Chapter 3

Nat had no idea I'd quit.

He'd made it clear once: nothing about work could go through me pulling rank as Mrs. Gilbert. No skipping the chain of command.

Even a simple question had to go by email, up through every level, exactly as procedure required.

I passed Diana's desk, and the photo pinned above it went straight through me like a splinter.

Diana smiled and explained. "Evelyn, this was from a business trip with Mr. Gilbert a month ago. He said you have to learn to relax when you travel."

A month ago, I'd been in a minor car accident. I'd called him.

His voice had been flat with impatience. "Evelyn, you're a grown woman. You can't even drive a car properly?"

"I'm out of town right now. What good is calling me? Can't you just phone the insurance company?"

Then he hung up. I was already shaken, and after that I only felt worse.

That accident was a big part of why I lost the baby.

It wasn't that he had no time. He was with Diana, at a Thai massage.

The women at the next desk had spotted the photo too, and they crowded around.

"Diana, Mr. Gilbert is so good to you. He even took you for a massage on a work trip."

"A massage, that's such an intimate thing. Mr. Gilbert must be into you."

My feet stopped where I stood.

Then the executive assistant came rushing in. "Good news, your team broke its numbers this month. Someone's getting promoted."

They all turned to Diana. "Diana, it's got to be you. You and Mr. Gilbert are so close."

Diana looked flustered. "How could it be me? Evelyn's got way more experience than I do."

I didn't respond. I just kept my head down and worked on my resignation checklist.

So what if it was me. So what if it wasn't.

In five years I'd filed ten reports applying for the director position. Every single one came back rejected.

Yet everyone knew the truth. Every month my numbers were the highest, I brought in the most new projects, I logged the most overtime.

At first I could accept Nat keeping his distance to avoid the appearance of favoritism.

Until later, when colleagues started asking, half-casually, "Evelyn, did you do something to upset Mr. Gilbert?"

I gave a bitter little smile, but I couldn't say a word.

I hadn't upset him. I'd only married him.

Keeping that distance was my duty as Mrs. Gilbert.

It was the first thing marriage taught me.

The HR director held my resignation form. "Evelyn, everyone here has seen what you've given over the years. Once this stamp goes down, there's no walking back everything you built."

"It's fine. I'll start over."

She didn't try to change my mind.

An hour before closing, a shabbily dressed middle-aged couple burst in.

"Heartless company! My son gets hurt on the job and you won't pay his medical bills. Where's the person in charge? Get out here!"

The man was about to strike Diana across the face.

Nat caught his arm.

"You cost my son a leg. I'll take a leg from you too."

Security scrambled to restrain them and clear the crowd.

Just as the man moved to seize Diana, Nat shoved me forward, and the man caught me with a knife.

"You give me an answer today, or I'm not letting this go."

His hands closed around my throat, and my face flushed crimson.

I looked at Nat.

But there wasn't a trace of the panic from a moment ago. "I told you, your son's injury has nothing to do with this company."

"Even if you strangle her to death, I won't ruin the company's reputation for one person."

So it turned out that to him, my life and death didn't even measure up to the company's reputation.