Todos os capítulos de Freeze Me Out, Lose Everything: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

When I came to, I was in a hospital bed.Before I even opened my eyes, I heard Tristan Bellamy's smarmy voice."Babe, Declan brought in eighty-five thousand dollars in sales last month. Under his commission agreement, we owe him eighty-five hundred. Isn't that way too much?""Eighty-five hundred? In his dreams," Darlene scoffed. "These longtime employees think they can do whatever they want just because they helped build the company. Declan's the worst of them."She gave a humorless laugh."He embarrassed me in front of everyone. I need to make an example of him.""But his contract says he gets ten percent. What are we going to do?""Find a reason to deduct it. Say his attendance record is bad, or a customer complained. Blame his livestream work if you have to. Our company decides how performance is evaluated. Leave him fourteen hundred and call it generous. He's a grown man. He won't starve."So that was my boss.The previous month, she'd begged me to help the company break i

"Who are you calling trash?"Eli was about to let Tristan have it, but Tristan lifted his chin and made an announcement to the entire office."Ms. Kessler and I are getting married soon. That means I'll have just as much authority here as she does. Think very carefully before you do something stupid. Don't throw away your job for someone who means nothing to you."The employees who'd been ready to defend me immediately fell quiet.Gary practically bowed."Tristan! Sorry, I mean Mr. Bellamy! That's incredible news. Congratulations!"He turned to me with a sneer."Some people can't even follow a simple instruction to take out the trash. Who do they think they are, ignoring the future boss?""Just go, Declan," someone else said softly.Looking at my colleagues, I bent down and picked up the keys.I didn't blame them. People had bills to pay. Sometimes keeping food on the table meant swallowing your pride."Declan..." Eli sounded miserable.I gave him a reassuring smile and lef

Less than two minutes later, Helena replied with a mysterious-looking emoji.Then came an email address I didn't recognize."A little surprise for you. Make good use of it. The rest of the show is yours to direct."I stared at the address, eyebrows raised.Helena hadn't risen to the top of a publicly traded company by making pointless moves. Every move she made served a purpose.Could the person behind that address be...?I smiled and pulled up the recording I'd made when Tristan bragged about marrying Darlene.One tap, and it was on its way.A reply arrived less than five minutes later."Thank you. I need your help at ten tomorrow morning. You will be generously compensated once this is settled."...The next morning, I drove my new car to the building that housed my old company.Before I even reached the entrance, I saw Darlene hiding behind a row of shrubs, talking frantically on her phone.It was Margaret Kessler, and her voice was loud enough to carry through the spea

The punch sent Tristan stumbling. A dark bruise spread across his cheek.Before Tristan could even react, Victor turned and slapped Darlene twice.Smack. Smack."Your brother, am I? Controlling, am I?"He glared at her."Darlene, you've really outdone yourself."Tristan clutched his face, staring at Victor with furious disbelief."You hit me? Do you have any idea who I am? I'm going to run this place!""Run this place?"Victor seized Darlene by the collar and forced her to look at him."When I met you, you couldn't even afford a basement apartment. I sold my family's house to give you the money to start this business."His voice shook with fury."Every brick in this office, every desk, everything you see was paid for by my family! And you took my money, built your future, and ended up in another man's bed? You were planning a wedding in the Azure Isles?"He shook her once."Go on, Darlene. Tell your little boyfriend who the real husband is. Speak! Have you suddenly forgot

"Victor... that's..."I looked at him, at a loss for words."I'm working for Ms. Bishop now. And I..."Victor waved away my concern with a smile."I know. I'm not asking you to leave her company. Think of this as doing me a favor by overseeing this one part-time."He leaned back in his seat."I'll talk to Helena myself. Our companies can work together, combine our strengths, and build something much bigger."His smile turned wry."Consider the equity a thank-you gift. And one last slap in the face to that vicious woman."Outside the car, Darlene heard every word.Whatever composure she had left vanished."What right do you have? That's my company!"She screamed until her voice cracked."I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!"She snatched a loose brick from the ground and began smashing it against my car window.Then police sirens sounded.The officers I'd called at the beginning of the confrontation had finally arrived.They had a violent public fight to deal with, alon