Chapter 4
We were in a cold war.
The next day, I went to work at White Enterprises as usual, deliberately avoiding any place where Scott might be.
By lunch break, I decided to head up to the exclusive executive lounge on the floor for a quick rest–only to find the keypad wouldn’t accept my code, and my fingerprint access had been erased.
My expression darkened. I called the HR Director over.
“What’s going on?”
Before she could answer, the lounge door opened from the inside.
Chloe stepped out, wearing an obviously oversized shirt–Scott’s shirt–and looking like she’d just rolled out of bed.
When she spotted me, she feigned surprise.
“Ms. White, what are you doing here?”
“Who gave you permission to be in here?” My voice was ice.
“Mr. Collins did,” she said.
“I don’t have a place to stay, so he told me I could live here for now.”
She put on a pitiful face, her whole demeanor meek and apologetic.
“I’ll move out once I get my paycheck next week. I promise I won’t bother you.”
I almost laughed out loud at the sheer audacity of these two.
Without another word, I pulled out my phone and called Scott.
“Get up here. Now.”
Fresh out of a meeting, he rushed over. I didn’t give him a chance to speak.
“Scott, explain. Now.”
He looked irritated.
“Chloe’s my employee. She has nowhere to go. What kind of boss would I be if I didn’t help her? It’s not like I use the lounge–letting her stay a few days doesn’t a big deal. Jessica, can you stop being so petty?”
“Petty?”
I stared him down as he kept making excuses, then turned to the HR Director.
“You–fire her. Immediately. And get a crew in here to gut this place. I’d rather turn it into a cat shelter than let it stay like this.”
The HR Director flinched and glanced at Scott.
“How dare you!” he snapped at her. “I call the shots here. Get out!”
The HR Director practically bolted.
“So you’re dead set on going against me?” I asked.
“You’re just jealous,” he shot back, raising his voice, full of accusation.
“You’ve gone after a fresh graduate again and again. I’m done with it, Jessica! I’m not playing your ridiculous ten–dollar–a–day game anymore! That spoiled–rich–girl temper of yours needs to stop.”
He turned and barked toward the door.
Chapter 4
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“Security! Top floor lounge, now. Escort Vice President out–she’s not in the right frame of mind to work. Put her on two months‘ leave. Her duties will be reassigned to Chloe Bennett in the meantime.”
“Scott Collins!”
I could hardly believe what I was hearing.
“Are you trying to push me aside? Do you even remember how you got here? When you had nothing, I brought two hundred million in seed money to get you started. Without me, you’d still be broke!”
He gave a cold laugh.
“Yes, you helped at the start. But I built Collins Holdings with my own hands. My achievements speak for themselves. In the last ten years, I took this company public–it’s a completely different world now.
“If it wasn’t for how much I liked you, I wouldn’t have tolerated your crap for so long. But what did I get for it? Humiliation, over and over again!”
His shameless twisting of the truth made my whole body shake with rage.
“You are the most hypocritical man I’ve ever met. You dump all your filth at my feet and pretend you’re righteous. You’re nothing but a fraud, Scott–utterly disgusting.”
“Say whatever you want,” he replied smugly.
“I’ve done nothing wrong! Security! Get her out of here.”
The guards, clearly uncomfortable, still stepped forward and ushered me out of Collins Holdings.
The moment I stepped outside, I called White Enterprises‘ chief divorce attorney.
“Mr. Langley, initiate the plan. I want a full accounting of every penny of capital I brought into Collins Holdings, and every investment my parents have made through this company over the years. Recover it all–principal and profit.”
Then I dialed my father.
“Dad, freeze every bit of funding and project support for Collins Holdings. Pull everything back. I’m going to strip him bare.
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Chapter 4
