The Boss I'd Rather Forget

Chapter 014- A new resolution

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*CHAPTER FOURTEEN: A NEW RESOLUTION*

*Wren’s POV*

The afternoon traffic wasn’t as bad as I had expected.

I sat in the passenger seat while Lyra drove. The window was halfway down and the wind was blowing into my face. One hand rested on the steering wheel and the other was tapping along to the music playing through the speakers.

It was a Wednesday afternoon, but it felt like Friday.

One of my favorite songs came on. That let-me-down-slowly song. The one that always made me feel something.

I immediately reached over and turned the volume up.

“Lyra!”

“What?” She didn’t even look at me.

“Louder!”

She laughed. “You know the neighbors can hear you, right? The whole street can hear you.”

“I don’t care!”

And I didn’t.

I started singing along. Loudly. Off-key. With my whole chest. I threw my head back and used my hands like I was performing at a concert.

Lyra burst out laughing. “Girl, you’re going to make me crash! Focus on the road!”

“I’m enjoying myself!”

“I can see that.”

For those few minutes, there was nothing else.

No Damien. No Sterling Group. No presentation where I froze like a statue. No painful memories of the CEO staring at me.

Just me and Lyra and music.

We laughed until my stomach started to hurt.

Lyra turned down the music a little. “Okay, calm down before the police stop us for noise pollution.”

I was still smiling when something flashed through my mind.

An idea.

I sat up straight in my seat.

“Lyra!”

“What now?” She glanced at me quickly, then back at the road. “Should I be worried?”

“No, listen.” My eyes were bright. “I’m thinking of proposing a design in the office.”

“What kind of design?”

“Something for cars.”

Lyra raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. So I kept going.

“Think about it. What if cars had a proper voice-command system? Like a real one. Not the ones that don’t understand you.”

I was moving my hands as I talked.

“A person could just say, ‘Play this song for me’ and it would play. Or ‘Lower the window’ and the window would come down. Or ‘Turn on the wipers’ and they would start moving.”

I paused to catch my breath.

“You could control the music, the windows, the AC, maybe even the GPS. Just by talking. No touching anything. Don’t you think that would be amazing for car users?”

I looked at Lyra, waiting for her reaction.

She was smiling at me. But it was a sad smile.

“You’ve quit, remember?”

My excitement dropped immediately. Like someone poured cold water on me.

“Oh…”

I leaned back into the seat. The smile disappeared from my face.

The idea that made me feel excited 2 seconds ago just reminded me of the reason I almost walked away from the company.

Lyra noticed the change. She reached over and held my hand without taking her eyes off the road.

“You know what, Wren?”

I looked at her.

“You are amazing.” Her voice was soft. “You’re smart, you’re creative, and you’re good at your job. Really good.” She squeezed my hand. “It would be sad to lose your dream because of a man.”

I stayed quiet.

“I know what happened between you two hurt you,” she continued. “I’m not saying you should forgive him. Or forget what he did. But don’t allow him to take anything else from you. Don’t let him take your job too.”

I looked down at our joined hands.

“I suggest you use Sterling Group as your stepping stone,” she said.

“How?”

“Work there. Build your experience. Build your name. Let people see what you’re capable of.” Lyra smiled a little. “Then, once you’ve established yourself, you can move to another company if you want. Maybe even their biggest rival.”

I laughed softly. “And take revenge?”

“Exactly. Professional revenge.”

I laughed again. “You are crazy.”

“I know.”

The rest of the ride continued with music playing quietly in the background. Neither of us spoke much after that.

I spent most of the journey staring out the window, watching cars and people pass by. Thinking about what Lyra said.

Maybe she was right.

Maybe quitting wasn’t the answer.

Maybe Damien didn’t deserve the power to destroy something I had worked so hard to achieve. Something I had studied for.

By the time we reached home, I had already made a decision in my head.

I just wasn’t completely ready to say it aloud yet.

*The Next Morning*

“I’m hungry.”

Lyra’s sleepy voice came from the kitchen. I heard footsteps, then a yawn.

Then suddenly: “Oh my God!”

I was already dressed. My hair was neatly styled in a low bun. My work ID was hanging around my neck. My bag was over my shoulder, and I was checking myself in the mirror near the door.

Lyra came running into the living room. Her eyes were wide.

“My goodness, Wren!”

I turned to face her. “What?”

“I’m proud of you, girl!” She put her hands on her hips.

I laughed. “Why are you acting like I just won an award?”

“Because yesterday you were talking about quitting, and today you’re dressed for work before me.” She walked closer to me. “So, what have you resolved to do?”

I took a deep breath.

“I’ll resume and continue my work.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” I adjusted my bag on my shoulder. “I didn’t see him the entire time I was working there until that presentation. So I’ll just pretend he never existed.”

Lyra’s face lit up. “Nice one.”

“I’m not going to let him ruin this opportunity for me.”

“That’s my girl.”

I pointed at her. “And if he tries anything? If he comes to my desk or calls me?”

“We’ll deal with it.” Lyra gave me a playful salute. “Now go and make your money. And don’t let that man distract you.”

I laughed. “I’ll try.”

*Sterling Group Headquarters*

I walked into the Sterling Group building with a confidence I hadn’t felt in days.

My heels clicked on the marble floor.

I took a deep breath before stepping into the Design Department.

“Good morning, everyone!”

Several heads immediately turned.

Green’s eyes widened. “Our baby is back!” She stood up from her seat.

I laughed. “Oh, I missed you guys.”

Green walked over and hugged me. “Did you miss us, or did you miss our terrible office coffee?”

“Definitely not the coffee.”

Everyone laughed.

Caleb smiled as he approached me. “Are you okay now?”

“Yeah.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “Thanks for checking on me.”

“Good. We were worried.”

I dropped my bag beside my desk, then looked around at everyone. “So, any gist for me? Anything exciting happen while I was gone?”

Liam leaned back in his chair. “Gist?”

“Yes. What happened while I was gone?”

Green immediately pointed at Liam. “Tell her.”

Liam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Everything went as usual.”

I nodded. “Okay. That’s good.”

“But…”

I froze. “But what?”

Liam gave me an apologetic look. “The CEO wants you to write a detailed explanation about why you zoned out during the presentation.”

My smile disappeared immediately.

“He said that?”

“Yeah.” Liam nodded. “And there’s more.”

I slowly turned toward him. My heart was beating fast. “What?”

“He wants you to submit it to him personally.”

Silence fell over my corner of the office.

Green looked at me sympathetically. “Maybe it’s not that serious. Maybe he just wants to understand what happened.”

I slowly sat down and rubbed my forehead.

“Oh God. Just when I thought I was going to have a peaceful day.”

Caleb walked over to my desk. “Don’t panic. It’s just an explanation. Write what happened. That you got overwhelmed. That’s all.”

I looked up at him. “Just an explanation? Caleb, I have to explain to the CEO why I suddenly forgot how to speak English in front of the whole company. And the clients.”

I sighed and opened my laptop. The screen was blank and white, staring back at me.

Then I whispered under my breath,

“But why does he have to read it personally? Why can’t I just send it to HR?”

My fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Part of me wanted to close the laptop and walk out.

Part of me wanted to write the pettiest letter ever.

But the other part — the part that listened to Lyra last night — said to stay professional.

I typed the first line:

_To: CEO, Sterling Group_

_Subject: Explanation for Presentation Incident_

I didn’t know what would happen after I submitted it.

Would he shout at me? Would he fire me?

But one thing I knew for sure:

I wasn’t quitting. Not today. Not because of him.

I was going to fight for my place here.

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