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?”

Alina's POV

I idly examined my freshly done nails.

Lucy quickly piped up, “Yorick, this phone is the one you gave me. It’s got sentimental value. And it’s full of important files. Asking her for one hundred and forty grand in compensation isn’t unreasonable, right?”

That made several people around the table look at her in surprise.

What kind of phone could possibly be worth that much?

“Of course it’s not unreasonable,” Yorick cut in with a cold laugh before anyone else could speak. “This isn’t just about teaching her a lesson. It’s about giving Mr. Porter an explanation. If we can’t handle her today, what right do we have to work with the Porter Group?”

He spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

As such, all eyes turned to me.

“Enough already, Alina,” one of them said. “You’ve embarrassed us in front of Mr. Porter, and he’s kind enough not to hold it against you. Now you have a chance to apologize, and you still won’t?”

“Exactly. Besides, other than watching TV in the office, what else can you do?”

“The company can’t even rely on you, and now you’re holding us back. Do you have any shame?”

One by one, the yes-men joined in, eager to echo Yorick.

I looked at Lucy calmly and said, “Fine. Hundred and forty grand, right? I’ll send it to you now.”

Pulling out my phone, I tapped a few times.

But that set off another round of laughter.

“Are you really that clueless, Alina? You think you can just pay that much like it’s nothing?”

“If you can’t, hurry up and kneel to apologize to the President and Miss Payne!”

“And don’t forget Mr. Porter!”

They thought they were scoring points, each taking their turn to mock me.

Yet I ignored them and simply gestured for Lucy to check her phone.

Suspicious, she unlocked it, only to see a fresh deposit of one hundred and forty grand.

“This…”

But she recovered quickly, giving a sharp little snort. “At least you know your place. Now get out.”

The room fell into stunned silence as they realized I had actually paid.

I raised a brow. “Get out? I’ve covered your phone. Now, shouldn’t we talk about my damages?”

Lucy’s brows pinched together before she pulled a few ten-dollar bills from her purse and tossed them in my face.

“Is that enough? That cheap outfit you’re wearing looks like something from a flea market. Yet you dare talk to me about compensation?” She rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t get stuck.

I gave a cold laugh and pulled up the shopping records on my phone.

“Open your eyes and look closely. This suit is a custom Chanel haute couture, hand-embroidered by the current CEO himself. Its value is one million.”

Glancing at the makeup kit on the floor, I continued, “The cosmetics in my bag? Each one is a limited seasonal edition, personally signed by the brand’s president. Add it all up, and we’re looking at over two million. And you’re throwing a few bucks at me? You’re only insulting yourself.”

I fixed her with a frosty stare.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as she stared at my phone in disbelief.

“You… you must’ve tricked Mr. Porter into buying that for you. There’s no way someone like you could afford it!” Her face twisted with anger.

Then she turned desperately to Mr. Porter and added, “Please don’t let this money-grubbing woman fool you, Mr. Porter. You have a wife and kids. You shouldn’t lower yourself to someone so beneath you!”

I knew she was hoping he’d step in to save her from paying up.

But I only gave a soft laugh and turned to the man sitting near the door, whose face was grim.

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