Chapter 17: The Villain
Davina used the word “you both.”
It was clear she had overheard my conversation with Danica.
But if she had listened more carefully, she would have understood that my ultimate goal was to downplay the issue.
Disagreements between colleagues were normal, but I hadn’t expected her to bring Fletcher into this.
She heard, and Fletcher naturally heard everything too. At this point, Danica and I seemed like two gossips, whispering behind our colleague’s back.
Danica probably hadn’t expected things to
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escalate this far, and in a low voice, she said, “Charlene, I’ll take full responsibility for my actions, I…”
I gave her a look to calm her, and softly reassured, “I’ll handle it.”
With that, I walked towards the two standing not far off.
As our eyes met, I spoke gently, “Davina, it’s my mistake. I didn’t handle it well, and I’m sorry you felt wronged.”
In an instant, Davina’s eyes reddened, and tears began to fall like beads off a broken string, rapid and relentless.
Her delicate, fair skin, now damp with tears, added a sorrowful charm to her appearance.
She looked utterly pitiful.
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Fletcher, seeing this, pulled out a
handkerchief from his pocket. He glanced at me with a sneer and said, “Ms. Grande, your level of competence really isn’t impressive.””
His voice was low, but his words dripped with coldness, his presence imposing without needing to raise his voice.
He was defending her again.
“I’m sorry, Charlene. I didn’t control my feelings well,” Davina choked out, her voice trembling. “Fletcher, forget it…”
“Davina, the one complaining about you is me. What’s your issue with Charlene?”
Danica suddenly appeared from behind me, launching at Davina with a sharp remark.
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Davina’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Danica, mouth opening and closing as though she wanted to speak but couldn’t.
Her expression became even more pitiful.
I was about to intervene when I heard Fletcher say, “This is easy to resolve. You apologize to Vina and then resign.”
Resign?
Fletcher was actually going to fire Danica.
From what I knew of him, he was always a man of clear boundaries between work and personal matters. Yet now, as an investor in this project, he was meddling in our company’s affairs for Davina’s sake.
It was quite unexpected.
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I knew Fletcher was a man of his word, so I approached cautiously, “Mr. Lynton, ultimately, this is my fault. We should go back and…”
“I said, Fletcher coldly interrupted, his tone unyielding, “fire her.”
The words I was about to speak lodged in my throat.
It felt like I had accidentally swallowed a small fishbone–though not fatal, it left me in a brief moment of fear and frustration.
It wasn’t until then that I realized, compared to Davina’s grievances, I had absolutely no standing in front of Fletcher.
I forced a tight smile and spoke, “Mr. Lynton, please calm down. I’ll speak with Ms. Hayes later…”
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“Then please tell Ms. Hayes, if she’s still around tomorrow, Fletcher said, casting a glance at Danica, before continuing, “our cooperation will have to come to an unfortunate end.”
With that, he shielded Davina and walked
stood frozen, as if struck by lightning, unable to utter a single word for a long while.
So, Fletcher meant he was pulling out his investment?
Just because Danica had made a couple of remarks about Davina?
“Fletcher, forget it. I won’t let it get to me.”
The soft tone of the voice pulled me back
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to reality. My clenched fists tightened and relaxed, and faintly, I heard Fletcher say, “You’re too kind, but this isn’t the time for mercy.“”
Indeed, in Fletcher’s eyes, Davina was
innocent and gentle, while we were the
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I Kaitlyn at 9:30 PM.
She was wearing a cream–colored long coat
and high heels that were at least 10 cm tall, looking both stunning and confident.
When she saw me, she smiled warmly, “What’s the big deal? If the sky falls, I’ve got your back.”
On our way, we discussed our next steps.
“Of course, she can’t be fired, but since
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Fletcher wants to assert his power for Davina, we’ll just give him what he wants.”
I rubbed my temple and asked, “What do you plan to do?”
“Apologize, Kaitlyn said confidently, “Show them respect, and this will definitely blow over.”
She still didn’t know Fletcher well.
He was always decisive, and it wasn’t going to be so easy to fool him.
But we had to at least give Kaitlyn’s idea a try.
So the next morning, Kaitlyn and I brought some gifts and headed to Lynton Group to show our apology.
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The receptionist looked at me as if she recognized me and said, “Mr. Lynton is unavailable. He flew to Spring City with Ms. Bates last night to see the snow mountains. If you have a call, you can reach him directly.”
Kaitlyn and I exchanged glances, both surprised.
We hadn’t received any leave requests from Davina.
And now, we were getting the cold shoulder from Fletcher.
Kaitlyn thought it was Fletcher’s way of exerting pressure on us.
Thinking of the 5 million that had finally come through, we both fell into silence.
Kaitlyn thought the way forward was through.
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Davina.
“Even the most powerful people can’t escape the influence of a pillow talk” she said, “A single word from Davina could outweigh a thousand words from us.”
I lowered my gaze at her words, feeling a pang of discomfort.
This matter had happened right under my nose, and no one was better suited to make the call than me.
Thinking about the future of the project, I dialed, but the call didn’t go through.
Kaitlyn, a little puzzled, said, “He probably didn’t see it. Let’s try again later.”
And sure enough, she was right.
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As evening approached, Davina finally returned my call. “Sorry, Charlene. Fletcher and I were up in the mountains, and I left my phone at the hotel. What’s going on?”
So, while we were anxiously scrambling like ants on a hot pan, the two of them were leisurely enjoying the snow.
I steadied my breath and replied, “Davina, Danica and I have deeply reflected on what happened yesterday. Could you forgive us this time?”
“Really?” Davina’s voice was light and airy. “But I saw on WhatsApp Status that Danica seemed to be having a great time.”
Danica didn’t come to work today, and to be honest, I hadn’t paid much attention to what she was doing.
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I spoke sincerely, “I’ll make sure she apologizes to you personally. Davina, I’m counting on you to speak to Mr. Lynton on our behalf.”
Mentioning Fletcher, Davina responded quickly, “Charlene, I’m in a tough spot too. You know, Letch is really angry this time…”
“Sorry!”
Defeated, I hung up the phone. My chest felt as if it were weighed down by a bitter, acrid layer of dried herbs, sharp and unsettling.
Moments later, my phone rang again. Nervously, I glanced at the screen and saw it was my aunt Sabrina Flores calling.
I stepped out into the hallway to take the call.
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“Sabrina, what happened?”
“Nothing. Lena, I’ve got some good news for you, Sabrina’s tired voice had a note of joy in it. “Miles found a security job in Myslana. It’s over four thousand a month. If it works out, I’ll bring Leila over next year, and we can all finally be together.”
I pressed my fingertips into my palm, my throat tightening with an unexpected wave of emotion.
“Lena? You don’t agree?”
“I agree, I said, forcing a smile, “Things will only get better from here.”
After hanging up, I quickly made my way to Kaitlyn’s office. “Where’s the bottle of red wine we prepared this morning?”
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Kaitlyn looked at me, concern etched across her face. “Why are your eyes red?” She stepped forward, her voice full of tenderness. “Lena, you…”
I gave her a calm look and replied, “Daphne probably hasn’t been sleeping well these past few days. I’m going to check on her.”
Daphne loved wine.
I thought to myself: since the approach with Davina wasn’t going to work, I would have to find another way.
An hour later, I stood at the gate of a villa in the mountains, holding the bottle of priceless red wine.
Behind the grand, low–key, luxurious iron gates, a four–story villa stood majestically amidst the mountains and water–refined,
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understated, and dignified.
I didn’t need to guess; I knew instantly that the design style was definitely Fletcher’s doing.
Daphne smiled and waved as I approached. “Lena, come on in!”
At the round table on the first floor, I raised the glass in my hand and drank it down in one go.
Daphne stopped me, saying, “Lena, don’t. drink so quickly, you’ll get drunk.”
I didn’t respond, pouring myself another drink and smiling. “I’m happy to drink with you, Daphne. I’m drinking this one to you, feel free to follow.”
Daphne finally noticed something was off
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and asked, “Is something wrong?”
I shook my head and said nothing.
“Something’s definitely up, right?” Daphne’s tone was firm as she set her glass down. “Come on, tell me what’s going on.”
I sensed the moment was right and confessed, “We didn’t handle things well, and Mr. Lynton is upset with us.”
Daphne sighed in relief. “I had thought it was something serious. He’s a workaholic, so he’s strict with everyone. It’s fine, don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”
A workaholic.
I couldn’t help but smile bitterly at Daphne’s description.
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The workaholic she spoke of was the same man who, time and again, dropped everything to take care of his precious Davina.
But with Daphne’s promise, I believed Fletcher wouldn’t go too far this time.
With that thought, I raised my glass again. “Daphne, thank you. I’ll-”
Before I could finish, the sound of a sliding door interrupted.
Daphne and I turned at the same time to see Fletcher standing at the door.
Our eyes met, and I could see a hint of displeasure in his gaze.
I quickly lowered my head, feeling like a child caught doing something wrong.
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My instincts told me this wouldn’t end well.
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