Saved the Company, Left It to Crash Chapter 2

He slammed the office door shut, aggressively loosening his tie as if he were suffocating.

"I told you the courthouse was a stupid game!" he snapped. "Do you really have to make a scene and embarrass everyone?"

"If it was just a game," I said, staring at him with eyes as cold as stone, "why didn't you clear the air? Why did you let them brand me a homewrecker?"

He choked on his words, his jaw tightening. When he spoke, his tone carried that familiar, infuriating entitlement.

"Lily is a young girl. She's sensitive. I couldn't just humiliate her in front of the entire company, could I?"

So her feelings were precious, but my dignity was fair game to be dragged through the mud.

I reached out, snatched my phone back from his grip, and turned toward the door.

With my hand on the brass handle, I paused. I didn't turn around.

"My wedding is next Saturday. You and Lily are more than welcome to attend."

I walked down to the parking garage, my heels clicking sharply against the concrete. Before I could unlock my car, my phone buzzed.

It was the executive recruiter who had been trying to poach me for months.

"Sydney, about that director position at the multinational firm we discussed. They are willing to bump the starting salary by another twenty percent. Will you please reconsider?"

The offered figure was at the absolute ceiling of the industry standard.

"I accept," I said, my voice steady. "Furthermore, I will be bringing a ten-million-dollar account with me. I expect the standard commission structure to apply."

The recruiter sounded like she was about to scream with joy. "Absolutely! I will have the contracts drafted immediately!"

After hanging up, I sat in the driver's seat. My thumb hovered over Nate's name on my contact list. I sent him a quick text: Hold off on signing the contract. Wait for my word.

Austin had complained about how hard things were for the company, telling me not to add to his stress.

But for eight years, which of his crises hadn't I personally resolved?

This multi-million-dollar deal with Vanguard Group was something I had secured by swallowing my pride and pleading with Nate three separate times.

It was the very lifeline Austin's company needed to survive.

As I drove out of the dark garage, the city blurred past my window. It felt like a metaphor for the last eight years of my life, a fast-forward reel of wasted youth.

I met Austin outside my college dorm. He was Brooke's older brother, arriving in a crisp white shirt to pick her up for summer break. He had stood under the shade of an oak tree, smiling, a tiny mole catching the light near the corner of his eye.

My heart had skipped a beat.

Later, at a graduation party, we both drank too much and ended up in bed.

It felt natural to join his startup, beginning at the very bottom as a low-paid intern.

At first, he said we couldn't go public because he didn't want people thinking I got promoted through favoritism. I believed him, so I waited.

Once I became the top-performing manager in the marketing department, he said he was worried it would ruin my friendship with Brooke. I believed him again, so I waited.

I foolishly believed that if I just kept quiet and worked hard, he would eventually give me a ring.

It wasn't until I saw Lily's post that the fantasy shattered.

He didn't hate the idea of marriage.

He just hated the idea of marrying me.