Chapter 77 Broken ceo
Mark’s POV
“Don’t look at me like that,” I muttered to the bottle as I twisted the cap off. It hissed, sharp, before the burn of alcohol hit my nose.
That was the fifth one for the day.
The study was dim except for the lamp bleeding a weak cone of yellow across the desk.
The city beyond the glass walls blurred, lights melting into shapes I didn’t care to name.
My tie was somewhere on the floor. My shirt was unbuttoned halfway. And still the sickening ache in my chest wouldn’t stop.
I poured the drink like it was water.
A full glass. Then another.
The guilt refused to end. My thoughts refused to quiet.
The shrill buzz of my phone nearly slipped from my fingers.
I got a message from her. I had silenced my phone for a while. I believe she tried calling and couldn't get to me.
“I'm sorry Becc,” I said, wishing a single apology is enough to overcome the guilt that overwhelmed me.
Hey Love, I’m flying to Korea tonight. Lady Han is taking me to the gala. Wish me luck.”
My breath stopped.
For the first time in twenty-four hours, the fog in my head cracked. A soft, stupid smile tugged at my mouth.
That's my baby. She was really growing. She was achieving her dreams, becoming what she had always wanted.
“She’s really doing it,” I whispered to the room, to the glass, to the guilt eating a hole through me.
I should’ve been there to send her off. Probably a goodbye call at least.. Tuck her hair properly while whispering to her, how brilliant she was and how super proud I was but…
But the universe had a twisted sense of humor.
My gaze dropped to the half-open drawer beside me.
The tiny glass jar sat inside like a ghost. The candy colored pills.
I picked it up, the weight of it burned into my palm as I lifted it.
Just one!
One pill to shut up this noise in my head.
A knock exploded against the door.
The study lights blazed on suddenly.
I flinched.
“Sir..what the hell?” Collins choked out, gripping the doorframe like the smell itself punched him.
His nose wrinkled. He covered it with his sleeve. “It reeks like a distillery exploded here.”
I shoved the jar back into the drawer, slamming it shut.
“What do you want?” I snapped.
The room tilted a bit, or probably it was the illusion the drink gave me.
Collins stepped inside cautiously, like he wasn’t sure whether I’d throw the glass at him or pass out on the floor.
“Sir, we have a problem,” he said, voice clipped.
“A problem?” I laughed under my breath. “Have a drink.” I passed the unopened bottle to him
“I'm sorry Sir, but it's not a minor issue,” Collins continued. “Simmons Group stock fell by nineteen percent overnight.”
The laughter in my throat died.
“What?”
“It’s the investment move you insisted on last week. The high-risk one we advised against.” His voice tightened. “The foreign investors pulled out. Completely.”
The floor dropped from under me.
I stood too fast. The chair hit the wall behind me.
“That doesn’t make sense..” My words stumbled. “It was supposed to be safe. It was well calculated.”
“Sir, it was a risky strategy to take,”
“Fix it,” I said. “Cover it, do some damage control.”
“That’s not how any of this works, Sir Mark,”
I hated the sound of my first name spoken by someone who wasn’t her.
Frustration clawed through me. I raked a hand through my hair, pacing.
“Fine. Then push the philanthropic project announcement. The one Olivia and I drafted. Release it early, tonight.”
Collins’ eyes widened. “That campaign was supposed to be private until the board approved.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. Announce it. Now.”
“No.” His voice cracked with something dangerously close to anger. “Sir, we don’t have the funds to sustain that initiative. If you publicly declare it now, in this climate, it will make us look desperate.”
“Are you talking back at me,” I raised a brow at him.
Hurriedly he bowed his head in apology. Collin's disrespect was the least of my trouble now.
I grabbed my phone and dialed his number, my secretary’s own
“Yes Sir,” he replied.
“Go to Daesen group immediately and ask for an emergency fund, send the paperworks to me through mail,”
Now!
“Sir, you're not thinking straight and this is going to drown us,” he murmured but it was audible enough for me to hear.
“That's none of your business,” I shot back… “Have a drink and wait for the response,"
Reluctantly, he sat on the stool beside the table.
We sat for thirty minutes without saying a word to each other. He played around with his phone while I pretended to go through some paperworks.
Honestly, the letters were blurry and I couldn't properly read a line.
The silence was brought to an end with his phone ringtone.
He glanced down, brows lifting.
“Sir, it’s your PA. Should I answer?”
I nodded stiffly.
Collins put it on speaker.
“Sir,” the PA said, voice trembling, “Daesen Energy rejected the proposal. They wouldn’t even grant me entrance into the building.”
Rejected! Rejected!!
My fist tightened until my bone cracked.
Collins' gaze was fixed on me like a child expecting a candy from the mother.
“I’ll go myself,” I said.
“Sir, that’s…”
“I said I’ll go myself.”
He looked at me carefully. “Sir you’re in no state…”
“You have been talking a lot lately haven't you?” He flinched.
“I'm going to see Daesen energy myself and no one can stop me! No one can say no to me, not even Daesen,”
I moved toward the door, vision burning at the edges.
A hand landed on my arm.
“Sir,” Collins said quietly. “This is not about Daesen. This is about the fact you haven’t slept. You haven’t eaten. And you’ve clearly…”
“Let go.”
He didn’t.
“Mark, listen if you keep spiraling like this, you’re going to take the entire company with you.”
“I said. Let. Go.”
He dropped his hand.
Silence punched between us.
I grabbed my coat from the back of the chair, nearly ripping the fabric.
My phone buzzed again.
Another message. Not from Becca this time.
From Olivia.
“We need to talk about last night.
Call me,”