18
Meanwhile, Nicolai was furious.
“What happened today?”
When Nicolai’s face darkened, he was terrifying. Clara hadn’t seen him like this in a long time. His voice was low, but the pressure
was so immense she could barely breathe.
Chapter 2
2012
“Today… it was Chloe. You remember her, right, Mr. Payne? The girl you chased in college, the one with the nine thousand roses? She came to the executive office looking for you, and Serena saw her.”
“In the elevator… she said Serena stole her boyfriend and slapped her… and that… she was the one who made you two possible.”
“Oh, and Chloe yelled at Serena, something like… ‘Serena! Aren’t you going to say something? If it wasn’t for me, do you think you’d even be worthy? Do you think it would have been your turn?“”
Clara mimicked Chloe’s tone perfectly, though her exaggerated ferocious expression was a bit much.
Nicolai’s eyes flickered. His face turned frighteningly cold.
He picked up the phone and dialed an internal line. “Within ten minutes, I want ‘Chloe Vance‘ blacklisted from Payne Industries, and
all its subsidiaries. Permanently. Reject her for any project, any position. Never work with her.”
The person on the other end was shocked. “Mr. Payne?”
“Remove her as a nominal investor. Freeze all approved budgets. Halt the project, pull the ads.”
He spoke each word with a calm, even tone, as if discussing the weather, but the temperature in the entire office plummeted.
“If she dares to step on my wife to climb the ladder, she should know the consequences.”
He stubbed out his cigarette and stood up, his voice low and hard.
“When did she start drafting a divorce agreement?” Hanging up the phone, Nicolai thought of her text, and his heart clenched pain-
fully.
Clara’s eyes widened. Knowing she couldn’t hide it, she confessed, “When Chloe and her fiancé broke up.”
The air seemed to freeze. Just as Clara felt she was about to suffocate, he flicked his fingers toward the door.
He was dismissing her.
Clara left, immensely relieved..
She glanced back and thought that in that moment, Mr. Payne looked like he was about to shatter.
Clara frantically started calling Serena.
But the phone remained off.
