The Company Demanded Everything From Me, So I Let It Burn Chapter 07

The Company Demanded Everything From Me, So I Let It Burn Chapter 07

I stared at her, baffled.

Vanessa laughed coldly.

“Don’t play dumb. You put on this whole performance just to get my attention, didn’t you?”

“What, you regret ending things now? You’re too proud to admit it, so you decided to pull a stunt

and force me to take you back?”

Every face around us changed.

Vanessa and I had never made our relationship public. Vantage didn’t actually prohibit workplace

relationships.

Vanessa was the one who’d insisted on secrecy, and she’d always presented it as if there were no

room for debate.

“We can’t let anyone know we’re together. I’m the CEO, and you’re an employee. If people find out we’re engaged, what do you think they’ll say? They’ll assume every promotion, every

accomplishment, came from me.”

“I’m doing this for your sake.”

For my sake? I almost laughed. In the name of avoiding a conflict of interest, she’d passed me over for promotion again and again even when I was qualified. I’d watched less capable coworkers become my supervisors while Vanessa deliberately kept me in an ordinary staff role.

And all of that was supposed to protect me from the appearance of favoritism?

Yet with Evan, she became someone else entirely. She pushed him upward, cleared every obstacle

from his path, and suddenly stopped caring what anyone might think.

He’d been at Vantage for three months, and she’d already given him authority far beyond his position and let him meddle in company management.

Now she was trying to hand him credit for the Sterling contract too, leapfrogging him through three

promotions and turning a brand-new college graduate into Director of Finance.

Funny how the concern about favoritism vanished when Evan was involved. Being Vanessa’s fiance

had really worked out well for me.

When I stayed silent, Vanessa tipped up her chin.

“Fix what you’ve done right now, and I might consider giving you another chance.”

“Maybe we can get back together. Maybe the engagement doesn’t have to be over.”

Before I could answer, Evan burst out,

“How can you say that, Ms. Grant? You already broke up with him. He’s using the Sterling contract to pressure you into taking him back!”

Vanessa ignored him. Her eyes stayed locked on me, as if she expected me to jump at the offer.

In her mind, making her wait even a second would have been an insult.

I smiled faintly.

“Could you stop flattering yourself? I don’t want anything from you. I finally got out of this relationship. Why would I beg to get back into it? You’re imagining things.”

“Are you finished? Then move. At this point, getting home on time sounds a lot better than getting

back together with you.”

Vanessa clearly hadn’t expected me to be that blunt. Her jaw tightened.

“Think carefully, Ethan. You’re not getting any younger. If you walk away from me, where are you ever going to find another fiancee with what I have?”

The arrogance was almost impressive. Everything she was so proud of had been built with my help, yet somehow she’d convinced herself she was the prize.

I’d seen enough of who she really was. I wasn’t wasting another word, so I moved to go around her.

I’d taken only two steps when she grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t push your luck!” Vanessa snapped, humiliation sharpening her voice.

“And don’t think quitting gives you leverage over me. If you refuse to go up there and win the

Sterling contract today, then don’t ever come back to Vantage. You’re done. Get out.”

I barely looked at her.

“Fine. Do whatever you want.”

When pleading didn’t work, Vanessa dropped the pretense and went straight to threats.

“And don’t start quoting employment law at me. As long as you work for this company, I can make your life miserable in a hundred different ways until you quit on your own.”

“Don’t think you can just walk into another job either. I could shut one ordinary employee out of this industry with a few phone calls.”

“So think very carefully about what happens next.”

I laughed.

Vanessa paused, then glared at me.

“What? You don’t believe me?”

“Oh, I believe you. Of course I do. You’ve been CEO long enough that blacklisting one ordinary employee probably takes one phone call. But didn’t you ever wonder why I didn’t fight back when you put me on janitorial duty? Why I waited until today to stop cooperating?”

Unease flashed across Vanessa’s face. The question slipped out before she could stop it.

“Why?”

“Because as of a few seconds ago, I’m not just leaving the company,” I said calmly.

“My three-year equity grant vested too.”

“So as of this moment, I’m not merely a former Vantage employee. I’m a shareholder who owns five percent of Vantage Industrial Solutions.”