Lahat ng Kabanata ng Always Second, Even at My Wedding: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 17

The meeting dragged late into the night.By the time I left the conference room, the reception was over.Nora walked downstairs with me."The hotel just emailed us. Derek tried to delete all of tonight's footage, but legal stopped him."No surprise there.He'd always been good at controlling the story.Back then, he'd crop me out of social media photos, post some suggestive caption, and get our mutual friends to play along. Now he wanted to bury the truth the same way.But this project reception had protocols, records, legal oversight, and restricted access to security footage.Nothing happened without authorization.Nora handed me the tablet. "There's more. The hotel's banquet team found that someone accessed the menu-tasting footage using temporary partner credentials from Quinton Corp."The request was signed by Derek Blake."A record filled the screen.The reason looked legit enough.[To protect the wedding clients' privacy.]His electronic signature sat right below i

I didn't agree to see Joan right away.The next morning, legal reviewed everything she'd sent.The equity transfer was legit.She'd also deposited a huge amount into an account set up to compensate me.Her public apology had gone out to group chats with our mutual friends back in Arlencia and to her company's entire internal mailing list.Nora handed me the screenshots."Quinton Corp's board is freaking out. That project was supposed to anchor their financing next quarter. Transferring it like this could seriously wreck their cash flow."I flipped through the screenshots.The same people who used to joke that Derek looked more like the groom had gone quiet.Someone had posted:[I'm sorry, Clint.]Others had deleted their old comments.I set my phone down."Send the money back. I already covered the wedding costs, and selling the apartment was my choice."Nora looked at me. "What about Joan?"I was quiet for a second."Conference room this afternoon. Fifteen minutes."J

Apparently, Joan still didn't get it.Over the next few days, she stopped showing up outside my office.Instead, white roses arrived every morning.No name on the card.Just one line.[I'm waiting.]The first time, I took one look and told Admin to send them back.The second time, Admin logged the delivery and refused it.The third time, the florist called to ask if they should use a different address.I forwarded the number to Legal.That afternoon, legal sent a cease-and-desist.The flowers stopped.Later that same day, people in an industry group chat started turning on Derek.Business partners back in Arlencia started posting proof.Fake authorization.Unauthorized access to security footage.False claims he'd spread.Then someone dug up his old suggestive posts.Someone else shared screenshots of him using Joan's name to demand favors and special treatment.Another person posted photos of him wearing that five-figure limited-edition watch alongside the receipt.