My CEO’s Wife Canceled My Flight Then Lost Everything Chapter 02

My CEO’s Wife Canceled My Flight Then Lost Everything Chapter 02

By the time the shredder stopped, half the authorization letter had already been chewed to pieces.

I gathered the scraps from the tray.

My fingers were shaking.

Not because I was afraid.

Because my body remembered exactly how helpless this had felt the first time.

Vanessa leaned against my desk with her arms crossed.

“Claire, you look exactly like the other woman who just got caught.”

“Pale. Shaking. Panicking. And still insisting it was all for work.”

I slipped the damaged pages into a clear document sleeve and photographed them.

“I’ll report exactly what happened to the board.”

She laughed louder.

“The board?”

“You really think the board is going to take your word over mine?”

Diane Miller from Administration finally spoke up.

“Vanessa, if the authorization letter is destroyed, the EVP can’t present for Grant.”

Vanessa’s eyes flicked toward her.

“Your daughter was hoping to intern here next month, wasn’t she, Diane?”

Diane went pale.

She immediately fell silent.

I turned and headed for Project Management.

If the authorization was gone, I could at least prepare the proposal.

Even if all the EVP could do was stand outside the venue with the documents and ask for an exception, it was better than nothing.

Ethan Parker was already waiting for me.

He was a project engineer and had joined the company around the same time I had.

Last time, he’d tried to help me too.

Then Vanessa had asked whether he really wanted to keep his job past probation, and he’d backed off.

I never blamed him.

Everyone had something they couldn’t afford to lose.

He shoved a flash drive into my hand.

“Claire, the final version is on here. Grant’s eyes were bothering him last night, so you and I reviewed the last revision together. It’s clean.”

I nodded.

“Print room.”

As the printer started feeding out pages, I watched the page numbers climb and felt my chest grow tighter.

Two hours and seventeen minutes.

The EVP was already on his way.

If we could finish binding the proposal, he could go straight to Bluewater’s Riverton conference site and ask for a delay.

Halfway through printing, Ethan’s phone rang.

He looked at the caller ID.

All the color left his face.

Vanessa’s voice came through the speaker.

“Ethan, isn’t your father having surgery next week?”

“You’re still on probation, right?”

The print room went completely silent.

Her tone stayed light.

“Is Claire Morgan really worth losing your job over?”

“Today it’s printing documents for her. Tomorrow she’ll have some other guy covering for her late at night.”

I took the phone from Ethan.

“Vanessa, if you have a problem, talk to me.”

She gave a cold laugh.

“Aw. Now you’re defending each other?”

“I told you, Claire. You really are talented. Somehow every man in this company ends up doing favors for you.”

The call ended.

Ethan’s eyes were red.

“Claire, I’m sorry. My mom just called. Someone from Administration contacted the hospital and asked what floor and unit my dad was on.”

His voice cracked.

“I can’t risk it.”

I took the flash drive back.

“You don’t have to apologize.”

I stayed by the printer.

Less than ten minutes later, the door flew open.

Vanessa walked in wearing stilettos, followed by two members of the administrative staff.

She picked up the half-finished proposal and flipped through several pages.

“What is this?”

“The final Bluewater proposal.”

“No. I’m asking what this layout is supposed to be.”

She slapped the pages onto the table.

“The font looks cheap. The colors are dated. The cover has no sophistication at all. You expect Horizon to put its name on this?”

I forced my voice to stay level.

“Grant and the project team approved this version.”

“Don’t hide behind my husband’s name.”

She planted one heel on the cover.

“As Brand Director, I’m ordering a complete redesign.”

I bent down to retrieve it.

Her heel ground harder into the pages.

“Claire, if you’re going to work as an executive assistant, learn how to behave first.”

“Working late and being good with spreadsheets doesn’t make you indispensable, and it sure as hell doesn’t give you a reason to hover around my husband.”

Then she snatched up the stack.

Right in front of me, she began tearing it apart page by page.

Paper covered the floor.

Diane was standing in the doorway.

Her eyes were red.

Vanessa noticed her and smiled.

“If you feel so sorry for her, Diane, you can leave with her.”

Diane’s outstretched hand froze.

I didn’t cry.

My phone was tucked into the inside pocket of my blazer.

The camera lens was pointed directly at Vanessa.

When she finished tearing the last page, she picked up my coffee and slowly poured it over the shredded proposal.

“There.”

“Now that’s what I call a redesign.”

She smiled at me.

“Let’s see how much of a savior you are without your precious paperwork.”