Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Cordelia's tone said it all. She still didn't believe it.

Griffin knew her well.

It wasn't the good news she doubted. It was herself.

Three years with Ellington had ground her confidence to dust.

Living in an environment that constantly denied her worth—no matter how hard she tried to pick herself back up, the damage seeped in.

"Cordelia." The warmth faded from Griffin's face, replaced by a seriousness she hadn't seen from him in a long time. "There's something I've been wanting to say to you."

He'd held it back because she'd just gone through a divorce, then one crisis after another, then the miscarriage—and with no contact between her and Ellington lately, he'd nearly forgotten this small thing weighing on his mind.

"What is it?"

Seeing him this serious made Cordelia's heart tighten.

Griffin was almost always gentle around her. When he turned solemn, she couldn't brush it off.

She had a feeling.

Whatever came next, she wouldn't want to hear it.

"I—"

His secretary burst through the office door, stumbling over her words when she spotted Cordelia. "Mr. Mitchell, headquarters—someone's here. No advance notice at all. You need to go. Now."

Griffin's expression shifted instantly. "Where are they?"

"The—the rooftop."

Cordelia was startled too.

They'd come by helicopter?

"Let's go."

An unannounced visit from headquarters, no prior warning—the ambush-style arrival pointed Griffin toward one possibility.

Something had gone wrong inside his branch, something serious enough to reach headquarters. And he'd had no idea.

They hadn't even notified him. They'd come in person, likely planning to investigate firsthand.

With the situation this urgent, everything else had to wait.

"Cordelia, head back to your desk." He paused, deliberating, then said it anyway. "What I started to say—I still need to finish."

"Divorcing Ellington was absolutely the right thing to do."

---

Back at her desk, Cordelia couldn't focus.

Griffin's parting words circled her mind on a loop, reminding her of the serious, foolish mistake she'd once made.

The laughable part? She still didn't want to admit she'd been wrong.

She'd just fallen for someone. She'd just chosen love. Why was divorce the 'right' choice?

Even more laughable—deep down, she agreed. The divorce was right.

She just refused to admit that the marriage had been wrong.

Right and wrong didn't matter anymore. The divorce was the outcome. And it was undeniably correct.

"Cordelia! My dear sister-in-law!"

Cordelia shot to her feet and clamped a hand over Liliana's mouth. "Keep your voice down!"

Ever since Cordelia had called out Liliana's connection to Ellington, the girl had dropped all pretense.

Setting aside the fact that she and Ellington were already divorced—she could let the nickname slide in private.

But this was the office.

Apart from Griffin, no one here knew who Liliana really was.

Liliana blinked, the picture of innocence. "But you are my sister-in-law. I'm not wrong."

At least she'd lowered her voice enough that only the two of them could hear.

Cordelia gave her a rare stern look. "Call me whatever you want on your own time. But here at work, knock it off. Ellington's current fiancée is the Neville family's daughter. I have no interest in being labeled the other woman."

"Ellington is never going to marry her."

The mention of Sloane made Liliana bristle. "I don't know what Flynn is thinking. He had the taste to fall for Raina—his judgment can't be that bad. So why does he keep picking the worst possible daughters-in-law? Each one more ridiculous than the last."

"He's not picking daughters-in-law. He's picking business partners. That's how it works."

From a strategic standpoint, Flynn hadn't done anything wrong.

Cordelia lowered her gaze.

If she ever wanted another chance with Ellington, she'd need status and connections at least on par with Ondine's—something that could benefit the Carnegie Group.

She pressed her fingers hard against her temples.

Why was she thinking about Flynn's preferences again?

Did she... deep down... still want to remarry Ellington?

But it was just a thought.

Dreams were free.

"Alright, Cordelia. Just focus on what you want to do. Figuring out how to get remarried is Ellington's problem. Right now—clock out!"

Liliana had already packed up her things, ready to bolt.

Cordelia glanced at the time.

The entire afternoon had slipped by without her noticing. She hadn't done a single thing.

She couldn't keep spiraling like this.

---

Meanwhile, Griffin was escorting the person headquarters had sent toward the elevator.

They took the executive elevator—separate from the one employees used.

By coincidence, both elevators reached the ground floor at the same time.

Cordelia stepped out without looking back.

"She's the one who debated Holden? That new designer?"

The man walking alongside Griffin raised an eyebrow. "She looks like a college kid. How old is she?"

"She's only been out of school a few years."

Griffin's jaw tightened.

Asking a strange woman's age that bluntly struck him as disrespectful.

"You've got a thing for her, don't you? The second she comes up, every emotion is written all over your face. That's not like you."

The man appeared roughly Griffin's age, but everything about his manner radiated a casual recklessness.

If he weren't from headquarters—and if this weren't business—Griffin wouldn't have given him the time of day.

"You flew in on a helicopter to ask me that?"

He'd assumed something major had happened at the branch. But from the moment they'd met, this guy hadn't been serious for a single second.

Which meant it probably wasn't about headquarters business at all.

The man scoffed. "Look closer—that wasn't a headquarters helicopter. A client wanted to come, and headquarters just sent a couple people along for the ride. I simply offered his helicopter a place to land. He's a Vogue Vortex client, after all."

"So where's the client?"

Griffin still hadn't seen anyone.

"Catching up with an old friend."

---

Maurice White's return to the country had been sudden, and Ellington rushed to meet him just as abruptly.

He'd asked Maurice for a favor not long ago. Skipping this meeting wasn't an option.

But the moment they sat down, Maurice's opening line made Ellington want to walk right back out.

"That ex-wife of yours—I caught a glimpse of her at Vogue Vortex. Way too young for you, man. How could you let that one go?"