“You’re terminated. Effective immediately. Security will escort you out. If you contact a client, my attorneys will make your life very uncomfortable.”
Silence followed as he left.
“Meeting adjourned,” she said faintly. “We’ll discuss restructuring tomorrow.”
In the elevator, she looked at Daniel differently now.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I was doing my job.”
“No. You went beyond it.”
When the doors opened, she added, “Starting tomorrow, you’re no longer my assistant.”
His face fell. “You’re letting me go?”
She managed a small smile.
“I’m promoting you. Chief Operating Officer. I need someone I trust. That’s you.”
He stared at her, stunned.
“And bring Lily by sometime,” she added. “I’d like to meet the young woman who raised such a decent man.”
Sunlight touched her face as they rolled toward the exit.
The accident was meant to destroy Victoria Hale.
Instead, it exposed what mattered.
She had built an empire on control.
Now she would rebuild it on something stronger—trust.
