He Hid Our Love, I Became His Boss

Chapter 2

Derek looked at me helplessly and let out a sigh.

"Natalie, don't throw a tantrum at a time like this. We've been together for 7 years. A few more months won't make a difference. When I get back, we'll take care of everything that needs taking care of."

A few colleagues chimed in to persuade me.

"Natalie, Mr. Hale definitely has feelings for you."

"You two have come this far together. Don't let work issues damage your relationship."

They were all certain I couldn't leave Derek.

After all, over the past 7 years, whenever we had a disagreement, I was always the one who gave in first.

I was about to tell him that I'd be reporting to head office tomorrow when Chloe suddenly poured herself a full glass of alcohol.

"Natalie, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

She threw her head back and downed it, then immediately covered her mouth and dry-heaved.

Derek quickly stood up to support her.

"Who told you to drink so fast?"

Chloe shook her head, her eyes reddening.

"I don't want Natalie to misunderstand."

"Why did you have to say something like that to scare her? You know perfectly well she can't hold her liquor."

Derek turned and gave me a cold glance, then helped Chloe to the restroom.

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward. Under those cautious, sympathetic gazes, I suddenly felt that these 7 years of waiting had been absurdly laughable.

Since I clearly no longer felt welcome at the celebration dinner, I couldn't be bothered to stay and play the villain who had ruined everyone's mood. I picked up my bag, excused myself early, and went back alone to my small apartment.

Derek and I lived in the same building. I lived on the ninth floor, he lived on the tenth.

To avoid leaving any evidence of violating company policy, we had never lived together.

While packing my belongings, I remembered that an external hard drive containing important files was still at his place.

I called him several times. He didn't pick up.

Half an hour later, Chloe updated her social media.

The photo was taken at Mason's Diner, our old favorite spot.

Back when we'd work overtime until late at night, Derek would always say I had a sensitive stomach and that tomato soup was gentle on it.

Every time, he would carefully peel every shrimp before placing them in my bowl.

In the photo, he was lowering his head as he tore bread into small pieces for Chloe, looking just as attentive as he had once been with me.

Her caption read, Having a thoughtful mentor is probably the luckiest thing for a workplace newcomer.

Two hours later, I went upstairs and knocked on his door.

When Derek opened it, his expression was unnatural, his body blocking the entrance.

"It's so late. Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow."

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a pair of women's shoes in the entryway.

They were Chloe's belongings.

Derek was about to explain when she emerged from the bedroom.

"Natalie, I felt so awful after drinking that I couldn't walk. My mentor was worried, so he brought me here to rest. Please don't misunderstand."

"Couldn't walk, but you could still go out for a late-night snack?"

Her face went pale.

I pushed past Derek.

"I'm just here to get my hard drive. You two carry on."

Chloe's water glass sat in the living room. Her skincare products were arranged on the bathroom counter.

The space in the closet that used to be mine was now filled with her clothes.

My clothes had been shoved into storage bins in the utility room, crumpled into a heap.

Only then did I realize how long it had been since I'd last come up to the tenth floor.

Derek always said he was busy working toward his promotion.

Over the past few months, most of our contact had been reduced to workflow approvals in our company software.

Derek stared at the storage bin in silence.

Chloe quickly spoke up.

"My closet at home got infested with bugs, so I borrowed my mentor's place for a few days. I'm so sorry, Natalie. I'll move them out right away."

She moved to grab her coat.

Derek immediately stopped her.

"It's so late. It's not safe for you to go out alone."

I picked up the hard drive and looked at him.

"Since when do you stop caring about company policy?"

Derek's brow furrowed slightly.

"It's just colleagues helping each other out. Don't blow this out of proportion."

In the past, no matter how late it was, he would always send me back down to the ninth floor.

He used to say the company prohibited workplace relationships and we couldn't leave any evidence.

Turned out the policy had never changed.

What changed was who he was willing to break it for.

I walked to the door and stopped.

"Derek. I'm officially notifying you: we're done."