Chapter 7
Ryan came crawling back home around 3 AM, completely losing it
He was outside sobbing, begging, slapping himself again, swearing the recording was fake, that Madison seduced him, that he was just confused…]
My bedroom light stayed off.]
Our housekeeper delivered my message through the door: “Miss Sterling doesn’t want to see you. Please respect her wishes and stop disturbing the neighbors.”
The next morning, Sterling Industries dropped a series of bombshell announcements.
Ryan Mitchell is hereby terminated from his positions as VP and East Coast General Manager.
Violet Sterling is promoted to Executive Vice President, overseeing all company operations.[]
Robert Thompson is reinstated as East Coast General Manager, effective immediately.[]
Madison Williams is terminated from all positions within Sterling Industries, effective immediately
The press release was ice cold. No fluff, no explanations
Just business.
Ryan was completely blindsided.
He tried calling board members to beg. They all hung up on him
He tried storming into the office to find me. Security tossed him out of the lobby.
So he left Sterling Industries.[]
But his ego
o was still intact.
He thought all those years of connections, resources, and skills were his own doing.
Without the Sterling name, Ryan Mitchell was still a shark, right?
He sold his downtown penthouse, took out loans, and started his own trading company.
Ready to make his big comeback and show m
He confidently called up all his old “buddies.“]
me what’s what
“Hey Mike, it’s Hyan! |
Just launched my own company, got some killer projects…]
“Oh., Ryan? Yeah, sorry man, super swamped right now. Projects are totally booked. Maybe next time!“]]
Click.
“Mr. Johnson! It’s Ryant About that deal we discussed….
“Which Ryan? Oh… Mitchell? Sorry buddy, company policy now–we only work with AAA rated firms. My hands are tied.”
“Tommy! Bro, I went independent! Any chance we could…“]
“Ryan? Oh man, terrible timing. Just signed this massive exclusive with Sterling Industries. Can’t work with competitors for the next five years. Really sorry, dude!
One call after another. Each rejection hit harder than the last
All those people who used to kiss his ass were now dodging him like the plague.[]
It finally dawned on him in absolute horror–none of that respect had ever been for Ryan Mitchell the person.
It was all for the Sterling Industries VP title.[]
Without that corporate umbrella, Ryan Mitchell was nobody.
clients wouldn’t work with him, and suppliers demanded payment upfront before shipping anything.
His rented office was dead quiet–the only calls were from building management demanding overdue rent and utility payments.]
Ryan slumped in his desk chair, staring out at the gray sky, feeling cold for the first time in years.]]
I hadn’t just taken away his job title. I’d destroyed his entire world–the one he thought he’d built himself.[]
Ryan’s little empire was crashing down fast
