I Funded Him 10 Years, I Married His Boss

Chapter 3

Jace rubbed his aching temples wearily, a strange, gnawing panic rising in his chest out of nowhere.

He'd gotten exactly what he'd wished for after landing the manager position at Spencer Corporation, and the very first thing he'd done was hire Sadie Wilson as his personal secretary.

But lately, Sadie had grown cold and distant, and it was dawning on him that something was very wrong.

She no longer hung off his arm every second of the day. Instead, she kept sneaking around his computer while he took his lunch break.

At first, he'd written it off as petty jealousy, figured she was checking if he was secretly talking to Naomi Rivers.

But then confidential company files started leaking, and his superiors tore into him over and over.

To test his suspicion, he pretended to be asleep one day. The second Sadie finished copying files and reached to pull out her flash drive, he shot up and clamped down hard on her wrist.

He never would've guessed she was a mole planted by their rival company.

Sadie didn't even bother hiding it. She owned up to it immediately, no shame whatsoever.

She tossed her head and sneered at him, smug as all get-out, "Who do you think you are, you broke loser? You actually think you're something special?" She leaned in, voice sharp and mocking, "Let me make this clear. If Naomi Rivers hadn't funded you, and if you hadn't landed this manager job at Spencer Corporation, I wouldn't have spared you a single glance!"

He froze on the spot, completely stunned.

A tidal wave of conflicting emotions crashed over him all at once.

All for this woman, he'd turned Naomi down time and time again.

He'd stood by and let Sadie bully the woman who'd supported him for ten whole years.

He'd even let Sadie use Naomi's late husband to hurt her.

Worse, to protect this worthless woman, he'd struck Naomi with a beer bottle with his own two hands.

Only later did he find out he'd landed that job at Spencer Corporation entirely because of Naomi.

But she'd never breathed a word of it to anyone, just to spare his pride.

After Sadie slammed the door and stormed out, he sat there motionless in his office until the sky turned pitch black outside.

His mind drifted back to the days he'd spent at Naomi's house.

Back then, he'd often stay up super late competing in tournaments, skipping meals until his stomach throbbed with hunger.

It was Naomi who'd cooked him nourishing, home-cooked meals every single time, slowly nursing his bad stomach back to health.

But it had never once crossed his mind how a woman who'd never lifted a finger to do housework her whole life had learned to cook all those dishes in the first place.

Once, he'd casually mentioned wanting a jersey signed by his favorite athlete.

She'd dropped all her work on the spot, hopped on multiple flights, and waited in line for hours just to get that signature for him.

And what did he do?

Right in front of her, he'd wrapped that very same jersey around Sadie's waist when the other woman wasn't feeling well.

Over and over, he'd hurt Naomi deeply, all to win over the woman he'd idiotically thought was his unattainable crush.

And what did that get him?

Nothing but betrayal and sneering insults from Sadie.

Sadie had complained he wasn't ambitious enough, two months into the job, and he was still just a lowly manager. She'd whined that the money going into her bank account was too little, not even enough to buy one limited-edition designer handbag. Even though he'd already announced their wedding to every last relative and friend, she'd dug in her heels and called the whole thing off.

Why? Just so she could stay "single", making it easier to find wealthy benefactors.

He didn't sleep a wink all night, and the sky gradually lightened outside.

By then, the front of his shirt was soaked through with bitter, regret-filled tears.

Buzz buzz.

His phone went off, displaying a news alert that he read out loud in disbelief, "Naomi Rivers was getting married to the president of Spencer Corporation."

His stomach dropped like a lead weight. The next second, he spun on his heel, threw the office door open, and sprinted out.

He hadn't gotten the chance to make things right with her yet. There was no way she could marry someone else!