously made me keep my safe distance.

Even though Julian had never given me any trouble directly since my promotion, I still couldn't forget his promise that day.

“You sent for me, Mr. Julian” I broke the silence, clearing my throat to keep my voice steady.

He leaned back in his chair, one hand tapping the desk while the other rested carelessly at his side.

His lips slowly stretched into a cold smile. “It’s been more than a week since you've been…handed your new position,” he began, “why do you think you're still here Alina?.”