Chapter 41
Aria’s POV
“Alpha Grayson asked me to bring you back… he’s still worried about you…
“Don’t, Nora.” I curled up in the helicopter seal, too tired to pretend. “He already made it clear, fold me to give up on my stupid fantasies”
Nora looked like she wanted to say something but held back. Her face was full of sympathy and helplessness–but sympathy was the last thing I needed right now.
“I know it’s not my place to say this, but Alpha Grayson… he’s really lonely and hurting. We all hoped he’d find someone who could make him happy. And we all thought that person might be you.”
“Well, clearly I’m not,” I muttered.
I knew Grayson was messed up.
The insomnia, the mood swings, the way he’d sometimes shut down completely. He probably had some kind of trauma in his past that i
didn’t know about.
But that’s the thing he never let me know.
He shut me out of his world like i didn’t deserve to be part of it. And he kept telling me how insignificant I was to him. Maybe he’d open up to Isla since he married that woman. But nevertheless, I wasn’t her. I couldn’t get into his heart.
I was done trying Done caring.
1 swore to myself that this was the last time I’d let him hurt me.
Nora dropped me back at the villa. Grayson didn’t come home that night. This was just one of his many properties–disappearing from my world was probably the easiest thing in the world for him.
The next morning at 8 am, my alarm went off. Reminding me that it’s time for work,
I sat on the bed for five whole minutes, debating, And then I got up.
Walking into Apex like nothing had happened was definitely terrifying. But screw it. I may have gotten dragged out of the office by security yesterday, but I wasn’t charged. I wasn’t fired. Nobody could stop me from showing up for work
As for what people thought of me…
lose
Well, let’s just say that I already knew what it felt like to lose everything once before. I’d almost had to sleep in a grocery store once. I wasn’t afraid of judgment.
I made it to Apex just in time to clock in
The office was buzzing when I walked in.
But the second i stepped through the door, everyone went dead silent.
Every pair of eyes turned to me.
“Morning,” I said with a faint smile.
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Chapter 41
Nobody responded.
The way they looked at me was like was a stray dog that wandered into a party.
ignored them and headed for my desk.
But then a female coworker stepped into my path.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here today,” she said with fake polite smile.
“Well I disagree,” I replied icily.
I remembered her.
Just days ago, she’d been hanging around my desk asking how I closed the Zane deal. Claimed we were friends.
I didn’t blame her for switching sides
les. But she had no right to block my way.
“Everyone saw what happened yesterday. The former Luna came and had you arrested… It’s all over the news-
“If I were guilty, I’d be in jail right now, not standing here. That’s enough to prove innocence don’t you think?”
She looked vexed. “What’d the world think of Apex ill we keep a potential criminal here? W
You can’t be that selfish!”
out yours. Now move.”
“Nobody here gives a damn about my life. So forgive me for not giving a damn about yours. I
I pushed past her.
My desk was by the window. Last time I was here, it had been neat and full of carefully organized documents.
But now everything was gone.
My personal items were nowhere to be found. Half my files were torn up. The other half scattered all over the floor.
Spray–painted in glant red letters across the surface of my desk was one word:
WHORE.
I stared at it for a few seconds, then slowly turned to face the office.
“Who did this?” I asked loudly.
My voice echoed through the silent room, No one answered.
Half of them looked away. The other half stared back at me with smug amusement.
“I’ll ask one more time. Who did this? If no one speaks up, I’ll pull the security footage and call the police.”
“Call them to arrest you?” someone muttered,
The office burst into mocking laughter.
“Come on, Aria, this is a workplace,” said that same obnoxious woman, smirking “Stop causing drama and just pack up your stuff. Some of us still have work to do.”
“Me causing the drama? It’s you who trashed my desk”
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Chapter 41
“Then clean it up and sit down. What’s the big deal?” she scoffed.
I walked right up to her and grabbed her wrist. She flinched in fear.
“You and I we are going to HR. Right now,”
“Me? Why me? I haven’t done anything” she shouted.
“You look pretty guilty to me. Even if it’s you, someone else did. And I’ll go through every last one of you until I find out.” I raised my voice to
the entire floor.
They want to cause trouble? Very well then, I’m all gamed.
A chorus of boos and jeers filled the air. The woman tried to yank her arm back, but I held tight
That’s when Gary stormed out of his office.
“What the hell is going on out here? It’s work hours for fuck’s sake!”
That woman beat me to it and yelled, “It’s Arial She just stormed in this moming and started screaming at everyone. Nobody can work with her being here…”
“Alright alright. Shut your big mouth and get back to work. I’m not stupid you know?” Gary said sullenly before turning to me. “And you, Aria In my office. Now.”
I shoved that woman aside, noticing with satisfaction the red bruise blooming on her wrist. She was cursing under her breath but Fignored
her.
I just lifted my chin and followed Gary into his office.
“What’s with the fucking wrestling out there?” he asked once the door shut.
“They destroyed my stuff. Ripped up my files. And spray painted my desk. I’m just standing my ground.”
He stared at me, then let out a long sigh.
“Look Aria, I know you’re tough. I respect that. But right now, it feels like you’re fighting the whole damn world. And that’s not a fight you can
win
“I’m not looking for a fight. I just want to sit at my desk and do my job. Minding my own business. I’ll keep my head down, Gary. You can pretend I’m not even here.”
He hesitated, looking frustrated. “Damn it. It’s not that don’t want you here, okay? It’s just=”
“It’s me.”
The door New open again.
Delilah walked in, flanked by her army of secretaries.
She wasn’t wearing her usual pink dresses and flowery skirts. Today it was all black. Sharp lines. Killer heels. She looked sharp.
She strode into the office like an arrogant Queen. “I’m here to announce two personnel changes. First, I am now the official Vice Director of Marketing. And second–you’re fired Ana Collins”
“Is that Alpha Grayson’s decision?” asked icily.
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“Don’t you dare throw his name at me!” she snapped. “I’m officially part of Apex now. I have equal authority. So go pack your things turn in all company documents–especially anything related to the Elrod contract”
“I thought you already robbed everything” mocked.
“Yet clearly you’re still hiding things. I want everything. Now”
Hiding things?
I frowned.
Then it hit me.
There was a very important budget report I never uploaded to the company system. It was stored on my personal computer.
Without it, Apex had no clue how to move forward with Zane’s deal.
I suddenly burst into laughter.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” Delilah shrieked.
“Jace sent you to
u to steal my work, didn’t he? Because he doesn’t know how to proceed without my report? Thought he was a hundred times better than me. Why doesn’t he handle the damn budget himself?”
Delilah was practically shaking with rage. “He doesn’t need to! The report already exists, and it’s on your computer. It’s company property. You have to turn it over!”
“So I do all the work, close the deal, and now you’re firing me and expecting me to just hand over everything?”
“Yes. What are you gonna do about it? Call the cops?”
I laughed bitterly. “Hell no, I won’t call the cops. They all work for your family anyway. But I will call Mr. Elrod. Do you think he wants to work with someone who can’t even produce a budget sheet?”
Her face turned red.
st won this round.
And I knew I just
