Chapter 38 Stolen presentation

Chapter 38 Stolen presentation
Zoey

Ethan had retreated to his office right after the event. If anyone could understand my predicament, perhaps it would be him.

When I arrived at his office, a few people were gathered outside, laughing casually. Among them was the strange lady who had won the competition, chatting away with a redhead I recognized from dinner a few nights ago, I recalled her sharp tongue and her sudden rudeness to a stranger. and Mary! Mary of all people

“Thanks, Mary,” the winning colleague said to Mary, who was beaming like she had won the competition. 

Mary huh? I thought, but my focus shifted as I continued searching for Ethan.

“Zoey?” I heard Mary call my name, feigning surprise. I brushed off her sweet smile, knowing it was just another one of her attempts to be rude. “Look who decided to dress up for today,” she said, blocking Ethan’s doorway with her arm and letting her gaze wander over my outfit.

I tried to walk past her, but she leaned in closer, her grin widening. “You thought you could charm the executives with your looks, huh?”

Shock washed over me, pushing my anger aside. Having an enemy was one thing, but turning a complete stranger into one felt entirely different. I was sure she wasn’t someone from my past destined to haunt me, she didn’t strike me as a typical middle-class meddler.

"Too bad you lost," Mary said, her face twisted in a mock expression of sympathy that only added to the sting of her insult. I felt rage bubbling up inside me, but all I could manage was a stunned silence. 

From across the room, Ethan spotted me and started making his way over. At that moment, Mary shot me one last glance before she turned and walked away.

“Let’s head to your office,” he said firmly, his voice leaving no room for debate. Without another word, he turned and strode toward my office, his long strides purposeful, drawing curious glances from his staff, though he hardly acknowledged any of them. 

My heart raced. I hurried to keep up, each step echoing on the floors like a countdown to my own doom.

As soon as I stepped inside and shut the door behind me, the words spilled out. “Ethan, you have to trust me. Someone took my ideas, and the documents for my presentation. I can’t prove it yet, but I know—”

“I know,” he interrupted softly, his calm tone so unexpected that I froze mid-sentence.

I blinked, completely thrown off. He knows?

For a moment, doubt flickered in my mind. How could he possibly know? The thought slithered in before I could push it away. Did he have something to do with this?

No. I quickly dismissed the idea. Ethan was a man of integrity, stern, sometimes hard to read, but not dishonest. Still, another thought crept in, whispering from the back of my mind. Could it be Leo? Maybe Ethan had uncovered something. Maybe that’s why he was here.

I shook my head again, more forcefully this time, trying to clear my thoughts. Leo could be petty, arrogant, and infuriating, but sabotage wasn’t his style. Doing that would only make him look bad too. No, even Leo wouldn’t sink that low… right?

Lost in my swirling thoughts, I didn’t notice Ethan had already taken my chair until he cleared his throat gently. The sound snapped me back to reality. He was sitting there, gesturing for me to take the seat across from him.

I hesitated for a moment before following his lead, lowering myself slowly, my palms clammy with sweat. 

Ethan leaned in a bit, resting his elbows on the desk. “I know your designs were stolen,” he started. “But what I don’t get is why you relied on sketches instead of keeping digital copies or photos for your presentation.”

His words hit me harder than I anticipated. A wave of shame washed over me. Of course, he was right. What kind of professional, in this digital age, would base an entire presentation on fragile paper sketches?

“I know,” I mumbled, looking down. “I really messed up. I just… I didn’t think anyone would go so far as to steal my work, especially without me realizing it until my presentation.”

I pressed my palm to my forehead, exhaling shakily. The weight of it all was finally catching up to me. My ideas, my hard work, gone.

Ethan glanced at his wristwatch, then looked back at me, “I have to take care of something urgent right now,” he said, standing halfway. “But we’ll sort this out. I’ll talk to Leo. We’ll set up another presentation, one where everyone has to defend their ideas publicly.”

My head shot up. “Really? You’d do that?”

His lips curled into a small, knowing smile. “Yeah,” he replied simply. “You worked hard. You deserve to see the fruits of that effort.”

Hope flickered inside me. Ever since I joined the company, Ethan had been nothing but nice to me, he had this quiet way of earning respect, and now he was stepping in for me. My heart did a little flip at the thought. But just as quickly, another feeling crept in, a sharp pang of guilt.

Was he doing this out of genuine concern? Or was it because of the information I’d shared with him… about his brother?

I pushed that thought away. There was no space for guilt right now. Too much was on the line to let my emotions get in the way.

Ethan walked to the door, adjusting his cufflinks as he went. He paused, his hand resting on the handle. “And, Zoey…” he called back over his shoulder.

“Yes?”

“Try not to be too trusting.”

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me in a heavy silence.

I sank into the chair he had just vacated, breathing in the faint scent of his cologne that lingered in the air. His warning echoed in my mind. Don’t be too trusting.

What did he mean by that? Did he know something he wasn’t sharing with me?

I barely had a moment to ponder before the door burst open with a force that slammed it against the wall.

Leo stormed in, panting heavily. His usually sleek hair was a mess, strands falling into his eyes, and beads of sweat clung stubbornly to his forehead. Yet, from the neck down, he looked impeccable, tailored suit, polished shoes, tie perfectly knotted. The contrast was jarring.

His eyes blazed with anger. He slammed the door shut behind him with a loud thud and marched straight toward me.

“Tell me,” he growled, collapsing into the chair across from mine, “you didn’t put in all that effort on your designs just to let some airhead steal them on the day of your presentation!”