Chapter 794 Restructuring the Company
I dropped Rosaline off at her place, stayed with her for a little while longer, then finally headed back to the office.
Work had stacked up like a mountain over the past few days, and I kept my nose to the grindstone until late afternoon when I finally got a brief break.
I managed to steal a quick nap to clear my head and recharge a bit.
But when I woke up, something felt off. Every coworker who passed by tried to hold back a laugh the moment they spotted me. Their eyes gleamed with barely concealed gossip, and hushed whispers floated right into my ears.
They were saying things like, “Mrs. Holbrook and the CEO are such a perfect match.”
I thought maybe Rosaline had stopped by, but after checking everywhere, I didn’t catch a glimpse of her.
Back in my office, I shot her a text, “Did you come to the office today?”
No response. Complete silence. It wasn’t until I finished a meeting later that her reply finally popped up, “No.”
The realization hit me instantly.
My face hardened, and I stormed over to the employee lounge. As I suspected, all the chatterers who’d been buzzing just moments before suddenly wore serious expressions, but I could still catch the faintest smirk tugging at their lips.
“I didn’t hire you just to gossip,” I snapped coldly, my words slicing through the room.
I didn’t wait around for a response and walked out. On my way back to the office, I ran into Mr. Lacrimo.
“Mr. Holbrook,” he said quickly, “I owe you an apology for what happened the other day. I didn’t know who Ms. Sullivan was, and I crossed the line. Please forgive me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Jessica? What did she do?”
”
He nodded frantically, twisting his hands. “Yeah, yeah. I didn’t realize Ms. Sullivan was actually your wife. If I had, I wouldn’t have spoken to her like that.”
“My
… wife?” I echoed, stunned and anger flashing through me.
Whendidshebecomemywife? I had no idea it had happened.
I fixed him with a cold glare. “Jessica is not my
He stammered, “She–she’s not?”
wife.”
Without warning, I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him close. “Watch your mouth. My wife is and always will be Rosaline.”
“O–of course,” he stuttered, nodding fast. “Everyone in the office was saying it, so I just assumed that was the case. My bad.”
Everyone in theoffice?
Restructuring the Company
I shoved him away and let him go.
Mr. Lacrimo had just transferred from another city. He might be unfamiliar with the office, but rumors like that don’t come from nowhere. I headed to security and pulled up footage from the past few days, focusing. on Jessica’s every move..
She was caught on camera almost daily, chatting up coworkers and hardly working at all. And then, today—I saw her sneak up to my office door, look around carefully, and quictly slip inside..
The timestamp on the surveillance footage matched perfectly with the time I had been napping that afternoon.
A cold dread crept over me, so I wasted no time pulling up the footage from my office during that exact window.
It didn’t take long to spot Jessica slipping inside, inching close, and reaching out to touch my forehead. She even went further–stealing a kiss and snapping selfies with me.
Seeing her shameless behavior play out right before my eyes made my stomach twist–I almost gagged.
I couldn’t believe she’d used my nap as an opportunity for such a sleazy move.
It didn’t matter Grandpa had vouched for her. I refused to put up with it any longer.
I shut off the monitor and headed straight to HR, ordering the manager to fire Jessica immediately.
The HR manager looked surprised, but after catching my steely glare, he nodded without hesitation.
“I want her out of the premises. Now,” I said coldly, then turned on my heel and walked away.
Not long after, the HR manager returned with an update, “She’s packed up and left, Mr. Holbrook. Anything else you need?”
I nodded, my voice steady. “Gather everyone in the main conference room. I’m calling an emergency meeting.”
Before long, the conference room filled up with every employee, a sea of confused faces wondering why I’d summoned them all at once.
I took the floor and spoke clearly, projecting my voice, “The purpose of this meeting is simple. From now on, no gossip or rumormongering at the workplace will be tolerated. My wife`is and always will be Rosaline. Anyone caught spreading any other story will be shown the door immediately.”
I then dismissed several employees caught spreading rumors that Jessica was Mrs. Holbrook—including Mr. Lacrimo.
After that meeting, the whispers stopped. Finally, my ears found peace.
When the meeting ended, I headed home, but soon after, Grandpa called.
“You fired Jess just like that? What were you thinking, boy? You’re challenging the dignity of the Stars Pack!”
