He Gave My Bonus To Intern, I Revenged

Chapter 2

It wasn't as if anyone in the office didn't know what Chloe was capable of, or rather, incapable of.

But with the boss so blatantly playing favorites, they all just turned a blind eye and pretended nothing was wrong.

In the thick, suffocating silence, I locked my eyes on Brett.

I knew he wouldn't dare.

A country boy weighted down by his entire family's hopes, every ounce of pressure driving him to claw his way to the top.

Brett dodged my gaze, his voice scraping out, rough and unsteady.

"Lily, if you have a problem, let's talk in private—"

I cut him off. "You don't dare, do you?"

The room fell so deathly quiet you could hear a heartbeat drop.

Chloe, her voice thick with tears, tugged at Brett's sleeve.

"Brett, just leave it," she said.

Amy tried to jump in, but I shut her down with a single look.

As I stared at Brett's shifty, evasive eyes, whatever urge I had left to keep talking to him vanished into thin air.

I spun around, grabbed Amy by the hand, and stormed out.

Once we stepped out of The Capital Grille, Amy fired off a stream of righteous fury the whole way.

One minute she was cursing Brett as a two-timing scumbag, the next she was spitting fire about Chloe being a classic backstabbing little saint.

But I felt eerily calm. The last dying ember of love I'd held for Brett crumbled to ash the very moment he shielded Chloe and denied every ounce of my sacrifice.

Amy drove me home, still fuming as she pulled up to my apartment building.

"Lily, I know you love Brett, but…"

She didn't get to finish. I cut her off.

"Love's dead. The second I found out he had handed my money to someone else, I wanted to wring his neck!"

Amy blinked, then smacked the steering wheel with a satisfying thwack.

"Damn right! Who needs a man when you've got money? Stay at my place tonight. Come back tomorrow to pack. No point getting worked up seeing that scumbag's face."

I shook my head. "No, I'll pack tonight. I'm not risking losing anything I paid for."

I sent Amy off, climbed the stairs, and started grabbing my things.

When I pushed open the door, guess who was actually home?

It was Brett.

The moment he spotted me, he all but lunged forward, a tremor of barely concealed panic threading through his voice.

"Lily, you're back. About today. I can… can explain everything. Let's talk, properly."

I sidestepped him and strode right toward the bedroom.

"Nothing to talk about. We're over," I said.

Brett rushed after me and blocked my path.

"You're dumping me over a hundred-thousand dollar commission? I know this stung for you, but Chloe really needed that money. Her mom's rehab depends on it. As the team lead, I couldn't just look away.

"Lily, as my girlfriend, you should understand."

"I don't understand, and I don't care to. If being your girlfriend means handing over what's mine on a silver platter, then I'm done with the role."

I shoved him aside, marched to the bedroom, and started tossing my clothes, jewelry, and makeup into a suitcase.

"Lily Taylor, since when did you turn this cold-blooded? Or is it just that you've got a grudge against Chloe?"

I zipped the suitcase shut with a snap and turned to stare him down.

"You're only just realizing now I can't stand the sight of her? If you're so hell-bent on playing her knight in shining armor, let's just break up. Then you're free to pour all the help you want onto her."

I sidestepped Brett and headed for the door, but he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around me from behind in a desperate, bone-crushing embrace.

"Lily, I screwed up. Next project, I'll make it up to you with my own commission. Please, just don't leave me, okay?"

A fresh wave of revulsion churned up from the pit of my stomach.

I wrenched myself free and slapped him hard.

"Brett Evans, then why the hell didn't you just fork over your own commission this time? You make me sick."

Brett clutched his stinging cheek, eyes blazing with a storm of shame and rage.

"Lily, you ice-cold b***h. Who would ever want someone like you now?"

I dragged my suitcase toward the door and never looked back.

Who needed love when you had cash? That was the only thing that mattered.

A quick taxi ride later, I walked into Amy's place, and she scurried over, her face a comical mash-up of guilt and eager pride, like a puppy that had just chewed up a shoe but also fetched the morning paper.

"Uh, so, Lily… I don't know if you're planning to quit or anything, but… I have kind of already landed you a new job.

"I spruced up your resume and posted it on my profile, and then, get this, the general manager at Vanguard Holdings messaged me. Says he wants to have a chat with you."