Under his terms

Revenge

Elena Monroe had never believed in revenge, at least, that was what she used to tell herself but as she stared at the unfamiliar office floor around her, listening to the endless clicking of keyboards and the low murmur of strategy analysts discussing numbers she hadn’t even been trained to handle yet, she began to reconsider that belief.

Corporate Strategy Division.

It had been three days since the transfer notice arrived in her inbox, the more she thought about it , the more she felt a boiling range of anger in her stomach .

Three days since Adrian Cole had casually moved her department as if rearranging furniture and three days since Elena had been drowning in work that clearly wasn’t meant for someone from marketing. She rubbed her temples, exhaustion creeping behind her eyes …Her desk looked like a battlefield of spreadsheets, printed reports, and notes she barely understood.

Across the room, two analysts were discussing international expansion figures while pointing at a massive graph on a screen.

Elena stared at the mountain of documents in front of her and sighed quietly.

“This is ridiculous,” she murmured under her breath.

In marketing, she had been confident. Creative. Efficient.

Here?

She felt like someone who had been thrown into the deep end of a pool without knowing how to swim.

And she knew exactly who to blame.

Adrian Cole!!!

The man had looked at her once in that elevator one brief interaction and somehow decided to move her entire department like pieces on a chessboard. No explanation nor warning…Just a short, cold email from HR. Her fingers tightened around her pen..

“Arrogant control freak,” she muttered.

As if the universe wanted to test her patience further, two assistants walked past her desk at that moment.

“…another one tonight,” one of them whispered.

The other sighed dramatically. “Seriously? That’s the sixth this month.”

Elena’s ears immediately picked up the tone of their conversation.

Sixth what?

She kept her eyes on the report in front of her, pretending to read while quietly listening.

“I swear his family is determined to marry him off before the year ends,” the first assistant continued.

“Well, can you blame them?” the other replied. “He rejects every woman they introduce.”

Elena blinked.

Rejects every woman?

Now that was interesting.

The assistants stopped beside the printer near her desk.

“So who is it tonight?” one of them asked.

“Someone from the Liang family. Big investors.”

“Another business marriage attempt then.”

Elena slowly lowered the report she had been pretending to read.

Business marriage attempt.

For Adrian Cole.

The idea was strangely amusing.

She imagined the chaotic CEO sitting across from a woman he barely knew while their families discussed alliances and company mergers which made her lips twitched uncontrollably. For some reason, the thought of Adrian being forced into uncomfortable dinners felt oddly satisfying. After the assistants walked away, Elena glanced around the office, everyone was busy,

no one was paying attention to her, curiosity slowly began creeping into her mind, she turned slightly toward her computer, just one quick Look, Nothing wrong with curiosity.

Elena opened the company scheduling system and typed Adrian Cole into the search bar.

A long list of appointments appeared instantly.

Board meetings, investor calls, strategy reviews.

The man’s schedule looked exhausting she muttered to herself then her eyes landed on something near the bottom of the list,

“7:30 PM – Dinner Reservation

Silver Oak Restaurant”

Elena raised an eyebrow.

Dinner reservation.

Two guests.

Reserved under Adrian Cole’s name.

A slow, mischievous smile began forming on her lips.

“So Mr. CEO has a date tonight,” she whispered quietly.

She imagined the scene again, some wealthy woman sitting across from him, probably trying to appear charming while their families watched their every move. Meanwhile, Adrian would sit there with that calm, distant expression of his!! Judging, analyzing and rejecting. The thought was almost funny Elena leaned back slightly in her chair, tapping her fingers against the desk. Her gaze drifted back to the reservation details on the screen , a small idea began forming in her mind. A harmless one, nothing serious, Just… inconvenient.

Her smile slowly widened.

If Adrian Cole liked controlling everyone else’s lives, maybe it was time someone reminded him that he wasn’t the only one capable of making unexpected moves.

She glanced around the office again, Still no one paying attention.

Perfect!!

Elena picked up her phone the restaurant’s number was listed directly beneath the reservation, her fingers hovered over the screen for a moment, this was childish, petty and completely unnecessary but the memory of Adrian’s calm, dismissive tone in the elevator quickly erased the last bit of hesitation she felt. She dialed the number regardless, the call connected after a few rings..

“Silver Oak Restaurant. How may I assist you?”

Elena cleared her throat and lowered her voice slightly.

“Hello. I’m calling about a reservation under the name Adrian Cole.”

“One moment please.”

She could hear typing on the other end.

“Yes, I see it. Table for two at seven-thirty this evening.”

“That’s the one,” Elena said smoothly. “There’s been a small change.”

“Oh?”

“The reservation needs to be canceled.”

There was a brief pause.

“Canceled?”

“Yes.”

The receptionist hesitated slightly. “Are you Mr. Cole’s assistant?”

Elena didn’t even blink.

“Yes.”

“All right then. The reservation has been canceled.”

“Thank you.”

Elena hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair, a quiet sense of victory spread through her chest , It was such a small thing and a minor inconvenience but imagining Adrian Cole arriving at the restaurant only to discover his table had mysteriously disappeared made her feel strangely satisfied… maybe that made her immature, She didn’t care.

For the first time since her transfer, Elena actually felt good. She turned back to her computer and resumed working.

That evening, Adrian Cole stepped out of his car in front of Silver Oak Restaurant.

The elegant building glowed warmly under the evening lights.

Inside, the hostess greeted him with a polite smile.

“Good evening, sir. Do you have a reservation?”

“Adrian Cole.”

The hostess typed quickly into the computer.

Then her expression changed.

“I’m sorry, sir…”

Adrian raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Yes?”

“It appears the reservation was canceled earlier today.”

Adrian’s gaze sharpened.

“Canceled?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I didn’t cancel it.”

The hostess looked uncomfortable.

“The request came from someone who said they were calling on your behalf.”

Adrian remained silent for a moment.

His expression stayed calm, but his mind immediately started analyzing the situation.

His assistant would never cancel a reservation without informing him.

Which meant someone else had interfered.

Someone who had access to the company scheduling system.

Adrian pulled out his phone.

Within seconds he had opened the internal system.

He checked the reservation log.

Everything looked normal.

Until he reached the access history.

Every time someone viewed or interacted with the schedule, the system recorded it.

Several assistants had opened the schedule earlier that day.

Nothing unusual.

Then one name appeared.

Elena Monroe

Adrian’s eyes lingered on the screen.

Elena Monroe

The woman from the elevator.

The same woman he had transferred to the strategy department.

A faint smile slowly appeared on his lips.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

If she truly had sabotaged his dinner reservation, that meant one of two things.

Either she was incredibly reckless.

Or incredibly bold.

Adrian slipped the phone back into his pocket.

The hostess was still waiting nervously.

“Would you like us to prepare another table, sir?” she asked.

Adrian shook his head calmly.

“No need.”

He turned toward the exit.

The cool night air greeted him outside.

Adrian paused beside his car for a moment, thoughtful.

Most employees would never dare interfere with his personal schedule.

But Elena Rossi didn’t seem like most employees.

She had challenged him once already.

And now this.

Adrian couldn’t deny that the situation amused him slightly.

He pulled out his phone again and sent a short message to his assistant.

Schedule a meeting with Elena Monroe tomorrow morning.

He slipped the phone back into his pocket.

Tomorrow would be interesting.

Because if Elena had decided to start a game with him…

Then she was about to discover exactly how dangerous that could be.

Adrian opened the car door and got inside.

For the first time in days, a small spark of curiosity had appeared in his mind.

And it was entirely because of one very bold employee.