Chapter 3

The next morning, I opened the conference room's security feed. Logan was already hard at work.

He conducted interviews from dawn to dusk, not even pausing to eat.

By afternoon, his chronic ulcer flared up. Unable to walk, he sent Chloe to deliver a shortlist of candidates to my office.

The moment Chloe walked in, she began to complain.

"Ms. Thorne, don't you think you're being too harsh? Logan is in so much pain from his stomach, and you don't even care. If I were you, I would have taken him to the hospital already."

Instead of taking the files, I stood up and walked down to Logan's office.

Logan had just taken his medication. He was resting his head on his desk, hugging a cute, fluffy stuffed animal.

The entire office smelled of a cloyingly sweet, cheap vanilla air freshener.

"Oh! Logan is so bad, stealing my plushie again," Chloe giggled, blushing like a schoolgirl. She shot me a defiant, mocking look.

I kicked the leg of the desk, waking Logan from his light sleep.

Opening his eyes and seeing me, Logan instantly threw the stuffed animal aside.

Chloe’s face flushed with embarrassment.

I looked around the office at the childish decorations and spoke coldly.

"Clear all this junk out of here. And throw away that air freshener. It smells incredibly cheap."

With every word I spoke, Chloe's face grew paler, until her eyes filled with tears.

Logan, unable to stand seeing his sweetheart cry, tried to intervene.

"Vivian, these are just harmless decorations. They don't really get in the way..."

"Don't make me repeat myself," I interrupted.

I walked over to the window and threw it open to let the fresh air in.

Turning back to Chloe, who was still standing there, staring at me with tearful eyes, I spoke again.

"What? Do you need a formal written notice to understand plain English?"

Logan sighed and gave Chloe a warning look.

Unable to hold back her tears, Chloe began packing up all her fluffy, childish items into a large cardboard box, sniffling loudly.

When the box proved too heavy for her to lift, Logan immediately stepped in to help her carry it to her desk.

The way he helped her carry the box while she wiped his sweat made them look like a perfect, devoted couple.

"Stomach doesn't hurt anymore?" I asked Logan, amused.

His face turned a shade of crimson, looking extremely uncomfortable.

I didn't need to guess what he was thinking. He was probably upset about Chloe's discarded toys.

I smiled faintly. "Logan, don't forget who gave you this office."

"If those things aren't in the trash by tonight, you can pack up your own things and get out."

That shut him up instantly. He didn't dare speak up for Chloe again.

Satisfied, I watched Chloe tearfully toss her cute trinkets into the dumpster. Before the workday was even over, she grabbed her purse and ran out of the office.

Logan’s eyes filled with worry. I immediately picked up the phone and called HR.

"Mark Chloe Vance down for an unexcused early departure."

Just as I was preparing to leave for my appointment with the new candidate, Logan suddenly doubled over, clutching his stomach in agonizing pain.

Not wanting him to die in my building and bring bad press to the company, I had my driver take him to the hospital.

Even in the back of the car, looking pale and miserable, he didn't forget to plead for Chloe.

"Chloe is really just a favor to my professor. There is nothing going on between us..."

"Logan," I placed my index finger over his lips. "Don't forget why I chose you."

He fell silent, his eyes filled with a deep, pathetic sadness.

"If you can't play your part anymore, tell me. Be as smart as you were three years ago. You are not irreplaceable."

Logan went rigid, staring at me with newfound terror.

While he was being admitted to the hospital, I received the quarterly revenue report for his latest project.

The sheets were a sea of red. The best-performing sectors were barely breaking even.

After reviewing the numbers, I called Mia.

"The kid I met this morning. Get him trained and bring him to my office."