My Fiancé Fired Me and His Girl Took My Code Chapter 02

My Fiancé Fired Me and His Girl Took My Code Chapter 02

I ignored her and walked straight into the office.

A barrage of gazes hit me from every direction.

Pity, regret, schadenfreude.

I’d already gotten a taste of this yesterday.

But today, it felt sharper—like they were all waiting for the main event of a train wreck.

I headed straight to HR. Regina Jones smiled faintly and gestured for me to sit.

She was only being polite because of Preston, I assumed.

After all, I was still the woman set to become the VP of Sales’ wife.

“Valerie, congrats on everything. Preston is such a catch. You’re a lucky woman.”

She didn’t explicitly say I was punching above my weight, but the implication hung in the air.

I smiled, offering nothing back.

She slid a document across the desk. It was a Non-Compete Agreement.

I flipped through it. The pages were packed with dense, suffocating clauses.

Most of it was standard—don’t leak trade secrets, don’t poach clients, don’t solicit business.

But the final two clauses were brutal.

The first: I was permanently barred from working in the same industry.

The second: My severance compensation would be paid out as a 1% equity stake, held in trust by Preston.

I let the implications sink in.

They were firing me, then banning me from my own career.

Tying Preston to that 1% equity stake was just a way to chain me to him.

They wanted Preston to climb to the top on my back.

They wanted me to stay home, dependent, playing the part of a trophy wife funded by her husband’s paycheck.

One wanted to steal my tech for free, the other wanted me to hand-stitch his success while I faded into the background.

The scheme was as transparent as it was disgusting.

I kept silent for two seconds, then laughed.

I looked up at Regina.

“Did they pay you to sell me out?”

Her smile vanished, replaced by a thin, mocking curl of her lip.

“That’s a cynical way to put it. You’re a talent, Valerie. You’ve worked on major design projects. The company has to protect its interests.”

“A talent? Then why fire me?”

She choked on the answer. “It’s… it’s about the conflict of interest mitigation.”

“Then why aren’t you applying that policy to everyone? There are plenty of office romances in this building, including several married couples. Want me to list them for you?”

Her expression hardened. “Those are rank-and-file employees. You and Preston are both VPs. The policy is mandatory for senior leadership.”

I looked at her and offered a smile.

“Interesting. We were dating before we ever joined this company. Why wasn’t it a ‘conflict of interest’ when you hired us?”

She looked annoyed now. “These are executive-level decisions. I’m just HR, and my job is to have you sign. Stop dwelling on things you can’t change.”

I pushed the paper back toward her.

“I’m not signing.”

“You’re not?” She looked genuinely stunned. “Do you have any idea what 1% equity is worth?”

“I do. It’s roughly my annual salary—a million dollars. And with plenty of room for growth.”

“Then why wouldn’t you sign?”

“Is the equity for me? What does it have to do with me?”

She blinked, confused.

“The shares are held in Preston’s name. You’re getting married soon. Isn’t that the same thing?”

I almost laughed out loud.

“Regina, you’re married, right?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Do you understand how pre-marital assets work?”

She froze, saying nothing.

“We aren’t legally married. This agreement is being signed before we tie the knot. Whether that stake is worth a million or ten million, it doesn’t give me a single cent.”

“It just costs me my career. Why would I ever sign that?”

She stammered, “But… you’re a couple. Why split hairs?”

“We’re fiancés,” I corrected. “Regina, if you were forced into a binding contract where every asset you earned was automatically funneled to your husband, would you sign it?”

“Well, no, obviously not…”

“Then why should I?”

I stood up, staring her down.

“Maybe you’re comfortable being a dependent, Regina. But I’m not. I have the ambition, and I have the skill.”

I turned and walked toward the door.

Regina, realizing she’d failed her mission, sounded desperate.

“Valerie! This is about protecting the company! You’re going to be married to Preston soon. He has access to core trade secrets. If you leak them, who’s going to be held liable?”

“That won’t happen.”

“What?”

“We’re not getting married.”