Chapter 4

That afternoon, the handover took place right in the middle of the open office, in front of everyone.

Sarah sat beside my desk in a tight bodycon skirt, flipping through the City South project files I'd put together, her expression dripping with disdain.

"Miss Blake, don't you think these files are a little... much?" Sarah whined in that saccharine voice of hers, her eyes sliding smugly to the coworkers around us. "There's so much data here. Who's actually going to read all of this?"

Every single person in the office had their ears perked up, soaking in every word.

Everyone knew the City South project was my ace in the hole — three months of sleepless nights and a bleeding ulcer just to close that deal. And now, with one word from Sebastian, it was being handed over to Sarah, who had barely been here five minutes.

This was a flat-out humiliation.

But inside, I felt nothing.

"Everything's in these files. I've marked the key negotiating limits in red," I said, pointing to one of the pages. "Mr. Lane is a cunning old fox — he doesn't care about surface-level profits. What he really cares about is equity dilution down the line. When you sit down with him, do not budge on giving up more than five percent equity. Not even close."

Sarah rolled her eyes and cut me off. "Okay, okay, I get it. Mr. Scott already told me — once I walk in there, Mr. Lane will play ball. Your whole rigid negotiating style is completely outdated."

I looked at her — all overconfidence and zero self-awareness — and decided she wasn't worth another single word.

"The USB drive has all the recordings and backups. The password is The Scott Group's founding date. Handover's done. I'm out."

I grabbed my bag and turned to leave.

That's when Sarah let out a sharp cry.

"Wait — Miss Blake, this spreadsheet you gave me is wrong! Mr. Lane just called. He said our quote shows no sincerity and he's pulling out of the deal!"

Sarah shot to her feet, eyes instantly welling up with tears. She stared at me with that wounded look. "Miss Blake, I know you're jealous that Mr. Scott gave this project to me — but you can't just mess with the numbers to set me up!"

That outburst was enough to drag Sebastian out of his office.

"What's going on?" He strode over, brow furrowed.

Sarah lunged toward him and grabbed his sleeve. "Mr. Scott, the bottom-line price sheet Miss Blake gave me is wrong, and Mr. Lane is furious—"

Sebastian's cold, sharp gaze locked onto me.

"Scarlett, there's a limit to throwing a tantrum. You think you can play games with a billion-dollar deal just because you're upset?"

He didn't ask a single question. He just convicted me on the spot.

I looked at this man I had loved for seven years, and suddenly found the whole thing almost funny.

I walked forward, snatched the spreadsheet straight out of Sarah's hands, and held it up.

"Mr. Scott, I suggest you open your eyes and actually look at this. The bottom-line price on this sheet is the version you personally agreed to at that business dinner last week — the concession you made to impress Sarah, right in front of Mr. Lane. I warned you at the time that price would blow through the company's profit floor. You told me to shut up."

My voice rang out clear and sharp across the entire office.

The whole room sucked in a breath.

Sebastian's face went ashen. His eyes flickered.

I didn't give him the chance to speak. I slammed the spreadsheet straight into Sarah's face.

"If you don't have the brains for this, don't embarrass yourself in public. The City South project is a disaster waiting to happen. Since you two filthy lovebirds are so fond of it, it's all yours — enjoy."

I reached up, unclipped my badge, and tossed it into the trash can beside me.

"Sebastian, we're even. Seven years of my life — wasted on you."

In the dead silence that fell over the entire office, I walked out of The Scott Group on my heels, head held high.

Behind me, Sebastian's voice erupted in a furious roar.

"Scarlett! You walk out that door today, don't ever think about coming back!"

I didn't even turn around. I just flipped him off.