Chapter 249

Chapter 249
Stella's POV

The words didn't hurt. I'd been called worse by better people. What mattered was the spectacle, the performance. Vivian knew exactly what she was doing. This wasn't about me. This was about Veridian Sterling Group's reputation, about forcing Julian to make a choice: keep me employed and weather the PR nightmare, or cut me loose to make the problem go away.

She was betting on the latter. She was betting that no matter how good I was at my job, no matter how much Julian valued my work, he wouldn't risk the company's image for one junior analyst. She was betting that I'd be fired by the end of the day, blacklisted from every reputable firm in Seattle, and left with nothing.

She was wrong.

I grabbed my bag and headed for the elevator. My phone kept buzzing with updates from colleagues, each message more panicked than the last. The front desk had escalated to the department heads. The department heads had escalated to HR. HR had escalated to Julian himself, who'd been in the middle of a board meeting when Patricia interrupted to whisper in his ear.

By the time I reached the ground floor, the lobby was in chaos. A crowd had gathered near the windows, employees pressing their faces to the glass to watch the spectacle outside. I could see Vivian through the floor-to-ceiling windows, still kneeling on the concrete, her megaphone raised to her lips. The banner was propped against a planter behind her, visible to everyone entering or leaving the building.

Two security guards flanked her, trying to reason with her in low voices. She ignored them, her attention fixed on the building's entrance, waiting for her target to emerge. Waiting for me.

I turned away from the windows and headed toward the back stairwell. If I went out the front, I'd be walking straight into her trap, giving her exactly the confrontation she wanted. Better to slip out through the parking garage and regroup somewhere private. But as I pushed open the stairwell door, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Stella."

Julian's voice was clipped, professional. I turned to find him striding across the lobby, his suit jacket buttoned, his expression unreadable. Patricia trailed behind him, clutching a tablet and looking deeply uncomfortable.

"Mr. Wade," I said carefully. "I was just—"

"I know what you were doing." He stopped a few feet away, his blue eyes sharp behind his glasses. "And I'm telling you not to do it. Stay inside. Let me handle this."

"With all due respect, this is my problem." I kept my voice steady, even though my heart was racing. "I should be the one to—"

"Your problem?" Julian's tone turned cold. "The moment she set foot in this building, it became my problem. You're an employee of Veridian Sterling Group. That means you're under my protection. And I don't negotiate with people who think they can blackmail me into firing my staff."

The certainty in his voice caught me off guard. I'd expected him to be angry, maybe even accusatory. Instead, he looked almost offended, as if Vivian's stunt was a personal insult rather than a business complication.

"She's not going to leave until she gets what she wants," I said quietly. "And what she wants is for you to fire me."

"Then she's going to be disappointed." Julian turned to Patricia. "Send a message to all department heads. Anyone caught gossiping about this incident will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. I want this shut down before it spreads."

Patricia's fingers flew across her tablet. "What about the woman outside?"

"What about her?" Julian's smile was thin and humorless. "She's trespassing on private property and harassing our employees. If she doesn't leave voluntarily in the next five minutes, we'll have her arrested for disturbing the peace."

"She's claiming Stella is a mistress," Patricia said hesitantly. "That she stole her daughter's fiancé. If the media picks this up—"

"Then we'll issue a statement clarifying that Ms. Taylor's personal life is her own business and has no bearing on her professional conduct." Julian's voice was ice. "Veridian Sterling Group does not fire employees based on unsubstantiated accusations from unstable individuals. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." Patricia looked relieved. "Should I call the police now?"

"Not yet." Julian's gaze shifted back to me. "First, I want to know who she is."

I hesitated. Telling him the truth meant exposing more of my past than I wanted to, but lying would only make things worse. "Her name is Vivian Mellon. She's... connected to someone I used to know."

"Connected how?"

"She's the mother of Christian Kensington's ex-fiancée." The words tasted bitter in my mouth. "She blames me for the broken engagement."

Julian's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes. Understanding, maybe. Or calculation. "And did you have anything to do with the broken engagement?"

"No." The lie came easily. "Christian ended it on his own. But Vivian doesn't see it that way. She needs someone to blame, and I'm convenient."