Chapter 2 2.

The crowd backed away as Lucien marched toward us, his eyes narrowed with anger, his jaw so tense I noticed a muscle twitching on his face. The cafeteria went silent except for nervous whispers rippling through the room.

"Did she say girlfriend?"

"I've never seen her before."

"The kitchen girl?"

I straightened my shoulders, ignoring the sting in my cheek, and stepped forward to meet him. Up close, he was even more intimidating. His scent hit me, something expensive and oud, but I steeled myself to remain strong.

"Baby, I've had enough of Greg and his bullshit," I said, reaching for his arm. I felt a muscle tense at my touch. "I'm sick and tired of being undercover. You need to fire him right now."

Lucien's brow furrowed as he stared at my hand on his arm like it was a poisonous snake. His nostrils flared slightly, and I saw a flash of confusion before his face hardened again.

He shook my hand off his arm.

I gasped dramatically, placing my hand over my heart.

"Seriously? That's how you're going to play this?" I stepped closer, invading his personal space. "So I'm good enough for you behind closed doors, but not in front of your employees? Is that it?"

"Who the hell are you?" His voice was low but with a hard edge.

I let out a hollow laugh. "Wow. Denying me completely now? That's low, even for you, Lucien." I turned to the crowd, throwing my arms wide. "Everyone, apparently I don't exist! Three months together, and suddenly he doesn't know me!"

Lucien's face darkened as he took in the sea of shocked expressions, the phones capturing every moment of this disaster.

"Whoever you are, you're fired," he said coldly. "Now."

I clutched my chest, widening my eyes with fake shock.

"Fired? For standing up to a sexual harasser? For expecting my boyfriend to have a backbone?" I shook my head, tears welling up. Just when I needed it. "You know what? Don't bother firing me. I quit."

I jabbed a finger at his chest. "And we are done. Find someone else to warm your bed and put up with your emotional constipation."

The whispers rose in the cafeteria again. I tossed my hair over my shoulder and marched toward the staff area, snatching my bag from my locker. Elvis, the kitchen supervisor, looked at me with... pity? Disappointment?

Whatever.

I turned away and forced myself to walk tall, each click of my boots against the floor punctuating my exit.

As I pushed through the glass doors of Hayes Corp and stepped into the sunlight, a rush of adrenaline made me light-headed. I just confronted Lucien Hayes. I called out his executive. I made a scene in front of everyone, including-

Wait.

I clutched my bag tighter, reality crashing down on me.

I wasn't supposed to get fired. That wasn't part of the plan. That wasn't part of the plan!

I froze on the sidewalk, suddenly hyperaware of the magnitude of what I had just done. I wanted his attention, not a one-way ticket to unemployment.

Ronan's going to kill me. Or worse, expose me.

My phone rang inside my bag, vibrating against my hip. It was my best friend calling. She worked in the marketing department and surely, the news of what happened must have reached her already.

"Please tell me it was a different redhead that created a scene in the cafeteria." I could feel the sheer panic in her voice.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Maya..."

She screamed so loud I had to yank the phone away from my ear. When I cautiously brought it back, she was still going.

"What were you thinking? Greg? The CEO? His girlfriend? Camila, what the actual hell?"

"I know, I know," I said, pacing along the sidewalk as businesspeople in suits gave me strange looks. "It wasn't exactly how I planned it."

"You planned this without talking to me first?" Maya's voice rose another octave. "I've been in meetings all morning and my phone starts blowing up with texts. People are saying you're sleeping with Lucien Hayes, Cam. Lucien freaking Hayes."

I cringed, watching a bus pull up to the curb. "Look, I can explain everything, but not right now."

"Not right now? Are you kidding me?"

"The bus is here, and I need to get home," I lied, even though I wasn't getting on that bus. "Let's talk when you get back from work, okay?"

"Camila Sterling, don't you dare-"

"Love you, bye!" I hung up quickly, shoving my phone deep into my bag.

I stood there for a moment, the reality of my situation sinking in. The plan seemed so simple: cause a scene, expose Greg, get noticed by Lucien Hayes, and... make him drag me to his office. He needed to drag me to his office for the next part of my plan.

I didn't think he'd fire me on the spot.

God, I'm such an idiot.

I sank onto a park bench across from Hayes Corp, the sting of Greg's slap pulsing on my cheek. The city buzzed around me, but I was stuck replaying the disaster.

I can't waver now. I have to find a way back in, or the people I love will pay for my mistake.

---

"Spill. Everything. Now." Maya plopped onto her boyfriend Edmund's lap at our kitchen table, her eyes locked on me like lasers.

Tight curls framed her high bun and her bright top matched the fire in her eyes, all protective and impossible to dodge, which was exactly why I couldn't tell her the full truth.

I stirred the pasta sauce, pretending to be completely absorbed in the task. "It's really not that big a deal."

"Not a big deal?" Maya threw her hands up. "You called Lucien Hayes your boyfriend in front of half the company, got slapped by one of the most feared executives, and then got fired. That's nuclear big!"

Edmund wrapped his arms around Maya's waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Is that the prank you needed my help with?"

I nearly dropped the wooden spoon. "Don't say it, Edmund!" I tried to stop him, but Maya had already asked the question.

"What prank, babe?"

"Edmund..."

"Camila made me send some untraceable emails to a particular office, can't really remember who or what. I didn't know she was planning corporate warfare."

"Ugh!" I groaned. I should have known Edmund would rather tell his girlfriend the truth than lie for his girlfriend's best friend. Edmund was a tech expert and also worked remotely. I had gone to him for help with sending those emails to the police.

"It wasn't corporate warfare," I protested while turning down the heat. "I was just trying to... you know what, can we forget about it? Dinner's almost ready."

"No way," Maya slid off Edmund's lap and blocked my path to the cupboard. "You don't get to make pasta and pretend this didn't happen. What was your endgame here?"

I bit my lip, embarrassed once again by how half-baked my plan was.

"I just needed to get his attention, okay? I thought if I made a scene about Greg, who everybody knows is a creep, Lucien would have to deal with it. I didn't expect to get fired."

"And the girlfriend thing?" Maya pressed.

"That was... improvisation."

Maya shook her head. "You know I can tell when you are lying, right?"

"Dinner," I said firmly, reaching around her for the plates. "Let's just eat and gossip about this later." But even as I served dinner, my mind raced.

He must have found out about today's incident from one of his many spies, and he will soon call.

He will soon call.

The thought pounded in my head like a warning drum. Suddenly, my phone vibrated in the pocket of my joggers, and I screamed, nearly dropping a stack of plates.

"Jeez, Cam," Edmund laughed. "It's just your phone."

But it was not just my phone. I knew exactly who texted, and the growing dread in my stomach told me the night wasn't gonna end well.

"Well done, Camila. You managed to screw things up. What did I tell you about controlling your impulsiveness? 9pm... not a second later."

Ronan, my real boss, wanted to see me.