Replacing my ex

Chapter 19

After a quick stint in the kitchenette washing Cole’s mug and cutlery, I settled at my desk and got to typing up some documents.

My phone buzzed on the corner of my desk.

I picked it up to find a new text message from Mrs. Norris.

Mrs. Norris: It was my pleasure, my dear. And what about my stubborn boy? Did he actually eat the breakfast, or did it end up in the trash?

A small smile tugged at my lips.

Lila: He ate every single bite, and he even neatly organized the utensils for me. Your plan worked like a charm.

Mrs. Norris: A miracle! I’m impressed. How on earth did you manage that, Lila?

Lila: Nothing special, really. All I do is lay it out in his office. I have the empty Tupperware ready to hand back to Leo. Thank you again, it was delicious.

The morning went by quickly and smoothly. Soon it was time for me to go down and have lunch, which I did, coming back up with a meal for Cole.

While I was at the bistro, I worked out a plan with them for direct delivery so I didn’t have to keep running down to pick it up, figuring it would save us both some valuable time. I could easily eat my own lunch in the kitchenette so that the hour was utilized well.

At exactly 1:30 PM, I knocked on Cole’s door and entered. I set up his lunch as usual, and at the end of the hour, I picked up the dishes and cleaned up in the kitchenette.

Later that afternoon I scooped up the clean Tupperware containers from breakfast, packed them neatly into the bag, and headed downstairs to the ground floor.

I spotted Leo standing near the front security desk, focused on a tablet.

“Leo, my man,” I called out, walking over.

He looked up and grinned.

“Lila. Here to drop off contraband?”

“Mission accomplished,” I said, handing over the bag of washed containers. “All accounted for and scrubbed clean.”

Leo took the bag, peering inside with an amused look.

“I have to ask... did the breakfast plan

actually work? Because normally, trying to get Cole to do anything is like trying to convince a brick wall to move.”

“It totally worked,” I whispered conspiratorially, leaning in slightly.

“He actually ate it. Every last bite.”

Leo’s eyes widened in genuine surprise, a low whistle escaping his lips.

“Damn. I stand corrected. You’re a wizard. Nobody has been able to trick him into eating proper breakfast in the last year.”

“What happened before that? How come he stopped eating breakfast?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

“Mrs. Bellamy retired,” Leo answered simply.

I learned from Leo that Mrs. Bellamy had been Cole’s father’s executive assistant before he retired, but she had stayed on to work with Cole. She and Cole got along great. She was a highly organized, efficient, no-nonsense lady who had watched Cole grow up, meaning she could easily stand her ground with him. After she left, Cole had burned through the seven assistants I’d heard so much about.

“Clearly, if you’re going to keep trying to manage him, you’re going to need all the stamina you can get. You know how he operates, right?” Leo added.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Just that Cole doesn't do normal office hours,” Leo said, leaning against the reception desk. “If you think 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM is the standard here, think again. He’s usually in the building way before anyone else arrives. Sometimes before dawn. And he rarely clears out of his office before 9:00 PM.”

I blinked, processing that.

9:00 PM?

No wonder the man looked like a walking, high-strung corporate weapon half the time. He basically lived at Legacy Tower.

“Every single night?” I asked, surprised.

“Almost,” Leo confirmed. “The man breathes work. It’s why his inner circle is so small. People burn out fast trying to keep pace with him.”

“Well,” I said, lifting my chin slightly with a determined smile, “it’s a good thing I’m not planning on burning out anytime soon.”

Leo laughed, bumping my fist.

“I like your style, Lila. Hang in there.”

“Thanks, Leo. Tell Mrs. Norris hello for me when you see her next!”

I waved and headed back to the bank of elevators, mulling over what Leo had told me. As the doors slid shut and I watched the floor numbers tick upward, a new perspective settled over me.

Cole Sterling wasn't just a demanding, arrogant CEO barking orders from behind a mahogany desk. He was completely isolated by his own relentless drive.

The rest of the week settled into a steady, productive rhythm. The shared Google Calendar became our secret weapon. Cole actually respected the system.

Mrs Norris continued to send Leo with breakfast every morning, sending bigger and bigger portions, which I managed to convince Leo to start eating.

So, every morning I met up with Leo downstairs and he helped me carry the breakfast upstairs. I brewed coffee while we chatted and I set up breakfast in Cole’s office. Then Leo and I had breakfast in the kitchenette.

The fallout from the discrepancy I flagged in the development team’s report hit the executive floor by Wednesday morning like a quiet, calculated storm.

There were no raised voices or dramatic scenes from Cole’s office, which somehow made it infinitely more terrifying. Instead, Cole, Bash, and Uncle H spent hours behind closed doors, reviewing audit logs, project histories, and financial ledgers.

The pieces of the puzzle had clicked into place. The culprit wasn't just a simple clerical error; it was deliberate financial manipulation.

A high-level director from the finance department and another from the development department had been altering figures.

Quiet digging by Cole, Bash, and Mr Powers revealed that this wasn't an isolated incident. The same people had pulled the exact same trick on two smaller-scale projects previously, flying under the radar because the sums were lower and nobody had looked closely enough.

This time, emboldened by past success, they had tried it on a major multi-million-dollar development project, getting too cocky and assuming the top floor would rubber-stamp the report without fact-checking the underlying numbers.

Their termination was swift, quiet, and brutal. By 3:00 PM, security quietly escorted them out of Legacy Tower with a cardboard box each, their corporate careers effectively over before they even realized what hit them.

While the rest of the company whispered and speculated about the sudden firing, only the people on the top floor knew it was me who had spotted the anomaly.

Later that afternoon, as I was on my way to drop off a stack of approved contracts, I was intercepted near the bank of elevators.

“Lila,” Will called out, walking over with a wide grin and joining me inside the elevator.

“Will, hi,” I greeted him warmly

“Congratulations,” he said, lowering his voice as he stepped closer. “I heard you were the one who spotted the fudged numbers in the finance reports.

I blinked.

“Oh. I just happened to notice a few figures that didn’t add up, that’s all.”

“Don’t downplay it,” Will chuckled, shaking his head.

“Those guys had everyone fooled for months. You saved the firm a massive headache. And potentially a compliance nightmare.”

“Thanks, Will. I was just doing my job,” I smiled, feeling a genuine flush of pride.

“Well, you’re doing a hell of a job,” he said warmly before we got off the elevator and headed in separate directions

When I returned to my desk, Cole’s office door clicked open and Mr. Powers stepped out. He asked me to go with him to his office for a quick file review. We sat down, going through the final audit trail of the fired director’s projects.

“You’ve got a remarkable instinct for this, Lila,” he said, peering over his reading glasses with a warm, approving smile that softened the sharp lines of his face.

“You remind me a lot of my sister. Cole and Bash’s mother. She always had an uncanny way of seeing right through corporate smoke and mirrors. And stubbornness runs deep in this family. Though I have to say, watching you handle Cole and catch corporate fraud in your first two weeks? You’re giving our family legacy a run for its money.”

“I’ll take that as the highest compliment, sir,” I joked, gathering up the folders. “Wait, your sister?”

Mr. Powers chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

“Ah, right, I’m their maternal uncle. Their mother’s younger brother. Though working with Cole day in and day out, people sometimes forget I’m the one who changed his diapers before he turned into a corporate tyrant.”

I let out a surprised laugh.

“I genuinely thought you were a long-time family friend.”

“Nope,” he grinned.

As I walked back to my desk, the events of the day finally settled over me. The tower was buzzing with quiet tension, and my name was earning quiet respect among the higher-ups. I was slowly becoming an entrenched part of the Sterling family's chaotic, high-stakes orbit.