Chapter 223: The Crazy One Isn’t Me

Holly’s POV

Girlfriend?

Like…girlfriend girlfriend?

As in he’s dating someone who isn’t me?

My stomach dropped so fast it might’ve dented the floor.

“Girl, are you sure you’re okay?” Amber asked, giving me that look…half worried, half I know you’re hiding something, but I’ll let you embarrass yourself in peace.

I straightened my spine, smoothed my face, and slapped on the most unbothered smile known to mankind.

“Me? Please. I’m great. Thriving. Flourishing. So… this girlfriend…what’s her name? What does she do? How old is she? Are they officially together? Like Facebook official or just-sneaky-hand-holding-in-dark-corners official?”

I’m totally being casual. Totally not dying inside.

Totally not interrogating her like a jealous FBI intern.

Amber paused mid-page flip and just stared at me. Slowly. Suspiciously.

Then she snorted, and went right back to scrolling through the vendor list like she hadn’t just casually announced the end of my emotional stability.

“I mean…I don’t actually know her name. Or any of those forty-seven questions you just threw at me,” she continued, voice low so the rest of the floor wouldn’t hear. “But everyone just calls her ‘the crazy one.’ Not cute-crazy. Like… tear-your-hair-out, scream-in-the-lobby, throw-a-vase-at-the-concierge crazy. Whenever she shows up unannounced (which is always), Mr. Hunt literally hides. Like, tells security to say he’s in Tokyo. Tells me to lie to her face. One time she camped outside his house for three days. Three full days.”

I exhaled so hard my soul nearly left my body with it.

Relief tasted sweet. Sweeter than anything David could ever buy me.

So she’s not a girlfriend.

She’s a stalker with good bone structure and too much time on her hands.

An obsessed girl who doesn’t know when she’s not wanted and wants to sabotage every other person?

Ouch.

I literally just described myself.

Except mine is different.

Mine is real.

He feels it too…he’s just too stubborn to admit it yet. I need to help him see.

A dark, delicious smile curled inside my chest.

Oh, honey. You think you know obsession?

I’ll show you obsession. I’ll show you how it’s done.

I’ll make David forget that girl’s name before she even steps off whatever plane or train she’s on.

I blinked, came back to the room, and realized I was grinning like a psycho.

Amber raised an eyebrow. “Should I get help? You look like you just won the lottery and murdered someone at the same time.”

“Totally fine,” I chirped, too bright. “Do we know when she usually lands in town?”

Amber shrugged, already back in the files. “Unannounced. Always. That’s the whole problem. The girl has a black Amex and zero chill.”

I hummed, tapping my pen against my lip.

Another bitch to get rid of. No one stands in my way. Not anymore.

Amber snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Holly. Focus. The sooner we finish, the sooner we breathe.”

And then, we dove in. I pushed the thoughts about the crazy wannabe girlfriend off my mind.

Phone calls, emails, cross-checking invoices, arguing with suppliers who swore they never got the revised PO, begging accounting for approval codes…it was chaos. Pure, soul-sucking, clock-ticking chaos.

The morning bled into afternoon. Lunchtime came and went…we barely looked up when Peter dropped off sad desk salads and cold noodles. I ate a piece of sushi with one hand while typing with the other.

I think my phone rang non stop at some point, but I didn’t even bat an eye towards it.

By 4:30 p.m. the floor was nearly empty, the sky outside bruised purple, and the last file finally slid into place.

Amber and I slumped back in our chairs at the exact same second.

“It’s over,” she wheezed, throwing her arms up like she’d survived war. “We’re free.”

I let out the most dramatic groan known to mankind, flopping forward until my forehead hit the desk. “This experience has taught me to cherish medicine with every fiber of my being. When this holiday escapades ends, I am burning every spreadsheet I’ve ever touched, finishing my thesis, and never looking back. I would rather deliver triplets in a power outage than live one more day buried in vendor contracts and proposals. I have questioned my entire existence these past weeks, Amber. Questioned it. But no more. I belong in the ER, covered in blood and glory, not drowning in paper cuts and purchase orders!”

Amber was laughing so hard she had to wipe her eyes. “Good for you, babe. This is my forever, though. I like the chaos.”

I patted her shoulder with mock sympathy. “The trauma bay doors are always open if you ever faint from toner fumes.”

We were still cackling when the elevator dinged.

Norman stormed into the office minutes later like a thundercloud in a three-piece suit, face red, tie crooked, looking ready to commit felony-level murder.

His eyes locked on us.

On me.

He didn’t move an inch from the doorway, his eyes practically glowing with rage.

“Pack your things, Holly,” he snarled, voice shaking with barely-contained fury. “Now. You’re reporting to David’s office. Permanently. Amber stays with me.”

The entire floor went dead silent. Even the air-conditioning seemed to stop humming.

He slammed a fist against the glass wall so hard it rattled. “That son of a bitch! He thinks because he owns fifty-five percent he can just reach into my goddamn team and take whatever the hell he wants? You are MY assistant! We’ve barely had three strong weeks together and he just snaps his fingers and steals you like I’m some junior partner he can bully?!”

His voice cracked on the last word, raw, furious, betrayed. On my end, I was super excited, but I didn’t let it show.

I stood slowly, already sliding my notebooks into my tote, ignoring the storm.

“To be fair, boss,” I said lightly, zipping my bag, “I almost quit that day in the general room, remember? David’s the one who convinced me to stay. So technically…the Holly who was your assistant quit that day. The Holly standing here right now? Re-hired by David. On the spot.”

I flashed him a sweet, innocent smile.

Norman looked like he was two seconds from a stroke.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and kept going, voice airy. “Besides, look on the bright side! Once the holiday ends and I go back to med school, David will have to scramble for a replacement. But you?” I turned to Amber, who was watching the meltdown with wide eyes. “You now have the most capable assistant in the building. Amber’s a legend. You won the lottery, honestly.”

Norman opened his mouth…probably to yell, then closed it. His shoulders dropped a fraction.

He stared at Amber. Then at me. Finally, a reluctant, exhausted huff escaped him.

“You,” he muttered, pointing at me with one trembling finger, “are a genius."

Then, softer, almost to himself…“and yeah. I did win the lottery. Amber is more capable than you.”

“Ouch. Ex-boss,” I said, clutching my chest with exaggerated pain. “You wound me. Deeply. I may never recover from the disappointment.”

He let out a low chuckle…dragged a hand down his face like he was trying to rein himself in, then turned sharply on his heel.

As he walked away, he barked over his shoulder, “Don’t let him break you, Holly, you know how annoying he is.

And tell that bastard the next time he wants something of mine, he can damn well challenge me to a duel.”

Amber and I looked at each other with muffled giggles.

She exhaled a laugh that sounded half-hysterical. “Welcome back to the lion’s den, Holly.”

I grinned, already walking toward David’s side of the floor, heels clicking like a countdown.

“Oh, I was born for his den,” I muttered to myself.