Paranoia

Julian's POV

I stood in my office, watching Elena face me with her guards up like a wall of knives.

I was about to shut down her ridiculous ultimatum when her phone rang, cutting through the heavy silence between us.

She pulled out her screen, her eyes widening slightly when she read the caller ID. Before I could even ask who was reaching out to her at this hour, she lifted the phone to her ear and immediately walked away from me, heading toward the far corner of the room near the floor-to-ceiling windows.

She kept her back turned, deliberately putting distance between us. I stood frozen on the rug, watching her lower her voice into a muffled, private murmur. I couldn't make out a single word of what the person on the other end was saying, nor could I catch more than a faint, soft hum from Elena as she spoke into the mic.

"Is there an emergency?" I demanded, taking a step toward her. "Elena, who is that?"

She ignored me completely. She just raised a single finger behind her back, signaling me to wait while she spoke into the receiver.

"Yes, I understand," she whispered near the glass. Her tone wasn't sharp like it had been with me. It sounded almost gentle, relaxed, and guarded all at once. "No, it's fine. I'm wrapped up here anyway. I'll call you as soon as I leave."

Confusion morphed into an immediate, sharp paranoia.

In three years, Elena had never hidden a phone call from me. She ran my schedule, handled my network, and shared everything. Now, she was hunched over the glass skyline, her tone quiet and guarded in a way I had never heard before. Who could she possibly be talking to with that level of intimacy? An investor? A rival firm?

After a few brief seconds, she lowered the phone, tapped the screen, and turned back around to face me. The shift was brutal: whatever calm or softness she had just used with the caller vanished instantly, replaced by the same cold, unreadable mask she had worn since walking into my office.

Just like that, the heat of our argument evaporated, replaced by a sudden, sharp coldness in the room. Elena tucked her phone into her coat pocket and met my eyes, completely unbothered.

"If we're done here, that's the deal," she said plainly.

My mind was still stuck on the phone. "Who was that?"

"None of your concern, Julian."

"It is my concern," I snapped, stepping around my desk to close the distance. "You're standing in my office, on company time, taking private calls in the middle of a serious discussion about your contract."

"My contract is finished," she said softly. "And that call was private."

My brows pulled together, a tight knot forming in my chest. "I asked you who that was. Why is a man calling your personal line right now?"

Elena actually let out a dry, humorless laugh at my reaction.

"Have you forgotten what my job has been for the past three years, Julian?" She tilted her head, her voice dripping with quiet mockery. "I closed your deals, brought in your investors, and managed your network. My contacts are full of executives, board members, and clients. You never questioned who called me before."

"Because those were business calls, Elena! You didn't run into the corner to whisper to clients!" A hot spike of frustration hit my chest, and my jaw tightened.

She didn't answer. She just stood there, looking at me with those cold, steady eyes, offering nothing.

She wasn't wrong about her work. I knew how much effort she put into building Jenkins Holdings alongside me. But those were corporate contacts. Everyone in our circle knew she belonged to me, and Elena had never given any other man a second look. Her world had always revolved around my goals, my elevation, and my success.

This call felt completely different. Her body language had shifted the second she saw the screen. She had walked away from me to protect *him*, whoever he was. The thought ate at me like acid.

I pulled at my tie to loosen the sudden tightness around my throat, forcing my focus back to the main issue.

"Listen to me," I said, trying to regain my authority. "I'm not approving your resignation, Elena. Period. We have the quarterly review next week, and Marie's father is coming to inspect the department. I need you running operations, not hiding behind some emotional outburst."

"I already turned in the paperwork to Arthur," she replied, her voice flat and indifferent. "By company policy, my thirty days started today. The contract ends next month whether you like it or not."

"You think Arthur can sign off on your release without my signature?" I laughed bitterly. "I am the CEO of this firm! If I say you stay, you stay. I can void that submission with a single email."

"Go ahead and try," she said, her voice terrifyingly calm. "Void it. Fire me. Sue me for breach of contract. Do whatever you want, Julian. But I won't step foot in this building after my thirty days are up."

"Elena!" I stepped forward, slamming my hand down on the edge of the mahogany desk, unable to keep the anger out of my voice. "You don't get to make demands here! I made you! I gave you this position, I gave you authority over the entire operations floor, and this is how you repay me? By throwing a tantrum because I brought Marie onto the board?"

She didn't flinch. She didn't even blink at the sound of my hand striking the desk. She just looked at me like I was a stranger taking up her time.

"You didn't give me anything, Julian," she said softly. "I built this firm. I wrote your proposals. I fixed your mistakes before the board could see them. I let you take the credit because I thought we were building something together. And after all that, you kissed that fvcking b1tch like she was the most important thing in the world!"

She paused, taking a slow breath, her gaze cutting right through me.

"Now I see I was just working for a man who trades people away the second a bigger check comes along."

"That was strategy!" I yelled, taking another step toward her. "Marie's family controls thirty percent of the voting power on the board! I needed her father's backing to secure my seat! Can't you see past your own jealousy for five minutes to understand the bigger picture?"

"I don't care about your strategy anymore," she replied. "And I certainly don't care about Marie."

"If that's all, I have files to organize," she added quietly.

She didn't wait for my response. She turned on her heel and walked toward the heavy wooden door.

"Elena, sit down!" I commanded, my voice echoing off the glass walls. "We are not finished talking about this!"

She reached the door, pulled it open, and stepped into the hallway without looking back once. The door clicked shut, leaving behind a silence so absolute it felt heavy.

I stood alone in the middle of my office, my hands balling into tight fists at my sides. Anger, disbelief, and a strange, cold panic burned straight through me as I stared at the shut door.

*Resign? Walk out on me? She has to be out of her mind.*

For three years, Elena had backed every single move I made. She knew my habits, my schedule, my weaknesses, and my strengths better than anyone alive. She was tied to my life, my career, and this company. She couldn't just walk away from everything we built over a minor disagreement. She needed this company just as much as I needed her.

I walked over to my desk and picked up my phone, my thumb hovering over Arthur's contact info. I wanted to call HR right now and order him to scrap her file, but I stopped myself. If I pushed too hard right now, she would lock up completely. I needed to play this smart.

She was angry about Marie. She was hurt about the San Francisco transfer proposal. It was just an emotional reaction. Women like Elena, who had given years of their lives to a man, didn't just move on overnight. She was trying to scare me into begging her to stay.

I ground my teeth, watching the empty doorway, my chest tight with lingering anger.

Thirty days? No. Give it a week of dealing with real-world job hunting, give it a week of realizing she was nobody in this city without the Jenkins Holdings name behind her, and I would have her right back where she belonged.