Chapter 3 · Mistress.exe

Samuel's footsteps were quick, and his voice came in coldly.

The crowd of onlookers who had gathered clearly had no idea who I was.

They all started talking at once, tattling on me.

"Mr. Reed, this woman just barged into Ms. Evans' office and started yelling at her."

"Yeah, I think I heard something about a mistress. She must have mistaken Ms. Evans for someone else because she's so pretty."

"She was being so aggressive, and she's pregnant. Ms. Evans was obviously scared of her. I mean, what if she'd faked a fall and blamed her?"

Evans was her last name.

She already had a fan club.

Even Henry seemed to kiss up to her. I almost laughed out loud.

Henry looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Everyone, quiet!" he hissed, darting his eyes around. "This is Mr. Reed's wife!"

The chatter died instantly.

I turned slowly to face the crowd, met by a few resentful glares.

"Jumping to conclusions, making wild accusations, and passing judgment without knowing the facts. Honestly, I'm truly disappointed in our new hires."

I shot a pointed look at Henry. "Since when did Carter Enterprises lower its standards so drastically?"

Henry bowed his head, his eyes flickering from Luna Evans to Samuel and back again.

He just stayed silent.

My heart sank.

"Mr. Harris," Samuel commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument, "have every single person here write a formal apology and retake the new-hire orientation."

Then he pointed a finger at Luna.

"You report to Mr. Grant, so technically it's not my place to discipline you. But you owe me an explanation for this. I want a full report on my desk. In person."

Luna slanted a glance my way, her eye sparking with challenge, and answered in a plaintive voice, "Yes."

My fingers curled into fists. A sharp pang shot through my chest.

Samuel was protecting her.

Before I could even accuse her, he had already preemptively excused her, implying his hands were tied.

And the punishment was just a written report, and everyone could pretend it was settled.

That "report" would be their excuse for a private meeting where he could smooth things over and kiss her tears away.

A chill crept into my heart.

But groveling had never been my style.

I scanned the gawking employees and turned to Samuel with a serene smile.

"So, she's not one of our employees. But she's doing her makeup during work hours, dragging the whole office vibe down. I've got that right?"

A few of my more sensible colleagues nodded in agreement.

Even Henry muttered his support.

But Luna just rolled her eyes and scoffed. "How am I disrupting anyone? I was in my own private space, minding my own business, unless someone was deliberately spying..."

"Luna!" Samuel cut her off sternly. "Your 'private space' is a glass partition away from the bullpen. Anyone can see in."

He then wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders, addressing the room.

"And let's be clear about something else. Ms. Carter outranks me here. She goes where she wants."

Publicly humiliated, Luna stared at Samuel in disbelief, all her smug superiority vanishing.

As for me, this hollow victory didn't make me feel any better.

Seeing everyone swallowing their anger just killed whatever satisfaction I might've felt. I turned and walked away.

Samuel followed, looking genuinely apologetic.

"Babe, I didn't realize Mr. Grant would send someone this unprofessional. I'll tell him I don't want her on site. To hell with the robotics division if this is how they operate."

I stopped and met his gaze. "Business is business, Sam. You don't have to do that."

He shook his head firmly. "No. Your reputation is my reputation. If a partner company can't treat you right, then screw the deal."

I just smiled and let it drop.

Not long after I got home, Henry called, reporting Luna had been fired and escorted from the building.

She left with her makeup streaked and her steps wobbly, looking absolutely devastated.

He said confidently, "She definitely regrets crossing you, Ms. Carter."

But what he didn't know was that just minutes earlier, another coworker had called me with a very different story.

"Luna went to Mr. Reed's office before she left," my source whispered. "It sounded like they were arguing at first, but then...

"Mr. Reed pulled the privacy blinds. The door was locked from the inside. Someone who tried to deliver a file was barked at and sent away.

"Two hours later, she came out crying, legs shaking."

Yeah, her makeup was ruined from crying. But honestly, was she crying because she got chewed out? Or was she crying because my husband spent two hours having sex with her?

I slammed my phone down. Pain squeezed my heart tight.

How dare Samuel!

How could he be so shameless?

I sat there for a long time, one hand resting on my growing belly, lost in the pain.

Chapter 3

Samuel's footsteps were quick, and his voice came in coldly.

The crowd of onlookers who had gathered clearly had no idea who I was.

They all started talking at once, tattling on me.

"Mr. Reed, this woman just barged into Ms. Evans' office and started yelling at her."

"Yeah, I think I heard something about a mistress. She must have mistaken Ms. Evans for someone else because she's so pretty."

"She was being so aggressive, and she's pregnant. Ms. Evans was obviously scared of her. I mean, what if she'd faked a fall and blamed her?"

Evans was her last name.

She already had a fan club.

Even Henry seemed to kiss up to her. I almost laughed out loud.

Henry looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Everyone, quiet!" he hissed, darting his eyes around. "This is Mr. Reed's wife!"

The chatter died instantly.

I turned slowly to face the crowd, met by a few resentful glares.

"Jumping to conclusions, making wild accusations, and passing judgment without knowing the facts. Honestly, I'm truly disappointed in our new hires."

I shot a pointed look at Henry. "Since when did Carter Enterprises lower its standards so drastically?"

Henry bowed his head, his eyes flickering from Luna Evans to Samuel and back again.

He just stayed silent.

My heart sank.

"Mr. Harris," Samuel commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument, "have every single person here write a formal apology and retake the new-hire orientation."

Then he pointed a finger at Luna.

"You report to Mr. Grant, so technically it's not my place to discipline you. But you owe me an explanation for this. I want a full report on my desk. In person."

Luna slanted a glance my way, her eye sparking with challenge, and answered in a plaintive voice, "Yes."

My fingers curled into fists. A sharp pang shot through my chest.

Samuel was protecting her.

Before I could even accuse her, he had already preemptively excused her, implying his hands were tied.

And the punishment was just a written report, and everyone could pretend it was settled.

That "report" would be their excuse for a private meeting where he could smooth things over and kiss her tears away.

A chill crept into my heart.

But groveling had never been my style.

I scanned the gawking employees and turned to Samuel with a serene smile.

"So, she's not one of our employees. But she's doing her makeup during work hours, dragging the whole office vibe down. I've got that right?"

A few of my more sensible colleagues nodded in agreement.

Even Henry muttered his support.

But Luna just rolled her eyes and scoffed. "How am I disrupting anyone? I was in my own private space, minding my own business, unless someone was deliberately spying..."

"Luna!" Samuel cut her off sternly. "Your 'private space' is a glass partition away from the bullpen. Anyone can see in."

He then wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders, addressing the room.

"And let's be clear about something else. Ms. Carter outranks me here. She goes where she wants."

Publicly humiliated, Luna stared at Samuel in disbelief, all her smug superiority vanishing.

As for me, this hollow victory didn't make me feel any better.

Seeing everyone swallowing their anger just killed whatever satisfaction I might've felt. I turned and walked away.

Samuel followed, looking genuinely apologetic.

"Babe, I didn't realize Mr. Grant would send someone this unprofessional. I'll tell him I don't want her on site. To hell with the robotics division if this is how they operate."

I stopped and met his gaze. "Business is business, Sam. You don't have to do that."

He shook his head firmly. "No. Your reputation is my reputation. If a partner company can't treat you right, then screw the deal."

I just smiled and let it drop.

Not long after I got home, Henry called, reporting Luna had been fired and escorted from the building.

She left with her makeup streaked and her steps wobbly, looking absolutely devastated.

He said confidently, "She definitely regrets crossing you, Ms. Carter."

But what he didn't know was that just minutes earlier, another coworker had called me with a very different story.

"Luna went to Mr. Reed's office before she left," my source whispered. "It sounded like they were arguing at first, but then...

"Mr. Reed pulled the privacy blinds. The door was locked from the inside. Someone who tried to deliver a file was barked at and sent away.

"Two hours later, she came out crying, legs shaking."

Yeah, her makeup was ruined from crying. But honestly, was she crying because she got chewed out? Or was she crying because my husband spent two hours having sex with her?

I slammed my phone down. Pain squeezed my heart tight.

How dare Samuel!

How could he be so shameless?

I sat there for a long time, one hand resting on my growing belly, lost in the pain.