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All Chapters of No Longer Your Secret: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

By the time I got my ankle wrapped at the first-aid station at the base of the mountain, Janet Wiley was already gone.The coworker organizing the team-building event handed me a bag of painkillers and ice packs. "Ms. Wiley asked me to give you these. She said you could grab a cab back to the office when you're done."I looked at him. "Where'd she go?""Mr. Fuller's blood sugar dropped, so Ms. Wiley took him to the hospital."I glanced down at my swollen ankle. Whatever hope I had still been holding onto died right there.By the time I got back to the office, every step hurt. I had barely eased myself into my chair when Nash Fuller sent a message to the group chat.[Big thanks to Janet for sticking with me through the checkup. I'm good now. See you guys at dinner tonight.]The group chat immediately lit up.[Ms. Wiley stayed with you at the hospital the whole time? Man, must be nice getting that kind of special treatment!][Some people couldn't even finish the hike. Mr. Full

Chapter 2

In the photo, Nash stood close beside Janet with her coat draped over one arm. He had leaned down to say something near her ear. Janet tilted her face toward him, listening with a kind of patience I hadn't seen from her in a long time.Then another message came through.[Don't wait up, buddy. Janet isn't coming to see you tonight.]I stared at the message, then glanced at the hotel key card sitting on my desk. Suddenly, the whole thing felt ridiculous.At the meeting the next morning, Janet pulled up my proposal on the conference room screen. "Nash will take the lead on the Starcrest project. Bryce, you'll support him."I looked up sharply. "I built this proposal from the ground up."Nash sat to Janet's right and gave me an easy, apologetic smile. "I just got back, so I need something to help me get up to speed on the market. Don't worry. We'll still use your recommendations when we move into execution."I looked straight at Janet. "I handled everything from the first client m

Chapter 3

That afternoon, the Starcrest client specifically asked me to sit in on the proposal meeting. Nash's smile tightened. "If they want to meet the person behind the proposal, then I should be the one presenting it."The account manager looked awkward. "They've seen Bryce's previous work. They specifically asked him to lead the presentation."Janet looked at me. "Then both of you will go."Nash flipped through the materials, then said, "I'll handle the presentation. Bryce can take the Q&A."Before I could say anything, Janet nodded. "Sounds good."Less than ten minutes into the meeting, Nash mixed up several key figures from my proposal. The client stopped him mid-sentence. "Mr. Fuller, who built this user model?"Nash's expression stiffened.I took the microphone and walked the client through the model myself. By the time I finished, the client's frown had eased."That makes sense. Mr. Carey, I'd like to work with you directly on this project from here on out."Nash didn't sa

Chapter 4

I stepped around Nash. "Move."He caught my arm. "Janet already told me you only came over a few times to drop off documents. You really want to keep chasing a woman who doesn't want you?"I jerked my arm free.Nash took a step back, then suddenly drove a fist into my face.My head snapped to the side, and my ears rang.He leaned closer, his voice low. "Take the hint. Stop going after things that aren't yours."I swung back and caught him across the jaw.The locker room door opened just as Nash crashed into the lockers. Janet rushed over and grabbed my wrist. "Bryce, what are you doing?"Nash rubbed his jaw and looked at her. "Don't blame him. I told him you weren't interested, and I guess he didn't take it well."Janet's grip tightened around my wrist. "Apologize to him.""He hit me first.""Enough."She shoved me back.I hit the lockers hard, pain shooting through my lower back. Janet reached toward me on instinct, then stopped when our coworkers started coming in.Some

Chapter 5

Nash picked up the copyright documents and frowned. "That can't be right. I came up with this proposal after I got back."One of the investigators opened the file. "The core model was registered under Bryce Carey's name six months ago. Mr. Fuller, more than 80% of the version you submitted to Starcrest matches that registered material."The conference room went dead silent. A few of the people who had been criticizing me moments earlier dropped their eyes.Janet took the documents and flipped to the last page, where the full development timeline was listed. The earliest draft dated back to before I had even joined Wiley Corporations.She looked at me. "Why didn't you tell me?""I told you the proposal was mine.""I mean about the copyright registration."I met her eyes. "Back then, you said the company was raising money and needed to keep control of all its core assets. I figured telling you wouldn't end well for me."The color slowly drained from Janet's face.Nash spoke up

Chapter 6

"Bryce."Janet stepped in front of the car, her eyes dropping to the contract in Veronica's hand. "You're going to Broadstone Tech?"Veronica closed the car door and looked at her. "Ms. Wiley, he's a Creative Partner at Broadstone Tech now. You might want to get used to that."Janet ignored her and kept her eyes on me. "You know Broadstone Tech is competing with us for the cloud project.""I know.""So you blow up the Starcrest situation, quit, and go straight to our competitor?"She still thought I was doing this out of spite. Worse, she thought I had planned the whole thing to get back at her.Veronica let out a short laugh. "Instead of asking yourself why he wanted out of Wiley Corporations, you're accusing him of taking company information with him?"Janet's expression cooled. "This is between Bryce and me."Veronica raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said there was nothing between you."Janet's face tightened.I opened the car door and got out. "Veronica, let's go."J

Chapter 7

The cloud project team called an emergency review meeting that same day. The project lead, Oliver Rhodes, put the photo up on the screen. "Mr. Carey, we need you to explain your relationship with Wiley Corporations."Before I could answer, Janet walked in.In front of Broadstone Tech and the client, she said, "The apartment in that photo is mine."Oliver looked at her. "Why was Mr. Carey there?"Janet hesitated, then said, "Because he was my boyfriend."The room went quiet.I looked at her, but I didn't feel any of the satisfaction I once thought I would."How long were you together?" Oliver asked."Two years.""If this was a normal relationship, why did Wiley Corporations issue a statement saying Mr. Carey had been harassing a senior executive?"Janet's expression tightened. "That statement was never finalized.""But Wiley Corporations never issued a correction."That was when she seemed to realize that admitting the truth now wasn't enough.Veronica slid a file across

Chapter 8

Three days later, the cloud project entered its final review.Nash showed up as Wiley Corporations' representative. Apparently, his suspension hadn't lasted long.Veronica leaned closer and lowered her voice. "The board thought changing leads this late would hurt their chances, so Janet kept him on."I wasn't surprised.Before the presentations started, Nash stopped in front of me. "Janet only admitted you two were together because she had to clean up the PR mess. You don't actually think she wants you back, do you?"I looked at him. "Worry about your presentation, Mr. Fuller."He gave me a confident smile. "I reworked your model. Your copyright registration won't help you now."Wiley Corporations barely made it halfway through the presentation before Oliver cut Nash off."Mr. Fuller, your core data comes from an overseas report published five years ago. It doesn't reflect the current local market."Nash's expression tightened. "The later sections use updated analysis.""Th

Chapter 9

After Janet was suspended, the first thing she did was release the full investigation results.Wiley Corporations posted a statement on its official website confirming that the core concept behind the Starcrest project belonged to me. The company withdrew the disciplinary action against me, issued a formal apology, and restored my name to the three projects where I had been denied credit.Coworkers who had accused me of using my relationship with Janet to get ahead started messaging me.[Bryce, I'm sorry. We had the wrong idea.][So you and Ms. Wiley really were together? Why did she keep denying it?][Nash got fired. Are you coming back?]I didn't answer any of them.That same day, Nash filed a complaint against Janet for abusing her authority and steering project resources to her boyfriend. He was clearly trying to take her down with him. When investigators pulled the approval records from the past two years, however, the paper trail told a different story.The projects I

Chapter 10

Janet waited downstairs until dark. By the time I left the office, the cardboard box at her feet was damp from the rain.She walked over and angled her umbrella over me. "I went through everything. Take whatever you want, and I'll get rid of the rest.""Throw it all out," I said. "Even the mug?""Even the mug."Her eyes dropped to the box."I used to think no matter how upset you got, you'd still be there when I came home. You'd get mad, say you were done with me, and then a few days later, things would go back to normal."I said nothing."That day on the hike, I saw you hurt your ankle. I thought you could make it down on your own." Her voice grew quieter. "Then you texted me while I was taking pictures with Nash. I didn't answer because I was afraid someone would see.""I know."She looked up at me. "You knew?""Because every time something happened, you just assumed I'd handle it."Janet's eyes turned red. "Bryce, I'm sorry. Can you give me one more chance?"I was

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