Chapter4

Daniel and Sophia sat close together on the breakroom sofa, their heads practically touching as they shared a single cup of coffee.

"This penthouse has floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, and it's really close to our new Wall Street headquarters in New York," Daniel's voice was gentle.

I walked straight to my locker and took out a book a colleague had left for me, along with a document envelope that I had kept inside.

Daniel watched me pack my cardboard box to leave, his brows knotting together.

"What? Blocking me wasn't enough, so now you're bringing this quitting drama into the office? Emma, your little games are getting pathetic."

Sophia spoke up. "Daniel, since Emma is here, I'll go get back to work..."

"Absolutely not." Daniel grabbed her wrist. "You've been looking at this place for two solid weeks, and the investors are waiting for us to settle down in New York. Finish looking before you go."

I stood frozen, my nails digging into the edge of the cardboard box.

A month ago, I had handed him the relocation plan I had stayed up three nights in a row to draft, asking if he could spare half a day to look at a few apartments with me.

"I'm responsible for hundreds of people's livelihoods every day. I don't have time to play house with you. Can't you handle this kind of thing yourself?"

It turned out he didn't lack the time to look for apartments; he just didn't want to look at one with me.

Daniel's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and stepped out to take the call.

The moment the door clicked shut, Sophia leaned in slowly. "Emma, there are some gaps you can't bridge just by pulling all-nighters to write a few lines of crappy code. Capital operations require Ivy League elites, not code monkeys like you." She lowered her voice. "Last Friday, Daniel took me to a dinner with the investors. They asked him if I was his girlfriend. Take a guess what he said?"

I clenched my fists. "If you want him, you can have him!"

The office door swung open. Daniel slapped a sticky note onto my storage box. "This is the remote work link HR set up for you. Fill it out yourself. You can come back when you're emotionally stable. Stop making a fool of yourself in the office."

I glanced at the end of the URL—it was the portal to an internal system that had been deprecated and shut down three months ago.

I didn't say a word. Right in front of him, I ripped the note in half and dropped the pieces into the trash can.

"You—!" Daniel flared up.

"This is bad!" The HR Director came running in, sweating profusely. "The original copy of Sophia's ten-million-dollar performance agreement is gone. The security cameras show that Emma was the last person in the file room yesterday!"

Sophia covered her mouth, her eyes turning red. "Daniel... the investors absolutely need to take that original with them today. If it's lost, my entire career is ruined."

Daniel's head snapped toward me, his gaze landing dead on the manila envelope sitting on top of my box. He grabbed my wrist so hard I gasped in pain.

A few colleagues gathered around, whispering as they watched the scene unfold.

"I never thought you could be this jealous. Hand over Sophia's agreement."

"This is my personal stuff. It has nothing to do with you." I gritted my teeth, trying to yank my arm back, but his grip only tightened.

"Stop acting," his voice was ice-cold. "You're the only one who has a problem with Sophia. Who else could it be?"

Sophia stepped out from behind him, her eyes bright red with tears. "Emma, if you mind me being so close to Daniel, I can apologize, and I promise to keep my distance from him from now on. But please, I'm begging you, give me back the agreement. I worked so hard to get this project!"

"I didn't take it! I just got back today!" My voice shook.

No one believed me.

Daniel reached out and snatched the envelope out of my arms.

I lunged forward to grab it back. "Daniel, give it back!"

He held it high in the air, far beyond my reach even when I stood on my toes. "I'm going to count to three. Hand over the agreement, or I'm tearing this up!"

"I really didn't take it! That's my stuff, you signed it yourself five years ago—"

"Three."

"Daniel, that's—" My voice began to tremble, tears threatening to spill over.

"Two."

"Just think about five years ago—" I reached for it again but was aggressively swatted away.

"One."

Without hesitation, he ripped the envelope in half. The torn fragments slipped through his fingers, fluttering down to land around my feet.

I stared down at the remnants, so stunned that I forgot how to cry.

Sophia's assistant ran into the room, panting heavily as she held up a document. "I found it! The cleaning lady said it was dropped under the sofa in the conference room!"

Sophia's face froze. The HR Director slapped a hand over his mouth in shock.

Daniel reached out to pull me toward him. "Emma... I..."

I didn't wait for him to touch me. I bent down, picked up a scrap of paper that bore half of his signature, and clenched it in my palm. Picking up my box, I walked out of the building.

Early the next morning, I was packing my final suitcase at Jennifer's apartment. A stiff card slid under the crack of the door—a first-class ticket to Manhattan for that night. A sticky note was attached to it, bearing messy handwriting: "Emma, I'm sorry about last night. Let's go to New York together tonight."

I ripped the ticket in half and tossed it into the trash can.

Three hours later, dragging my suitcase behind me, I boarded a flight to Seattle.

Shortly after my departure, Daniel knocked on Jennifer's door with Sophia in tow, carrying an Hermès bag.

"Jennifer, tell Emma to get packed. I'm here to take her to New York."