He Drove His Female Intern Every Day. I Vanished After the Storm Chapter 09

He Drove His Female Intern Every Day. I Vanished After the Storm Chapter 09

The next day, my best friend sent me a screenshot.

On the friend request page, she’d circled a familiar profile picture in red.

Beneath it was a long message that began with “I’m sorry.”

[Is this your ex-boyfriend?]

[Yeah.]

[How did you put up with someone like that for so long?]

I smiled and didn’t continue talking about him.

At the end of the month, I attended my first online meeting for regional team leads.

This time, I didn’t go through a long spreadsheet item by item.

I picked out only the most important project results from that month, explained what my team had done right, then used the final slide to show our client visit plan for the following month.

Five minutes.

Every key point was covered.

Even the regional vice president, who was usually the hardest person to please, smiled.

“Eileen’s format was good. Short, clear, and focused. The other teams can use this approach next month.”

I muted my microphone and finally relaxed.

Megan immediately sent me a thumbs-up sticker in a private message.

[Nice work.]

[You should’ve figured this out sooner. San Diego was always a better fit for you.]

I looked out the window.

San Diego was good.

It was close to home.

When I had time on weekends, I could drive back and have dinner with Mom.

And the weather was almost always sunny.

Unlike Seattle, where the rain could come without warning.

But a long time ago, I’d actually loved the rain.

We’d share one umbrella and huddle close together.

With the rain tapping against the fabric above us, even our heartbeats sounded clear.

Then Ethan started driving.

And I was left taking the light rail and bus home alone.

Maybe if I hadn’t gone through those years in Seattle, I never would’ve left Ethan.

I never would’ve started this new life.

Just then, Megan sent another message.

[By the way, did you hear?]

[Ethan and Sophia both got fired.]

I was a little surprised.

[That deal was practically guaranteed to close.]

[Then during the business trip, Sophia wanted to show off and posted a photo of a document containing confidential client data on Instagram.]

I immediately pictured her profile, packed with selfies in luxury cars.

Megan kept typing.

[The client terminated the partnership on the spot. The boss completely lost it.]

[Then during the investigation, they found out Ethan had replaced you with Sophia on the project without authorization.]

[They both got fired in the end.]

[Everyone in this industry knows everyone else. A lot of companies have already heard about what happened. It’s probably going to be very hard for either of them to find work in this field again.]

I never expected to see Sophia in an interview the very next day.

When she opened the conference room door, her blonde hair was still perfectly styled.

But the second she saw me, the smile on her face froze.

I quietly listened as she stumbled through her introduction.

At the same time, I asked Human Resources to verify something.

Her name had already been placed on the industry’s compliance watchlist.

So how exactly had her résumé bypassed the automated screening?

Three days after the decision was announced, Sophia blocked my way outside the office.

“Eileen Carter!”

Her voice was so shrill that the entire lobby could hear her.

“You abused your authority and deliberately changed my interview result! I’m reporting you!”

Employees passing by stopped to watch.

The bigger the crowd grew, the more confident Sophia became.

Then she suddenly burst into tears.

“I graduated from a top university! I have direct experience in this industry! The first-round interviewer clearly said I was perfect for the position!”

She covered her face, her shoulders shaking as she cried.

“I know you hate me because of Ethan. But Eileen, I really never interfered in your relationship. I just want a job. Please, don’t ruin my life because you’re jealous!”

Then she suddenly dropped to her knees and reached for my legs.

I stepped away immediately.

“Go ahead and report me. But before anyone investigates me, I’m afraid your interviewer is going to receive a disciplinary notice from HR first.”

Sophia looked up at once.

After coming to San Diego, she’d realized that Ethan, the man who had once come running every time she called in Seattle, was no longer someone she could rely on.

So she’d found another one.

This time, the man she chose just happened to be the boyfriend one of the women on my team had been complaining about.

The boyfriend with no boundaries.

He was also the interviewer who had deliberately bypassed the system and placed Sophia’s résumé into the interview pool.

I glanced at her, then turned to leave.

“Look out!”

Someone suddenly shouted behind me.

I turned around.

Ethan was lying on the floor.

Blood was rapidly spreading across his white shirt.

The knife fell from Sophia’s hand.

She screamed and tried to run, but before she’d made it more than a few steps, security guards rushed over and pinned her down.

The police took her away afterward.

Prosecutors later charged her with attempted murder and other offenses.

I went to see Ethan once on the day he was discharged from the hospital.

The stab wound had left him with serious long-term complications.

By the time he was discharged, he’d lost a lot of weight.

He took the flowers I’d brought and stared at them for a long time.

“The last time you gave me flowers was the day we graduated from college, wasn’t it?”

I gave a quiet murmur of agreement.

“Those days were good.”

He smiled briefly, then fell silent again.

“I wish time could’ve stopped there forever.”

I didn’t answer.

I simply said goodbye.

When I left the hospital room, the sun outside was bright.

Ethan was still lost in memories of who we had been in college.

But I had already left the rain in Seattle behind.

And I had left him behind too.

The End