Chapter 2
"Evelyn, where are you? Why aren't you at the meeting with the client?" Charles roared over the phone.
But this time, I hung up on him first.
Once I figured the negotiation was probably over, I finally made my way to the office, taking my sweet time.
As soon as I walked into the office, I went straight to the HR director and handed her my resignation letter.
But she looked really uncomfortable.
She said, "Ms. Sinclair, you're one of the company's founding members. I really can't approve this."
A few colleagues walked by, saw me, and started whispering.
"I always thought Evelyn and Charles were a thing. Guess it was just her crushing on him," one said.
"Yeah, she probably slept her way to the top, and now that there's nothing left for her, she's bailing," another chimed in.
I put my resignation letter away, not giving a damn about the gossip, and headed straight for Charles's office.
Just as I was about to knock, I overheard him talking to Winona.
Charles said, "Winona, let me buy you a new Lamborghini, okay? Please don't be mad.
"Weren't you curious how long a baby can go without food? Tonight, I'll use Andy for your little experiment. How about that?"
My heart lurched in shock.
Charles was truly vicious. I needed to get away from him, and fast.
I walked into the office without a sound, my face grim and cold.
When Charles saw me, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes, and he quickly shut the door.
Winona shot to her feet, looking uneasy as she stared at me.
I demanded, "Got a problem with me? Fine, but why drag Andy into this?"
Charles scowled, clearly fed up.
He shot back, "Having you bear my son was already a favor. What more do you want?"
Winona stood off to the side, her eyes were red, clearly upset.
She said, "Evelyn, I'll abort the baby. I don't want to ruin things between you and Charles."
Charles held her hand tightly, shaking his head fiercely.
He said, "No! This child is the only reason I'm still alive. I can't lose him, no matter what happens."
Watching their sappy performance, I felt nothing but disgust.
I interrupted, slapped my resignation letter on the desk, and walked out without looking back.
But Charles chased after me and ripped up my resignation letter right in front of everyone.
He said, "Evelyn, your reckless behavior cost the company 300 million today.
"You're not going anywhere until you've made up for the losses you caused.
"And from now on, Winona is the new business general manager, and Evelyn, you're being reassigned to logistics."
Winona's eyes lit up, and she hugged Charles, kissing him again and again.
When I heard the announcement, I couldn't help but mock them in my head, but I didn't even bother to protest.
I was leaving soon anyway, so they could do whatever they wanted with me. I couldn't care less.
On my way home, Charles called me, his voice unusually gentle.
He said, "Evelyn, don't take what happened today to heart.
"Men have their egos, you know. You called me out in front of everyone, and it was pretty embarrassing. But relax, give it a couple of days, and I'll get you back to your old job.
"By the way, when is your dad going to transfer that 300 million from the last round of financing?"
In my previous life, the moment Andy was born, my dad handed Charles 300 million, no questions asked.
But Charles only saw dollar signs. He never cared about family or feelings.
Just because of Winona's kid, he destroyed my whole family.
So this time around, I'd already told my dad to put a stop to the payments.
"In your dreams," I replied coolly.
Charles totally lost it, his voice grating and furious.
He yelled, "So it was you stirring up all this crap. Your whole family is nothing but trash."
He kept spewing vile insults, but I didn't bother arguing. I just shut off my phone.
Later that night, scrolling through my Instagram, I found out the whole company had gone on a company outing. But no one even bothered to let me know.
Their petty little snubbing didn't faze me one bit.
Suddenly, Charles dropped me a pin with his location.
He messaged: [Pick up two band-aids and bring them here.]
Glancing at the divorce papers and my resignation letter lying on the table, I decided to go over one last time.