Alina's POV

At a dinner with our client to sign the contract, Yorick Holland’s female assistant suddenly threw a glass of red wine at me in front of everyone.

“A no-name college graduate who’s always late, leaves early, snacks at her desk, and spends all day watching dramas. You think you’re qualified to meet a CEO worth tens of billions?” she sneered. “I’m not going to tolerate some gold-digger trying to seduce her way up the ladder. Get lost, and the farther the better!”

I turned to look at Yorick. His expression was detached, not even a flicker of acknowledgment in my direction. Instead, he looked at his assistant with obvious approval.

Seeing that, I smiled, then turned toward the CEO client, sitting near the door with a grim expression.

“Bro,” I said evenly, “why don’t you tell them yourself. Am I trying to seduce you?”

——

I had skipped work the whole day today. After a bit of shopping, I timed my arrival perfectly for dinner and drove straight to the hotel, where we were supposed to sign the contract with the client tonight.

Just as I was about to get on the elevator, a few Holland Corporation employees stepped in my way.

“Miss Hayward,” one of them, Dane Rios from Sales, said awkwardly, “Miss Payne specifically told us you don’t need to attend tonight’s contract signing.”

I frowned, thinking I must have misheard. “And why’s that?”

From my very first day at Holland Corporation, I’d been to every single contract signing where the deal was worth more than two hundred million, not one exception. And tonight’s contract was the biggest in company history, worth over two billion. It was a deal that could decide whether we successfully went public later this year.

Dane shifted uncomfortably. “Miss Payne didn’t really say why, but she hinted it was probably the President’s decision too.”

That made even less sense. I pulled out my phone and called Yorick three times, but he didn’t pick up once.

“Forget the other contract signing,” I said, brushing past them, “but this deal won’t happen without me, so I’m going.”

I didn’t bother explaining further. I shoved past the people blocking me and stepped into the elevator.

When I reached the private dining room, I heard Yorick’s voice from inside.

“Before the client’s team arrives, I have an announcement,” he said. “The proposal Alina drafted had too many problems, so I’ve decided to replace it with the updated plan provided by my assistant, Lucy Payne. I believe her version will bring even greater benefits to Holland Corporation.”

“Lucy, why don’t you brief everyone?” he added.

Through the glass wall, I saw Lucy open her laptop and connect it to the projector, launching into an energetic pitch to the senior executives.

I forced myself to listen for a while, but the more I heard, the more absurd it sounded.

Her “new plan” completely scrapped the strategic layout I had been building for years. Instead, she proposed starting over in an entirely new field, the same field where our client, the Porter Group, already dominated, which was artificial intelligence.

According to her, Holland Corporation should throw in its entire cash flow as an upfront investment, while expecting the Porter Group to offer unconditional, full-scale support. The only thing missing was renaming the company to “Holland & Porter Enterprise.”

“In conclusion,” she finished dramatically, “as long as we invest one billion, we can seize the advantage in this industry and, before long, surpass the Porter Group to become the leader in AI!”

As she said that, her voice shot up a pitch, like some overhyped pyramid scheme seminar.

The executives exchanged uneasy glances, but out of respect for Yorick, they gave a polite smattering of applause.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I shoved the door open.

“This isn’t a proposal. It’s a daydream,” I said coldly. “First of all, Holland Corporation doesn’t even have a billion in liquid cash. Second, what makes you think you can suddenly change the project and its terms, and still have the Porter Group accept everything without question, let alone hand over their market share to you?”

After a brief pause, I continued, “If you want to drag Yorick into your fantasy, fine. But do you seriously think everyone at the Porter Group is just a bunch of clueless drunks who’ll let you rearrange their business on a whim?”

Alina's POV

Lucy clearly hadn’t expected me to show up as her face went pale, then flushed.

She bit her lower lip, grabbed a wine glass, and, without warning, tossed the entire contents of red wine straight into my face.

“A no-name college graduate who’s always late, leaves early, snacks at her desk, and spends all day watching dramas. You think you’re qualified to meet a CEO worth tens of billions?” she sneered.

In the stunned silence that followed, she got bolder, hurling the now-empty glass at my feet with a sharp clink.

“I’m not going to tolerate some gold-digger trying to seduce her way up the ladder. Get lost, and the farther the better!” she snarled.

The wine dripped from my freshly styled hair, ran down my cheeks, and soaked into my pale pink Chanel suit.

I didn’t wipe it away. Instead, I turned my eyes toward Yorick, sitting in his usual place of authority.

He acted as if nothing had happened, not even glancing at me. Instead, his gaze lingered on Lucy with a faint look of admiration, the corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.

Now, I finally understand where Lucy got the nerve to humiliate me by throwing wine in my face in front of everyone.

I let out a short, cold laugh and pulled out a chair, dropping into it casually. “So, Mr. Holland, are you gonna fire me?”

He stayed silent for a moment before replying flatly, “Let’s part ways on good terms. No need to make things ugly.”

That holier-than-thou tone almost made me laugh outright.

Five years ago, I had just graduated from a top finance program overseas when my grandfather urged me to return home for a blind date.

The man, he said, was Yorick, the grandson of his old war buddy. While his family background wasn’t much, he was good-looking and full of promise.

To help us “get to know each other,” my grandfather arranged for me to work at Holland Corporation.

For the past two years, I had appeared to be the perfect corporate slacker, rolling in late, leaving early, touching up my makeup, watching dramas, and painting my nails.

But in reality, every single major deal Holland Corporation landed in those years was because of my family name.

I didn’t need to prepare a thing. Just showing up was enough to draw in opportunities like a magnet.

Because of that, Holland Corporation’s market value tripled in two years, and Yorick went from an unknown in the industry to a hard-nosed young CEO regularly featured in finance news.

And still, I had never once asked him for credit.

He didn’t even know my real background, only that I was his arranged fiancée, and so he kept me at arm’s length.

Then Lucy came along. And under her influence, his tolerance for me thinned to nothing. Now, he was even letting her throw wine at me in public.

Clearly, this engagement was over.

I didn’t bother looking at Yorick again. I wiped the wine from my face, pulled out a compact mirror, and began touching up my makeup.

As such, the soft puff scattered fine powder over the dishes on the table.

Yorick’s brows drew together, and Lucy stormed over, knocking my makeup bag to the floor.

“The President already told you to leave. How can you still have the face to stay here?” she snapped. “Don’t think no one knows. I’ve seen you get out of different luxury cars in the middle of the night. And when I checked the plates, it turned out they belonged to the Porter Group’s CEO!”

With disgust on her face, she continued, “Mr. Porter has a wife and kids, and you still throw yourself at him? You’re a shameless homewrecker, a disgrace to the whole company.”

Her face was lit with satisfaction after she said that. Clearly, she was enjoying parading my supposed “scandal” in front of everyone.

Half amused, I pointed to myself and asked, “Me?” then pointed toward Mr. Porter, who was seated near the door, “His mistress? You sure about that?”

I looked at her with a strange expression. Was this woman out of her mind?

But she mistook my reaction for guilt and, emboldened, started mocking me even more eagerly.

Alina's POV

“What, did I say something wrong?” Lucy gave a mocking little smile.

“But don’t misunderstand, Mr. Porter. I’m not trying to insult you,” she said, her tone syrupy sweet. “Someone like you, standing at the top, has the ability to give any woman in the world a home.”

Then she glanced at me before continuing, “I just think this kind of woman isn’t worthy of you. Good thing, our deputy general manager already planned to get rid of her early. Who knows what kind of trouble she would’ve caused otherwise?”

Her face was all fake flattery as she turned toward Mr. Porter.

Fed up, I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly saw the ceiling. “Could you not recycle century-old clichés? If you’ve got no social skills, just shut your mouth. No one’s forcing you to explain yourself.”

Lucy’s smile froze. Her teeth clenched so hard I could practically hear it.

“Alina, I’m warning you. Leave now while I’m still being polite!” she snapped.

Then she kicked my makeup bag across the floor like she was taking out all her frustration on it.

Seeing that, my expression darkened.

At the door, Mr. Porter suddenly slammed his hand on the table. His face was darker than mine.

“Look at what you’ve done! Can’t you see how angry you’ve made Mr. Porter?” Lucy said, pointing at me with undisguised resentment.

I raised a hand to cut her off. “That’s enough. Drop the innocent act. It’s not doing you any favors.”

Her eyes widened. “What did you just say? Are you implying I'm fake? You—”

But before she could finish, I’d had enough of her screeching. I grabbed the wine decanter from the table and poured it over her head.

She let out a sharp scream, and that was when Yorick finally lost his composure.

“Have you lost your mind, Alina? Do you even know what you’ve just done?”

He then hurried over to pull her away, fumbling to wipe the red wine off her clothes.

I crossed my arms, watching them with a cold smile.

For a brief second, I caught the flash of malice in Lucy’s eyes before she quickly rearranged her face into that pitiful, wide-eyed look.

“It’s fine, Yorick,” she sniffled. “But all of the company’s important documents, including the details for this billion-yuan investment project, were stored on my phone.”

She held up the device, completely soaked in wine.

“Now my phone’s ruined, and I don't know how much data I can still retrieve.”

That got Yorick trembling with rage.

Lucy’s lips twitched upward before she dabbed at her tears again.

“I mean, I could try to recreate the company files if I work overtime. But this proposal was meant for Mr. Porter. If he doesn’t get to see my work, what if he refuses to cooperate with us?”

She even changed her voice to make it sound more delicate, like she might cry again.

Watching her act, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“What’s so funny?” Yorick snapped, pointing at me.

“If her phone actually had any important documents, I’ll eat it right here,” I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

The truth was, this woman spent all her time trying to charm Yorick. She’d never handled real work in her life. Everything in this company ran smoothly because I’d been pulling the strings behind the scenes.

If we were being honest, the only reason the two of them could sit here and accuse me so comfortably was because I’d been giving them far too much face.

“Shut up!” Yorick barked. “Whether or not there were files, you destroyed her phone and embarrassed us in front of Mr. Porter! You knew how important today’s meeting was, and you still came here to cause trouble. You’re sabotaging me on purpose, aren't you?”

I turned to glance at Mr. Porter, still seated near the door.

“He’s not the least bit bothered about seeing your embarrassment,” I said coolly. “So, why don’t you focus on telling me how you plan to fix this?”