Chapter 1

I booked a first-class plane ticket with my own money to secure a multi-million-dollar project ahead of our competitors. But upon returning to the company with a signed contract, I received a dismissal notice in the company's group chat. "Willow Lacroix has breached the company's cost control policy, causing an adverse impact. Her employment is hereby terminated, effective immediately." I stormed into the president's office. However, Ashley Zimmerman, the new assistant, brazenly got in my way. "It's company policy. All business trips are strictly economy class only, and you knowingly violated the rules. Why should the company bend the rules for you?" My fiance and the company's president, Chase Gibson, chimed in, "You're a department head. Yet, you've led the charge in breaking company policy. You set a terrible example!" After that, through the slats of the blinds, I could see Chase with his hands on Ashley's head as she knelt before him. I soon turned away and made a call. "I'll bring in that multi-million-dollar new energy project as an investment. By the way, does your company restrict key executives from flying out to close a deal?" There was a brief silence on the other end of the line until Zayn Parker let out a soft chuckle. "What kind of company would shackle its best talents with rigid policies? That's ridiculous." Then, his tone turned serious. "I want to know exactly what's going on over there, Willow." I sent him an excerpt of the project proposal. "Make me your partner. We'll split the profits from this deal and all the ones that come after." His answer was instantaneous. It was an email with the equity agreement attached. "This project could tap into a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars. If you give it to us, we'll be getting a good deal by taking you on as a partner. "But aren't you and Chase getting married soon? Aren't you worried he'll come after you if you do this? I remember asking you to give a technical talk, and you turned me down." I quickly filled out the agreement. All I felt was a chill in my heart. "Let's talk business. What I want to know is if this project will give us the leverage to dominate the next quarterly market review." "Chase Gibson is barely keeping up, even with you by his side. If you join me, I guarantee that he'll have no say when it comes to setting future industry standards," Zayn said confidently. So, I sent back the signed agreement along with the project handover details. "I'll be looking forward to seeing how you perform." After receiving the documents, Zayn dropped his casual tone and asked gravely, "Are you sure about this, Willow? Once you join us, I won't let you walk away with this project even if you and Chase patch things up!" I laughed to myself. A reconciliation between Chase and me was never going to happen. In order to close the deal before our competitor's product launch conference, I raced against time and paid for the plane ticket out of my own pocket. Yet, Chase ignored my explanation, choosing to believe only Ashley's one-sided account. "All employees book economy class tickets through the company's system before going on business trips. You went ahead and booked yourself a first-class ticket. This is a blatant violation of the rules!" I snorted coldly and turned to look at Chase. "Did you know that our partner company's executive vice president was sitting in the first-class cabin on the same flight? "If I hadn't made preparations ahead of time and gotten to him before our competition did, we wouldn't have landed this multi-million-dollar deal. And somehow, I'm the one at fault?" Chase frowned at my words. "Stop flattering yourself, Willow. I already had a strategic deal with Mr. Jenning. You were only there as a formality for the contract signing. "You, however, openly defied Ms. Zimmerman's cost-cutting and efficiency-enhancing policies. You misused company funds for your own enjoyment! You must be punished. "This isn't about the money, Willow. It's about your attitude. If you refuse to admit your mistake, it means you have no respect for company rules!" Chase's words left me stunned. It turned out he went through all this trouble just to defend his mistress. I found it absurd that I couldn't pay out of my pocket. I gave it my all for this company, yet this was my reward. Ashley had just been promoted from an intern to a full-time employee when Chase gave her full authority to push a cost-cutting and efficiency-enhancing reform. The most outrageous rule of all was that every employee, regardless of rank, had to travel only in economy class. I'd been tied up with projects overseas and hadn't even noticed the new policy. It used to be that executives could fly and upgrade under special circumstances as long as they went through the approval process. I figured nothing had changed and that the request was still under review. But Ashley discovered that my expense claim was for a plane ticket and immediately reported it to Chase. The harshly worded complaint email was pulled up on her computer. I shook my head to force myself to stop reminiscing. I swallowed my emotions and said to Zayn, "Save me an office. I'll bring the full proposal over tomorrow." Then, I hung up and went to pack up my personal belongings from the office. I stood by Chase for six years as he built his business from scratch. What started as an idea became a company with over 100 employees. My office held so much of my efforts and more. I packed up my personal laptop along with several boxes of documents and was ready to leave when the security guards blocked off the floor's exit. I looked at them in confusion. Then, Ashley came striding over with several administrative staff, all brimming with aggression. They surrounded me as a security guard wrenched my arms behind me. I couldn't comprehend what was happening and put up a violent struggle. "What are you doing?" Ashley took her place beside Chase and nodded approvingly at the guards. "Thank goodness you were all so quick to act. Otherwise, she would've walked out with the company's confidential information!" she said sharply. Pain shot through my wrists. A wave of embarrassment washed over me with all the other employees watching. I frowned and asked, "What confidential information am I walking out with? Let go of me!" Ashley pointed at my laptop. "It's all in there, isn't it? There are these documents, too! I knew you'd harbor resentment after being fired. If I hadn't kept my guard up, you would have already had everything transferred out!" I swallowed my anger as my temples throbbed painfully. "Those are my personal laptop and drafts!" She ignored me, saying dismissively, "Any storage device leaving the company must be reviewed by the Cybersecurity Department. Why haven't I seen your application in the system?" My anger boiled over. "I only use it for some personal emails. The sensitive project files are encrypted. What business do you have to snoop through my laptop?" But Ashley acted as if she hadn't heard a word. She gestured for the security guards to forcibly confiscate my laptop. I clutched it with all my strength, shouting, "These are my personal belongings! You have no right to touch them!" But the guards were too strong, and I was tightly pinned in place. In the end, the laptop ended up in Ashley's hands. She shot me a mocking smile. "If we don't do a full wipe and have it checked, how would we know you didn't secretly back up the company's confidential information?" I turned to look at Chase. "What she's doing right now is breaking the law. Do you condone this?" He wore an indifferent expression. "Ashley is just following the rules. If you've done nothing wrong, there's no reason to fear an inspection." I forced myself to calm down and stop struggling in vain. "Willow, if you don't want to make this a big deal, transfer that new energy project to the company tomorrow. I can pretend none of this ever happened, and your laptop will be returned immediately," Chase continued. A cold laugh escaped me. He could dream on if he wanted me to give him the project. It didn't matter even if the project was already underway. I would never hand it over to them and let them steal the fruits of my labor. Besides, the situation at the company had been growing increasingly unusual. Chase had gone as far as to take a client to dinner for a deal worth only a few hundred thousand dollars. However, Ashley, in a bid to save costs, ordered the cheapest meal set for the client. She hadn't even spared him a bottle of water. Yet, Chase found her frugal and resourceful. Naturally, the deal fell through. Chase, in turn, blamed me for not making my project evaluation report compelling enough. He claimed that was what caused the client to lose interest. I privately reached out to the client, pouring out countless apologies before he agreed to reconsider. Once the contract had been signed, Chase gave all the credit to Ashley. He hailed her as the company's brilliant cost strategist. Ashley had Chase firmly under her thumb. That was when it hit me. The signs had been there all along. She pushed my laptop and box of documents aside. "These are the tablets, voice recorders, and portable hard drives you checked out from the company, along with backups of every project you've worked on using company equipment." She pulled the items out one by one for everyone to see. I couldn't care less about everything else. But when she picked up the portable hard drive, my emotions spiked. I glared at her as I tried to lunge forward. "That contains all my personal portfolio and design drafts! Give it back to me!" Ashley raised an eyebrow and casually formatted the drive. Then, derisively, she declared, "Yours? Anything produced during your employment counts as the company's intellectual property!" Her brazen words infuriated me to the point of laughter. That hard drive contained all the work I poured my heart into since university. There were also several personal projects unrelated to Chase's company that were done during my spare time. I had originally planned for a peaceful handover today, after which we would go our separate ways. But since Chase was tacitly allowing Ashley to do this, it solidified my resolve to sever ties completely. I gathered up the few personal items left untouched and prepared to leave. "These should be mine, right?" I'd barely taken two steps when Ashley once again stopped me with stern words. "You're free to take what's yours, but you haven't covered the cost of violating company policy yet. Since you're no longer one of the company's employees, that penalty has to be paid." I no longer wanted to argue with her. So, I pulled out my phone. "How much do I need to pay?" She punched a few numbers into the calculator while I clutched my things. Then, my phone buzzed with a payment notification for 30 thousand dollars. I was taken aback. Even if I wasn't strapped for cash, this was pure injustice. "You want me to pay 30 thousand dollars for all this?" I asked Ashley in disbelief. "Of course. Five thousand dollars for violating travel regulations, 20 thousand dollars for the emergency information security audit service fee, and five thousand dollars in overtime pay for delaying me and Mr. Gibson from getting off work. "That brings the grand total up to 30 thousand dollars," she answered righteously as she listed out what was owed one by one. Unable to contain my anger any longer, I countered with a blunt question. "Overtime pay is 2500 dollars for each of you? Why don't you go rob a bank instead? "My laptop was taken from me by force. I wouldn't have wasted a minute of your time if security hadn't held me back. What right do you have to charge me 30 thousand dollars?" Chase furrowed his brow and cut me off, annoyed. "Enough! Why are you being so petty, Willow? I pay you a million dollars a year. Are you telling me you can't scrape 30 grand together?" He pulled out his phone, his expression icy as he looked at me condescendingly. I was clearly the company's top performer and the one who brought Chase the most profit. Yet, my income was far below market value. He scornfully processed the transfer. "I'll give you the money. Once you take it, our engagement is off!" So, he wanted to call off the engagement. Fortunately, that was exactly what I wanted. The next morning, I presented Mr. Jenning with the heart of the project proposal and closed the deal with the contract signing. Mr. Jenning's firm was a leading player in the field of new energy. There was a strong demand for cutting-edge energy storage technology. So, securing a close partnership with him was the goal every competitor strove toward. His whereabouts were always kept confidential. If I hadn't learned of his itinerary through specific channels, this opportunity would have slipped through my fingers. I continuously presented my technical visions to him for a week. In the end, my professionalism and foresight won him over. He ultimately entrusted me with the project. I had believed that once the project had been secured, Chase and I could focus on preparing for our wedding. But ever since Ashley's promotion, Chase ceased to care about any of that. After the contract signing, I ran into Ashley in the office lobby. She sneered the moment she saw me. "Are you here to trade your body for the project?" I glared at her. My professional reputation had never been so insulted. "Watch your mouth!" Ashley's gaze shifted downward and landed on the coffee stain on my skirt. She mocked, "The cafe in this building charges 15 dollars for coffee. You couldn't even pay for your 30-thousand-dollar fine. And yet, here you are. "Who knows if you negotiated some under-the-table deal with your clients? You look like a mess. It must have been an intense negotiation, huh?" The moment she spotted the file folder in my hand, she reached for it. "Well, you actually landed the contract. Are you that eager to crawl back to Chase's company?" "I never planned on returning!" Ashley scoffed. "I guess you never learn!" I tried to grab the folder back, but she snatched it away. "If you ask me, women like you with some mileage under your belts make the worst schemers. You're always looking for shortcuts. You sell your body and pull cheap stunts to get results. Doesn't it eat you up inside? "It's people like you who ruin this industry's reputation! Your lack of professional ethics is disgusting!" I couldn't take it anymore. I flung the glass of water in my hand straight into Ashley's face. Then, I fixed her with an icy stare. "Slander me again, and my attorney will teach you exactly what defamation means." Immediately, tears welled up in her eyes as she darted behind Chase, who had just arrived. Chase's eyes flickered over to Ashley's miserable state with concern. Then, he turned a furious glare my way. "What the hell makes you think you can lash out like that? It's a misunderstanding. Ashley and I have a strictly professional relationship. Not everyone is as dirty-minded as you." I snickered. "She spreads lies the moment she opens her mouth. Am I not allowed to set her straight? For the record, I couldn't care less about whatever is going on between you two!" Chase snorted. "You don't care? You've been dragging your feet on calling off the engagement. You also refused to take the money I sent. And now, you're going after Ashley to get my attention. You're pathetic, Willow." I pulled out my phone, realizing I had forgotten to collect the payment after rushing home yesterday to organize the proposal. I tapped into the notification and accepted the transfer right in front of him before raising an eyebrow. "Satisfied?" Chase's expression hardened as he went still. Meanwhile, Ashley murmured tearful accusations behind him while pointing at the folder in my hand. "I've been trying to ease your burdens, Mr. Gibson. So, I kept following up on the project and finally got a letter of intent. "But Willow accused me of selling out the company to get it because she was jealous. She even tried to destroy the documents. I was only trying to help, but she splashed water at me!" I'd applaud her for her acting skills. She could make a lie sound like gospel. But Chase fell for it. He signaled for security to grab me by my wrists. "Let me handle this! Whatever she's done to hurt you, I'll make her pay double!" I glared at him. I couldn't believe he was standing up for Ashley. "Try me, Chase!" I knew he might have given his heart to someone else, but I refused to believe he was indifferent toward what we once had. After all, in the company's early days, I accompanied him everywhere to pull investments. I was so exhausted that I ended up in the hospital. As I was being wheeled out of the sick ward, he held my hand and promised that he'd never let me down. At that moment, Ashley approached with steaming-hot water and hurled it at my face. The searing pain made me cry out. "This is what you get for being so reckless, Willow!" I was stunned by the pain. Ashley was ruthless. The scalding water made my scalp swell and split from the burn. Blood clouded my vision. Chase didn't even spare me a glance. Ashley clung to his arm and said coyly, "You're the best, Mr. Gibson!" Soon, the security guards dragged me out the door like trash. Chase tenderly wiped the water off Ashley's face. "Are you alright? I'll take you out for a nice meal later to help you calm your nerves." Later, Zayn sent me a teasing message. "You agreed to start today, but you're already pulling a no-show. This isn't like you at all." It wasn't until I told him I was at the hospital that he saw the thick bandages on my head for himself. He rushed up to me with a worried look. "What happened to you?" I took out the USB flash drive necklace I had hidden in my bag. "It's just a small injury. It's nothing serious. I'll be fine after a few days. "This contains the full proposal for our partnership with Mr. Jenning. As you'll see, his project requires new materials every quarter, and the procurement figures will be in the millions. I've proposed providing him with customized technical support…" Fortunately, I had a backup plan. With how much things had been going south lately, I encrypted and backed up the core files in advance. The version Ashley stole was only a draft that didn't contain any key data. Zayn's eyes darkened as his expression grew more stern. He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Was it Chase?" I didn't want him to know that my ex-fiance and his new assistant were pushing me around. So, I remained silent. Zayn stayed with me in silence as I patched up my injuries. "Just focus on your recovery. I'll take care of the rest. Don't worry! As your partner, I'm going to help you get everything back." I gave him a small nod. I had a feeling that he was a reliable person. … With my wrist nearly healed, it was finally time for the industry's Technology Innovation Summit. Sure enough, Chase was also there. Standing by his side was Ashley, who was dressed in a sharp suit. My expression remained placid while Zayn secretly clenched his fists. I patted the back of his hand to calm him down. But the small gesture didn't escape Ashley's notice. She raised an eyebrow in provocation, voice dripping with sarcasm as she spoke. "Impressive. You've already found yourself a new sugar daddy barely a few days after you broke up with Mr. Gibson." Zayn glanced at her and warned coldly, "Watch your mouth." Hearing that, Chase's eyebrows shot up. "If you have the guts to do it, you can handle the gossip. You accused Ashley of climbing her way up through underhanded means, Willow. But I think you're the one with the dirtiest tricks." He stared into my eyes and said flippantly, "You used to say you wanted to wait until marriage before living together. I figured you were being conservative. But it turns out you were just afraid I'd find out about your affairs. It was all to leave yourself a way out. Clever!" Zayn had been holding back, but Chase's slanderous remarks made him lose his temper. He punched Chase in the mouth. "Shut your fucking mouth!" Chase stumbled back, then cursed angrily. "Did you really let your sugar daddy take a swing at me, Willow? How do you two even have the guts to show up here? "If you hadn't stolen the proposal Ashley worked out with Mr. Jenning and prevented us from contacting him, I wouldn't even be at this summit. I should instead be holding a press conference to announce the deal!" He sounded flustered, but quickly recovered and smiled. Then, he looked at me and Zayn with contempt. It was as if he had the upper hand. "But today, you're just here to make up the numbers! Even if we were temporarily unable to contact Mr. Jenning, his project isn't going anywhere. When they name their strategic partner at the summit, and the exclusive supplier of the new materials, who else can it be but us?" Zayn was about to snap back, "Dream on!" when the emcee's voice rang out. They called for everyone to be seated. The summit's host announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, today, we are here to witness an important partnership. We have signed an exclusive strategic partner for the new energy project." Chase was so excited that he nearly jumped to his feet. He stood up triumphantly and shot us a taunting glare as he started toward the stage. As he passed Zayn and me by, he smirked and spat out, "Pathetic!" But what happened next stunned him.