Chapter 7
Before the car door opened, my lawyer Henry Walsh leaned over to double-check.
“Ms. Winters, we’re all set. If Morrison shows up, I’ll shut it down immediately like you wanted.”
I nodded and fixed my blazer collar, making sure everything looked perfect.
“Thanks.”
My voice came out totally calm, which honestly shocked me.
Maybe when I signed his termination papers, whatever feelings I had left for him just went cold.
The automatic doors opened and camera flashes hit me like a wall of light.
[ didn’t even blink. Just raised my chin and flashed that smile I’d been practicing forever.
My heels clicked on the marble floor while my team followed-executives, lawyers, security guards.
We walked in like we owned the place, every step locked in perfect formation.
spotted him right away.
urking at the edge of the crowd like some crumpled piece of trash.
¡tained yellow T-shirt, greasy hair plastered to his head, eyes wild with desperation.
He was gripping Tommy tight, using our kid as his last-ditch weapon. Tommy looked scared and confused.
ake thought I’d break. Thought he could guilt me with the whole father-son thing.
glanced around and saw a few photographers snapping shots of them.
Of course.
When he saw me, his eyes lit up like he’d hit the jackpot. Started pushing Tommy forward, trying to rush me.
kept walking. Didn’t even look at him.
ust nodded at Henry.
Henry moved fast with two guys, cutting Jake off like a human wall.
could hear Jake’s shocked, furious roar.
But those sounds got drowned out by the reporters shouting questions.
‘Ms. Winters! Welcome back! What’s your biggest takeaway from CloudTech’s overseas success?”
I stopped and faced the cameras while Henry handed Jake some papers behind me.
“I wouldn’t call it a takeaway-this is just the beginning. CloudTech was never meant to be limited to domestic markets.”
Out of the corner of my eye, Jake stared at that thick envelope in total disbelief.
Thick enough to make it crystal clear this wasn’t some friendly letter.
His face went from red to white to green like a broken traffic light.
He tried to scream something at me, mouth wide open, but nothing came out except heavy breathing.
Chapter 7
He probably saw the words “you get NOTHING” in there.
Just then, this sharp scream cut through all the noise.
Tommy.
He was probably scared shitless by the whole scene and Jake’s crazy look, absolutely losing it.
My heart felt like someone just grabbed it and twisted hard.
But only for a split second.
I thought about all those late nights busting my ass at work alone. How he’d use tears and bullshit to mess with my head over the phone.
How he turned our family into a complete shitshow.
I took a deep breath and buried that tiny sting.
Smiled even bigger for the cameras, totally unbreakable.
‘Everyone, we’ll give you the full scoop on CloudTech’s future at our press conference in three days. See you there.”
Behind me-reporters going crazy with questions, Jake standing there like a deer in headlights, and Tommy’s crying getting quieter as the crowd ate him up.
I didn’t turn around.
Not once.
But I knew clearly that Jake-he wouldn’t give up that easy.
