CHAPTER ONE
431 Words
The night was unusually silent, cloaked in tension. The luxurious sitting room sparkled under the soft glow of golden lamps. Everything about the space — from the velvet sofas to the glint of marble flooring — screamed wealth, but there was no peace in sight.
Bianca paced furiously across the room, still in her fitted office attire. Her heels tapped against the polished floor, but her mind was far noisier. In her hand, she clenched an envelope as if it might burst into flames from the heat of her rage.
The door creaked open.
Dan stepped inside, looking every bit the powerful executive — dark suit, expensive cologne, and a leather briefcase in hand. He paused for a second when he saw her stormy expression but brushed past it like it meant nothing.
He headed toward the hallway, but Bianca moved swiftly and blocked his path.
“What’s this?” she snapped, raising the envelope.
Dan didn’t flinch. His voice was calm. “Didn’t you read it?”
Bianca’s grip tightened around the paper. “Of course I did! And I’m still confused.”
He sighed, clearly unbothered. “Well, that’s a sack letter.”
Bianca blinked. “A sack letter for who?”
Dan smirked, the arrogance in his eyes impossible to ignore. “For the person whose name is written on it.”
Her voice rose. “Dan, you’re… you’re firing me? From my own company?”
“That’s what power can do.” He didn’t blink. “It’s your company, yes. But I’m the CEO. I decide who stays and who goes.”
Bianca’s heart pounded in her chest. “Are you serious right now? This is my father’s company. I made you the CEO.”
“Exactly,” he said coldly, brushing past her.
They locked eyes. Hers full of disbelief, his devoid of empathy.
“I’m the CEO,” he repeated, “and I decide who works here and who doesn’t. Excuse me.”
He shoved past her without a care and disappeared up the staircase.
Bianca stood frozen. Her hand trembled as her mind scrambled to make sense of it all.
“What the…?” she muttered under her breath. Then, as the confusion gave way to rage, she bolted up the stairs.
“Dan!” she called. “I don’t get it! Does any of this even make sense? You can’t fire me from my own company! I mean, why? What’s your reason?”
But no answer came. Only the sound of her heels thudding against the wooden steps as she chased the truth.
- Writer
