The Toast I Drank, The Empire I Took

Synopsis

At the company's bell-ringing celebration, everyone was egging each other on, so they launched into a game of Never Have I Ever. The new secretary, Julia Sinclair, raised her hand first. "Never have I ever busted my ass to help a man build his business, only to find out I was the other woman the whole time." The room went completely quiet. Then, my fiancé, Charles Rowe, slid the penalty drink right in front of me. "Well, since it's all out in the open now, you might as well drink this. Julia and I got married last year. She's pregnant, and I can't keep her in the shadows anymore. "The company needs you, so I never said anything. Anyway, you got the biggest cut from the IPO. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just be the bigger person." One of the partners tried to smooth things over. "Yeah, Ms. Payne, to be honest, everyone here knew. We just didn't want to upset you, so we kept our mouths shut. Charles' wedding? All the senior execs showed up." I felt my knees go weak. The company I had poured my life into. They had all been treating it like a stepping stone for that little family of three. Turned out, everyone knew. Every single one of them. And I was the only one left in the dark. I felt like such a fool. Barely holding it together, I made my way to the restroom. The moment I closed the door, I took out my phone and called my biggest rival. "Bring the acquisition papers. By tomorrow morning, I want this company under new ownership."