Chapter 1
Gavin Carter was a powerful CEO in Portwell, notorious for his icy demeanor.
At every corporate reception, I stepped in and drank on his behalf.
"Ms. Ross can really hold her liquor. No wonder she's Mr. Carter's right-hand woman!"
"She's definitely going places."
No one knew I wasn't doing it to get ahead. I did it because Gavin had a chronic stomach condition, and even a few drinks would leave him in pain and unable to sleep for hours.
We had been together for 7 years, yet he had never made our relationship public because he said he didn't want his private life interfering with work.
Then the new intern began posting photos of their private get-togethers all over her feed.
Gavin claimed he couldn't stand women who were always snacking, yet he had treats delivered to her at the same time every day.
Another snack delivery from the CEO. I'm so spoiled.
He couldn't stand high-maintenance women, yet he rescheduled her department's performance review so she could sleep an extra 30 minutes.
The CEO said I get to be the exception. How lucky am I?
Coworkers piled into the comments to tease them and offer their congratulations.
That was when I realized that making a relationship public didn't get in the way of work after all.
I liked her post and handed in my resignation letter.
……
On my way to the gate, a blast of cold air swept through the long corridor and made me shiver.
I wiped everything from my phone without a second thought.
I watched the photos and messages from our 7 years together vanish from the screen.
There was no point in keeping any of it.
Gavin Carter had kept such a deliberate distance from me that everyone believed my feelings were entirely one-sided.
The trouble had started 2 months earlier, when I'd brought in a major client and closed a deal worth more than 2 million dollars.
On the day of the signing ceremony, however, I was rushed to the hospital with appendicitis.
With me hospitalized, the company sent a new intern, Abigail Shaw, in my place.
Abigail then put her own name on the event sign-in sheet.
When the bonuses were paid out, she received a check worth thousands of dollars that should have gone to me.
I'd spent over 6 months on that deal and had landed in the hospital several times after drinking with clients.
When I confronted the finance clerk, she only sneered.
"Ms. Ross, you may be the CEO's executive assistant, but we still have to follow company policy when it comes to bonuses. We can't simply take your word for it and hand you the money."
They treated me that way because they all knew Gavin would never stand up for me.
Everyone knew Gavin despised women who drank too much.
Naturally, they assumed he must dislike me too.
In reality, Gavin had been my boyfriend for 7 years.
I messaged him in a fury and demanded to know whether he'd heard about it.
He left me waiting for a reply.
I thought he was busy. Then I went downstairs and saw his car roll through the company gates.
Gavin jogged around to the passenger side and opened the door for Abigail.
Abigail skipped along ahead of him in the sunlight while he followed with a smile.
The sight took me back to the early days of our relationship.
Whenever we'd spent the night together, we arrived at work separately the next morning, as if we had something shameful to hide.
Sometimes I brought him a snack, but if anyone saw it, he would toss it straight into the trash.
"Ms. Ross, I don't eat this stuff. Don't waste your time."
That only fueled the rumors that I'd tried to seduce the CEO and been flatly rejected.
When Abigail handed him an iced coffee in front of everyone, they expected him to turn her down as bluntly as he'd turned me down.
Instead, Gavin accepted it with a smile and ruffled her hair.
"You can barely live on that salary, and you're still buying me coffee?"
Then, in front of the entire office, he transferred 1,000 dollars to her.
Just thinking about it made my chest ache again.
When they came in, Abigail was still talking to him in a coy, playful tone.
"My parents were thrilled when they heard how big my bonus was. They said I was lucky to have such a wonderful boss."
Gavin gazed at her fondly. "So I'm just a good boss to you?"
I turned away, unable to look at either of them.
At that moment, every sacrifice I'd made for him over the years felt like a mistake.
