His Intern Kissed Him, So I Destroyed His Company Chapter 04

His Intern Kissed Him, So I Destroyed His Company Chapter 04

I had a severe stomach ulcer, and my doctor had repeatedly warned me not to drink alcohol.

Ethan had always known that.

Last year, I had pushed through a project until my ulcer started bleeding and I ended up in the hospital. Sitting beside my hospital bed, he had promised he would never let anyone pressure me into drinking again.

But now, he simply sat there in silence without saying a single word in my defense.

I looked at him calmly.

“Do you really expect me to drink this?”

Ethan looked away and waved his hand impatiently.

“Are you drinking or not? Answer the question.”

“Stop making everyone wait for you.”

After a few seconds of silence, I stood up.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not drinking it.”

“And as for the wedding…”

I paused, watching shock spread across Ethan’s face.

“Since all of you think I’m not good enough for you, let’s call off the wedding.”

With that, I turned and headed for the door.

Ethan’s furious voice immediately rang out behind me.

“Erin, the second you walk out that door, don’t ever come back.”

I did not look back as I pushed open the door and left.

When I stepped out of the hotel, the cold Seattle night air hit my face. For the first time, I could see our relationship clearly.

Our five-year relationship ended in that moment.

I had barely gotten into the Uber I had called when my phone vibrated.

The company had sent an announcement to every employee.

Effective immediately, Erin Carter is removed from her position as CTO and reassigned as an IT Operations Specialist. Her salary is suspended pending an internal investigation.

Sophia Bennett is appointed Acting CTO and will assume full control of the core database and the R&D team.

Ethan had added a note at the end of the email.

This company has no place for outdated managers who resist change and obstruct younger employees. Anyone who undermines teamwork will face serious disciplinary action.

The irony was almost laughable.

If Sophia wanted my job, she could prove she was capable of doing it.

At nine thirty the next morning, I arrived at the company’s downtown office building.

The nameplate outside what had once been my private office had already been replaced.

It read: Sophia Bennett, CTO.

When Sophia saw me approaching, she leaned against the desk and gave me a mocking smile.

“Wow. Our new IT operations specialist actually showed up for work.”

“Perfect. Take all your personal belongings with you.”

“I’m allergic to dust, and I don’t want your old things ruining my workspace.”

Ethan came out of the CEO’s office as well.

The moment he saw me, he assumed I had returned to apologize and accept his decision.

“Sophia cracked your ridiculously complicated encryption this morning. The system is running faster than ever now.”

“The venture capital team we’ve been courting for two weeks will be here at ten for the final demonstration.”

“If you still think she’s incompetent, sit down and watch.”

I did not argue. I merely gave him a calm look.

“Whatever makes you happy.”

Sophia smoothed her white suit and looped her arm through Ethan’s, looking triumphant.

“Ethan, the meeting is about to start.”

“Once the funding comes through, we have to celebrate with champagne.”

I followed them into the conference room and took a seat in the farthest corner.

At ten o’clock, three venture capital partners in suits entered the room right on time.

Their leader, Daniel Morgan, sat down and got straight to the point.

“Mr. Walker, we don’t have much time.”

“Let’s go straight to the underlying architecture and real-time response performance.”

Ethan smiled confidently.

“Of course.”

“Mr. Morgan, this is Sophia, our new acting CTO.”

“She handled every part of the system optimization herself.”

Sophia strode to the front of the room and launched the backend demonstration with complete confidence.

The large screen flickered.

The expected data visualization dashboard did not appear.

Instead, the entire screen flashed an eye-searing red.