Chapter 3 - THE WOLF IN THE BOARDROOM
Three weeks passed in a blur that felt entirely unreal.
I didn't take the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars—at least, not all at once. Stubborn pride, forged from two years of sleeping in a car and working three jobs just to keep my head above water, made me tell Richard that I would earn every cent. True to his word, he didn't force the check on me. Instead, he hired me as a special administrative assistant in his corporate office downtown, giving me a real salary, health insurance, and a desk that looked out over the Manhattan skyline.
The apartment in Greenwich Village was warm, quiet, and safe. For the first time in years, I locked a front door behind me and didn't have to worry about police tapping on my window or freezing wind leaking through the car door seals.
Ethan had made a full recovery. He visited the office twice a week after school, always running straight to my desk with a bright smile, demanding we play chess on my computer during my lunch break.
But not everyone in Richard’s world was thrilled about the new girl from the park.
It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon when the tension finally snapped. I was walking down the polished marble corridors of the Bennett Health Networks headquarters, carrying a stack of quarterly medical supply reports for the board meeting, when a sharp, high-pitched voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Well, well. So this is the little street rat who managed to sink her claws into Richard.”
I turned around. Standing outside the executive boardroom was a strikingly beautiful woman in a sharp Chanel pantsuit, her blonde hair pulled back into a severe chignon. Her eyes—cold, painted, and filled with venom—swept over my professional yet modest blouse and slacks with undisguised contempt.
Helena Bennett. Richard’s ex-wife.
I swallowed hard, keeping my shoulders back. “Excuse me, Mrs. Bennett. I have to deliver these reports to the board.”
Helena stepped forward, blocking my path, her manicured fingers tapping sharply against the leather folder in my hands. “You think because you played hero in the park for five minutes that you belong in this building? Richard is a sentimental fool. He’s filling his penthouse with strays, and now he’s bringing you into his corporate offices?”
“I work here,” I said evenly, refusing to let my voice shake. “Mr. Bennett hired me on merit.”
“Merit?” Helena let out a sharp, cruel laugh that echoed down the marble hallway. “You’re a drop-out nobody from a broken-down car! You don't know the first thing about corporate administration, and you certainly don't know my son. The moment Richard realizes you’re just a parasite looking for a payday, he’ll throw you back out onto the street where he found you.”
Before I could formulate a sharp reply, heavy footsteps echoed behind Helena.
“Is there a problem here, Helena?”
Richard’s voice cut through the air like a razor blade. He rounded the corner, his tall frame radiating an aura of absolute, freezing authority. His gray eyes locked onto his ex-wife with a look so cold it made the temperature in the hallway seem to drop twenty degrees.
Helena’s expression instantly flickered with panic, though she quickly recovered, smoothing down her lapel. “Richard! Thank goodness. I was just welcoming your little... project to the company. Friendly advice, really.”
“Your visitation rights with Ethan were permanently revoked by a federal judge yesterday morning,” Richard said, his voice terrifyingly calm as he stepped between Helena and me. “And if I ever catch you speaking to Lily in this building—or anywhere else—again, I will ensure you spend the rest of your natural life fighting securities fraud charges you won't survive.”
Helena turned pale. She glared at me one last time with pure hatred before turning on her high heels and storming toward the private elevators.
Richard watched her leave, then turned his gaze to me. His expression softened instantly, the fierce corporate warlord melting away to reveal the man who had knelt beside his son in the mud.
“Are you alright?” he asked quietly.
May you like
“I’m fine,” I whispered, clutching the reports to my chest. “I can handle her.”
“I know you can,” Richard smiled faintly, stepping closer. “That’s why I hired you.”
