Chapter 158

Chapter 158

The door was shoved open by Evelyn.

Wendy didn't even have time to think of what to say before Evelyn came charging at her, face twisted with rage. "You little tramp! Trying to steal my boyfriend right under my nose. Shameless!"

Wendy jumped up to explain. "No, Ms. Landon, I had a meeting scheduled with a supplier, but he stood me up."

At least, that's how she saw it.

Evelyn only got angrier. She grabbed a glass off the table and hurled it at Wendy. "Bullshit! You think I'd believe that? You've always been hanging around William, and now you want to be his mistress? Why don't you just become a hooker — at least the money's faster."

The words were vicious. Wendy couldn't believe someone like Evelyn, a heiress, could speak with such cruelty.

Wendy dodged the glass. She had no interest in getting into it with Evelyn. She grabbed her bag and turned to leave. "Sorry, I have things to take care of."

"Think you're just going to walk out? Dream on. I'm going to make sure everyone sees exactly how you've been throwing yourself at William." Evelyn moved toward the door of the private room, ready to fling it open and make a scene.

"Enough. Stop it." William's voice came out sharp and cold. The chill in his eyes was barely contained, and under the table, his hand slowly curled into a fist. If he weren't in a position where he couldn't afford to completely break things off with the Landon family right now, he would never have let Evelyn humiliate Wendy like this.

All he wanted was to have a quiet meal with Wendy. Why was that so hard?

He'd never noticed before how suffocating Evelyn could be — or how rude.

He looked over at Wendy. "Head back to the office."

"She's not going anywhere!" Evelyn blocked Wendy's path. "She owes me an apology."

Wendy took a slow, deep breath. Evelyn had a talent for twisting things.

"Why would I apologize to you?" Wendy met Evelyn's eyes, calm and steady.

She'd been ready to let it go and avoid a fight. But Evelyn wasn't going to let it drop, and Wendy wasn't the one who'd started this.

"You were going after my boyfriend!" Evelyn jabbed a finger at her, fuming.

Wendy's voice was cool and even. "First, Mr. Ford is my superior, and I was here to meet a client who didn't show up. Second, I was not going after your boyfriend. And third — why exactly should I be apologizing to you?"

Evelyn flinched slightly at Wendy's gaze. She'd always thought of Wendy as the meek, spineless type — a lowly adopted daughter who got by on the goodwill of men. Whatever success Wendy had at work, Evelyn assumed it was only because William had pulled strings for her.

But the woman standing in front of her right now was clearly not someone who could be pushed around.

A chill crept through Evelyn. She realized Wendy would be a much harder problem to deal with than Shirley ever was.

"I've said what I needed to say. I'm leaving — I have a meeting this afternoon." And with that, Wendy walked out.

After she left, William turned to Evelyn, his expression tight with displeasure. "What was that about?"

Evelyn's lip trembled. "I just wanted to surprise you. I didn't know you'd be here alone with Wendy."

"It was work. Can you stop making a scene over nothing?" He pressed his fingers to his temple.

He'd been putting up with Evelyn, but now it seemed she'd started thinking she already had the run of the place as Mrs. Ford. She was actually trying to manage his business.

Evelyn's eyes filled with tears almost instantly. "I'm sorry. I know I was wrong. I won't do it again."

Around William, Evelyn always made herself small. No matter how bold she acted in front of Wendy, she never wanted to upset him. And she wasn't about to let anyone take him from her.

That was exactly why she'd gone after Wendy so hard. She knew there was something between them.

William's expression stayed dark. "Stay out of my business. Are we clear?"

It was the harshest he'd spoken to Evelyn in a long time.

Her heart sank. She knew he was genuinely angry. All she could do was redirect every bit of that hurt and resentment toward Wendy.

This was all Wendy's fault.

---

Back at the office, Wendy let out a long breath.

She told herself to stop thinking about any of the good memories she had with William. He had a fiancée. Whatever they'd had was over.

Wendy had always been good at making peace with things. In her mind, there was plenty in life that mattered more than feelings.

She threw herself back into her research.

That afternoon, Wendy arrived at the meeting on time. The moment she walked in, she saw William at the head of the table.

William was young, but having grown up in a powerful, wealthy family, he carried the polished bearing of someone born into that world — and an authority that was hard to ignore.

He'd matured early, and having run the Ford Group largely on his own, he had a steadiness about him that most people his age simply didn't have.

One by one, the attendees walked through their projects.

When it came to Wendy's turn, the presentation would normally have been Shirley's — but given what had happened, and the fact that Wendy had been the one running the project from the start, it made the most sense for her to present.

Wendy laid out all the pros and cons clearly, then said she didn't want to stay on as the project manager going forward.

The project was a collaboration between the Moore family and the Ford Group. Now that she was no longer part of the Moore family, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to keep handling it.

William didn't push back. He gave a short nod and told Jack to get in touch with the Moore family's side and arrange for a new manager to take over.

Wendy felt a quiet wave of relief. She'd half-expected him to say no.

Then again, it made sense. She still had Atlantic Chemicals to run. Taking on more would stretch her too thin and could end up slowing things down on the Ford Group's end too.

The meeting stayed strictly professional. When it wrapped up, Wendy went straight home.

It had been a long, exhausting day. She lay down on her bed and was asleep almost immediately.

Meanwhile, Shirley had been released and returned to the Moore family, where John tore into her the moment she walked through the door.

"Useless. What's the point of keeping you around? I should've never brought you back into this house. And now look — Wendy's gone. Do you really think you can hold things together on your own?"

John knew exactly what Wendy was capable of. That's why he'd sent her to the Ford Group in the first place. A good chunk of the Moore family's deals had been won by Wendy. Since she left, the company's business had taken a real hit. Several partners had let their contracts expire without renewing.

It was giving him headaches. And Shirley was out here stirring up more trouble.

"I was wrong. I'll go ask Wendy to come back." That was all Shirley could say now.

Lisa chimed in from the side. "Didn't Charlie say he'd marry Shirley? With the Smith family's support, the company should bounce back soon enough."

At the mention of the Smith family, John's anger flared. Word had gotten around that he'd sold his daughter. First he'd tried to sell his adopted daughter, and now his own flesh and blood. The company's reputation was taking a beating.

And Charlie wasn't even his own man — he had to check with his father before doing anything. Even trying to get Shirley out had fallen through because his father stepped in and blocked it.

In the end, it was one word from William that got Shirley released.

William. John felt a flicker of something — maybe hope.

"Tell me straight," he said, looking down at Shirley, who was still kneeling on the floor. "Is there something going on between you and William?"