Chapter 3
At the company meeting the next morning, Samuel looked like a new man, all traces of yesterday's gloom gone.
Samuel said, "Our collaboration proposal with Summit Holdings was excellent. Mr. Boone called me first thing this morning and said he was really pleased with it."
He cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping the room before landing on me.
"Ayla, you did a great job this time. You stepped up when it mattered most. That's really commendable," he said.
I sat quietly in the corner, completely unfazed, not a ripple in my heart.
All eyes turned to me, full of surprise and envy.
Ronan sat across from me, his face shifting between pale and flushed, his eyes practically shooting daggers.
Just then, the conference room door swung open.
Aurora, the boss's wife, glided in, looking every bit the part in her Chanel suit and perfectly applied makeup.
Like a queen surveying her domain, she elegantly took her seat next to Samuel.
"Sorry, I'm late," she said with a smile.
Her eyes scanned me up and down, as if she could see right through me.
"I heard you praising someone just now, Samuel. Was that about Ronan?" Aurora said, her tone light but her meaning obvious.
With that casual line, she smoothly shifted the spotlight onto her darling nephew.
Samuel's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly played it off.
"Yeah, Ronan worked really hard leading the proposal this time," he replied.
He shamelessly went along with his wife, singing Ronan's praises even though he knew it was all for show.
Aurora smiled in satisfaction, then glanced at me with a hint of disdain in her eyes.
"Ayla did well, too. I heard she was assisting Ronan, helping out with some supporting tasks. That must've been exhausting," she said.
She deliberately stressed the supporting tasks.
The mood in the conference room shifted, turning awkward.
Everyone understood. Aurora was personally stepping in to claim the credit for her nephew.
I kept my head down, staring at my hands on my knees, my knuckles pale from how tightly I pressed them together.
It turned out that flipping the truth was just that simple.
"To reward Ronan for his outstanding performance," Aurora spoke up again, her tone leaving no room for argument. "The company has decided to give him the entire project bonus."
She paused, then added, "Young people need all the encouragement they can get."
I snapped my head up, locking eyes with Samuel.
I remembered it perfectly. Back when he dumped this mess on me, he promised that if I could seal the deal with the client, the whole project bonus would go to me.
Samuel met my gaze for a heartbeat, then looked away, giving in to his wife's decision without a word.
He chose to keep the peace at home, sacrificing me, just another insignificant employee.
Right then, the last bit of hope I had for this company was snuffed out for good.
I felt like some blood bag they'd been fattening up, just waiting to plug me in and drain every last drop whenever it suited them.
Once I was empty, they'd kick me to the curb without so much as a thank you.
To them, I wasn't an employee; hell, I wasn't even a whole person.
I was just a tool, something they could toss aside and sacrifice whenever they felt like it.
The meeting wrapped up with a round of phony applause.
Everyone flocked around Ronan, and he couldn't hide the smug look on his face.
As he passed by, Ronan deliberately bumped my shoulder and muttered under his breath, just for me. "Idiot, you think you can mess with me? You're way too green."
I watched his back as he walked away, numb, no anger, no bitterness, just emptiness.
My heart was nothing but scorched earth, lifeless and hollow.
From this day forward, this company, that couple, and that overgrown man-child would never get even a drop of my sincerity again.
From now on, I was only fighting for myself.