Chapter 2

2

Leo had taken the day off.

"A day off?" I muttered.

I sent another message. "You're off today? Is everything okay? I've left the company. Do you want to leave too?"

I went back to my desk to pack my things.

My phone buzzed. I unlocked it to find a single, soul-crushing sentence.

"Let's break up."

I sent a string of question marks, only to realize I had been blocked.

I stood there, stunned. Was it really just because I quit?

I tried calling him, but my number was blocked too.

Then I noticed my teammates looking at me with pity and confusion.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Raina… you should probably look at this."

One of them handed me their phone. It was a post Leo had made on social media an hour ago.

It was a photo of two hands intertwined on a hotel bed, followed by a mirror selfie of a couple hugging in a luxury suite.

The caption read: "Finally found the one."

The woman in the photo, the one he called his soulmate, was Cece Lovell.

The comments were full of fake congratulations. Only a few people from my team had posted confused emojis.

"Leo! What the hell? Have you no respect for Raina?" one of my friends had commented.

Leo replied instantly. "Sorry, true love is an irresistible force."

I felt a cold chill. I wasn't entirely surprised, though.

The day Cece was introduced, I saw the way Leo looked at her. It wasn't professional; it was predatory and desperate.

Every time we had dinner lately, he seemed a million miles away.

The signs were all there.

It wasn't "true love." It was just a social climber finding a faster ladder.

"They are so shameless. We're swamped with work, and they're playing house in a hotel!"

"Shh, Raina is right there."

"I'm just mad for her!"

I gave them a small, tight smile.

"Relax, guys. I just lost a toxic job and a trash boyfriend in one day. You should be congratulating me."

"Oh, poor little career woman," a high-pitched, annoying voice mocked from the doorway. "Losing your man and your job. Are you going to go home and cry under your covers now?"

I turned around to see Cece. She was clutching Leo's arm, looking like she'd won the lottery.

I just shook my head.

"You're back from your hotel room already? Wow, Leo. You're getting faster. Good luck with that, Cece. I was getting bored of him anyway."

"You!" Cece shrieked.

Leo stepped forward, looking offended.

"Raina, don't be so bitter. Apologize to Cece right now. If she gets angry, your career is over!"

"Did I lie? If a couple of cheaters can stand here and talk, why can't I?"

Leo sighed, acting like he was the bigger person.

"Raina, I know it's hard to accept that I'm leaving you. But be realistic. You're talented, but Cece was born at the finish line. You could work a hundred years and never reach her level. Just give up."

One of my team members tried to step in, but I held them back.

I rolled my eyes at the pair of them.

"You're both standing on the same floor as me. Don't act like you're in the clouds. You might fall and break your necks."

Cece's face twisted with malice.

"You have such a nasty mouth. No wonder Leo doesn't love you. I came back just to watch you pack your pathetic little life into a box."

She stepped closer and whispered in my ear.

"I almost feel bad for you. My dad wasn't going to fire you yet. Do you know why he hates you? It's because of your precious Leo.

"He told my dad that you spend all day complaining about the long hours and calling the company's rules stupid."

I interrupted her, speaking loudly so everyone could hear.

"The rules are stupid."

Cece blinked, startled by my volume. "What?"

"I said the rules are idiotic. And it's one thing to have bad rules, but it's another to have a blind boss. This company is going to crash and burn."

Cece lunged as if to slap me, but I stepped aside.

"This company has no room for you! You're just a worker bee! How dare you have opinions!"

The office was turning into a circus until Mr. Lovell's voice boomed from his office.

"Meeting! Everyone in the conference room now!"