Chapter 3

Zane reached out and pressed his hand down on the application form. "Enough."

His voice cut through the lobby, and a few staff members turned to look at us.

I stared at his hand. "Move it."

"Vivian, don't take things too far. You're a senior executive at the company. You know what kind of damage this could do if it got out," Zane said.

"More damaging than what Melissa did?" I shot back.

His expression finally hardened. "She didn't mean it. She's young and clueless. Are you really going to ruin her over this?"

I let out a bitter laugh. "Zane, that's funny. While you're trying so hard to protect her, did you ever think about what you've done to me?"

Melissa broke down in tears. "Mr. Graves, it's okay. Let Vivian check. I have nothing to hide. If she doesn't do this, she'll never stop accusing me."

Morgan pulled out the printed records. "Mrs. Graves, here are the access logs for the past three months."

He passed the papers directly to me, carefully avoiding Zane.

I took the stack and went through the pages one by one.

Ava leaned in, her tone suddenly serious. "July 12th, Melissa.

"July 18th, Melissa.

"July 26th, still Melissa."

By the fifth entry, Melissa stopped crying.

Zane's face darkened.

I flipped to the last page.

In the last three months, Melissa showed up at my place twenty-seven times. Thirteen of those times, Zane wasn't there.

I held the records up to Melissa. "Is this what you call once?"

The wounded expression on Melissa's face disappeared, replaced by pure panic. "I-I was picking up some documents for Mr. Graves."

"To the master bedroom?" I retorted.

"Sometimes the housekeeper wasn't around, so I helped clean up a little," she stammered.

"And that somehow meant putting on my clothes?" I demanded.

Zane cut in, "Vivian, none of this is worth making a scene over. Do you really have to do this in front of everyone?"

Ava snapped, "You let another woman into your wife's home twenty-seven times, and you call that not worth making a scene over, huh? Zane, you have no shame."

Zane didn't look at her. "This is my home."

I flipped the property documents to the first page and slid them across the desk. "Take a good look. I own this house."

Zane's face grew darker.

Melissa said softly, "Vivian, the house is yours, but you're married. You share everything. Why are you shutting Mr. Graves out like he's a stranger?"

As she finished, she started crying again.

Her words really stung. There she was, in my house, trying to claim it for my husband.

I nodded. "You're right."

Melissa froze.

I tucked the access logs into a folder. "Great. You can both explain to everyone at the company what you meant by 'sharing everything with each other' at the monthly meeting."

Zane snapped, "You wouldn't dare."

I met his eyes. "Funny. You didn't hesitate when you let her into my house."

*****

The office was quieter than I'd expected.

As soon as Ava and I walked in, the two girls at the front desk immediately lowered their heads.

One buried herself in the sign-in book. The other grabbed the phone and started talking before she'd connected the call.

Zane and Melissa had already arrived before us.

Word must have gotten around, because everyone was sitting straight at their desks.

As I walked through the office, Julia stood up. "Hi, Mrs. Graves."

Her voice wasn't loud, but people around heard it.

I glanced at her. "Are the papers ready?"

Julia nodded. "All set. The monthly brand review is on for three in the afternoon."

Lily Jones, the Brand Department's deputy manager, spoke up from the corner. "Mr. Graves said the meeting is canceled. We'll reschedule once things calm down."

As she spoke, she kept sneaking glances at the CEO's office.

I stopped in my tracks. "Who told you that?"

"Melissa."

"Since when does she get to cancel meetings for the Brand Department?"

Lily looked embarrassed. "She was relaying Mr. Graves's orders."

Julia couldn't help but cut in, "But Mrs. Graves is the one running the meeting."

Lily shot her a glare. "Mind your own business. Isn't it obvious to everyone who's turned the company into this mess?"

A few people in the office looked up.

I set my bag down on Julia's desk, looking at Lily. "Go on, say it. Who exactly is to blame for all this?"

Lily took a step back under my stare, but tried to hold her ground. "Mrs. Graves, bringing your personal drama into the office isn't appropriate. Melissa has been so stressed that she lost her appetite. It's all because of you."

Ava laughed. "If you're so worried about her appetite, maybe you should ask how she ended up wearing someone else's pajamas in the first place."

Lily's face turned red. "You don't even work here. This doesn't concern you."

I said, "She's my witness."

"And what exactly is she supposed to witness?"

"To witness who this department actually answers to."

Right then, the CEO's office door swung open. Zane stepped out, with Melissa trailing behind him.

Melissa changed into a white business suit, and her eyes still looked red from crying.

Zane swept his gaze over the room. "Shouldn't you all be working?"

Everyone immediately lowered their heads.

I looked at him. "The meeting starts at three as scheduled."

Zane's jaw tightened. "I canceled it."

"You can't," I said.

As soon as I said that, the office fell so quiet that even the sound of typing stopped.

Zane stepped closer. "Vivian, do you have to fight me here? At work?"

"You crossed the line first when you had Melissa overrule me and cancel my meeting."

Melissa jumped in to explain, "Vivian, I was only worried about you. I didn't think you were in the right state to run a meeting. Mr. Graves was trying to help."

Julia muttered, "Mrs. Graves has worked here for ten years, and I've never once seen her fuck it up."

Lily hissed, "Julia, stop."

I turned to Melissa. "You seem very invested in my well-being."

Melissa nodded. "Of course, Vivian. I've always looked up to you."

"Is that why you wore my pajamas?" I shot back.

Her face went pale.

Zane immediately stepped in. "That's enough. This matter ends here. Vivian, come to my office."

"Let's talk right here," I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Zane closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if trying to summon what little patience he had left. "Fine. What do you want?"

I'd heard those words before.

Years ago, when we were still working out of a tiny workshop, rushing to finish our first production order, a supplier raised the price in the middle of the night.

That night, Zane had asked me the very same question. "Vivian, what do you want?"

I told him I wanted us to make it through this.

Now, the question carried nothing but impatience.

I said, "I want Melissa fired."