My Fiancé Fired Me and His Girl Took My Code Chapter 05

My Fiancé Fired Me and His Girl Took My Code Chapter 05

I listened in silence.

Even through the phone, I could feel his panic and desperation.

In the five years I’d worked under him, I’d never heard him lose his composure like this.

But what did that have to do with me?

“Mr. Mason, I’ve resigned.”

He paused.

“I know, but the paperwork isn’t finalized. We can discuss the layoff…”

“No need,” I said. “I accept the outcome.”

His breathing grew heavy. “Valerie, it’s come to this-can you stop being so petty? Do you really want to

watch the company go down in flames?”

“I’ve already left. It’s none of my business.”

My tone remained flat.

“Valerie!” His voice turned sharp. “Stop being so cold! You pulled the scripts. If they launch an investigation,

you’re not getting away clean!”

My grip on the phone tightened.

“Did you pay for the license? Or did you buy me out?”

He froze, seemingly realizing he’d overplayed his hand. He softened his tone.

“That’s not what I meant. You built this system. You don’t want to destroy your own life’s work, do you?”

“I destroyed it?”

It was almost funny.

“When I asked for usage fees for those 17 scripts, you wanted to skim for free. I let you use them as a favor

while I was employed there.”

“Now that you’ve kicked me to the curb, why should I leave my work behind for you?”

“Mr. Mason, tell me, who actually destroyed this?”

He was speechless for a moment, then shifted to guilt-tripping.

“Valerie, you’ve been with the company for five years. Even for Preston’s sake, you have to help. He’s still here. He’s responsible for most of these client accounts. How is he supposed to face them?”

“Mr. Mason,” I switched the phone to my other ear. “Haven’t you heard?”

“Heard what?” He sounded genuinely confused.

“Preston and I broke up.”

“When?”

“Yesterday.”

He went silent for three seconds.

“Because of the layoff?”

“Not entirely.”

“What else?”

I paused. “Ask Preston.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know the layoff would affect your relationship. I was just looking out for the company.”

He let out a sigh of relief.

“In that case, the conflict of interest is gone. Come back. The Tech Director spot is yours…”

“Mr. Mason,” I cut him off. “You drafted that non-compete, didn’t you?”

Silence again.

“Mr. Mason, do you really think Preston and I ever had a ‘conflict of interest”?”

Nothing.

“Let me ask a different question. Who suggested the policy in the first place?”

He answered honestly.

“Preston did.”

“And what did he say?”

He didn’t answer.

I laughed. “He told you I was overpaid and useless. He said Chloe could do everything I could, as long as the

clients were stable and the sales numbers held up.”

His silence confirmed it.

“So, in your eyes, tech isn’t as important as sales, right?”

“I didn’t say that. Tech is important. But great tech without a market is just talk.”

“Right, exactly.” I said. “So what are you still talking to me for? You have Chloe, don’t you? Didn’t she say she’d handle my job? Go find her.”

I went to hang up, but he rushed, “Wait!”

He sighed, defeated. “I’ll be honest with you. I realized you were on a high salary and listened to Preston’s advice. I didn’t realize Chloe was such a hack. She can’t even read the code.”

“That’s not the point,” I said. “You knew those scripts were mine. You knew I’d pull them eventually.”

“You wanted to buy time to build your own, but you didn’t expect me to walk out so fast. It’s been one day, and you’ve got no buffer left.”

He gasped, wanting to argue but finding no words.

“You assumed my relationship with Preston would keep me from being ruthless, so you violated labor laws to draft that predatory agreement.”

“Mr. Mason, do you even know why Preston wanted me gone?”

He sounded dazed.

“Why?”

“Once I was gone, they wouldn’t have to hide anymore.”

I didn’t spell it out.

Gavin Mason was a smart man; he’d figure it out eventually.

That was enough.