Chapter 3

The next morning, I walked into Chloe’s office carrying her usual hot black coffee.

She was leaning back in her chair, laughing with Julian.

The moment Julian saw me, his smile vanished, replaced by the arrogant sneer of a high-and-mighty director.

"Just put the coffee down, Ethan," Julian said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Oh, by the way, I heard you have a personal master folder on your computer? The one with all your old ideas and unused creative drafts?"

"Copy it onto a flash drive and bring it to my desk. I’m looking for some inspiration."

I felt a cold laugh rising in my chest.

That master folder held three years of my blood, sweat, and tears. It was my core competitive edge.

And he thought he could just take it with a snap of his fingers?

"Mr. Thorne, those are just rough, useless scraps. I wouldn't want to waste your time with such garbage," I said smoothly, keeping my eyes lowered.

"Stop making excuses," Chloe interrupted, tapping her fingers impatiently on her desk.

"If Julian wants the drive, you give him the drive."

"Those unpolished drafts of yours are useless anyway. If they can give Julian a spark of inspiration, you should be honored."

"Go do it. Now."

"Understood, Ms. Sinclair."

I turned and walked back to my desk.

I opened the folder titled "Master Brainstorm."

I selected every single valuable, high-impact strategy, and moved them over to my encrypted personal cloud storage.

Then, I went online, downloaded about three hundred generic, outdated, free templates and buzzword-heavy copy, threw them into a folder, named it "Core Creative Assets," and sent it over to Julian.

You want to plagiarize me? Good luck with that trash.

That afternoon, while making a run to the breakroom, I called a premier executive recruiter.

"Hey, Marcus. It's Ethan Vance."

"Yeah. Did you get a chance to look over my portfolio?"

"...Awesome. Apex Media? Perfect. I can do an interview whenever they're ready."

Apex Media. The undisputed giant of the advertising world.

And Chloe’s biggest, most ruthless competitor.

Hanging up the phone, I felt like I could finally breathe again.

That night was the company's celebration gala.

The VIP lounge was filled with flashing lights, clinking champagne glasses, and loud laughter.

Chloe led Julian around the room, introducing him to major investors and clients, positioning him as the next big thing.

Meanwhile, as the "executive assistant," I was relegated to the furthest table in the corner, squeezed in with the fresh interns.

"Look at Ethan. What a loser."

"He followed Chloe around for three years and couldn't even get a real promotion. Now that her actual boyfriend is back, he’s totally discarded."

"What did he expect? He’s just a community college kid. Did he really think he could climb into high society?"

"Honestly, he’s just eye candy. A pretty boy toy Chloe kept around."

My coworkers’ whispers cut through the air, but I just kept eating my steak, my face completely expressionless.

Their petty insults meant nothing to me.

Compared to what I was about to do, this was just a light appetizer.

A few drinks later, a heavily jeweled, tipsy woman staggered over to our table.

It was Victoria Gable, a major distribution partner notorious for harassing young male employees.

"Well, well, if it isn't little Ethan," Victoria slurred, sliding into the seat next to me. She slid her hand onto my forearm, her fingers tracing slow, suggestive circles. "Why are you sitting all alone in the corner? Come drink with me."

My body went completely rigid. A wave of intense nausea hit my stomach.

I stood up abruptly, stepping back to create distance, and said coldly, "Ms. Gable, you’ve had too much to drink. Please respect my boundaries."

"Oh, please! Stop acting so innocent!"

Embarrassed in front of the interns, Victoria’s face twisted in anger.

"Everyone knows you're Chloe Sinclair's little pet."

"If Chloe can play with you, why can't I? Spend the night with me, and I’ll guarantee your team a massive contract next quarter."

The commotion caught the attention of the entire room.

The music seemed to quiet down as everyone turned to watch the drama unfold.

I looked over at Chloe.

She was standing not far away, holding a champagne flute, watching me with absolute indifference—like I was a complete stranger.

Not only did she make no move to help me, but a mocking smirk also played on her lips.

In that single second, the last trace of respect I had for her evaporated.

This was the woman I had protected for three years.

To her, I was just a piece of meat to be traded away to please a client.

Just then, Julian strolled over, drink in hand.

He stepped smoothly between Victoria and me, flashing a charming smile.

"Now, now, Ms. Gable. Why waste your energy on a useless little assistant?"

"Let me buy you a drink instead. Consider it an apology on his behalf."

Victoria's attention immediately shifted to Julian, her eyes scanning him up and down.

"Now that's what I call professional. Fine, I'll let it slide for Chloe's sake."

Julian turned back to me, wearing the smug grin of a victor.

"Ethan, aren't you going to thank Ms. Gable for being so generous?" He condescended. "In this industry, you need to keep your eyes open. Don't go around causing trouble."

I looked at the two of them. It was almost comical.

Without saying a word, I reached down, grabbed a glass of rich red wine from the table, and—before anyone could react—slammed the liquid right into Victoria Gable’s heavily made-up face.

"Ah! You absolute bastard!" Victoria shrieked, clutching her eyes.

The entire venue fell dead silent.

Chloe’s face turned white with rage as she stormed over, raising her hand to slap me.

"Ethan! Have you lost your mind?!"

I caught her wrist mid-air, meeting her furious gaze with a cold, piercing stare.

"I don't like dirty things," I whispered.

I let go of her wrist and walked out of the venue without looking back, leaving their prestigious gala in absolute ruins.