Chapter 47
It was Octavius.
My breath caught in my throat. The second I saw him walk through that door, every defensive wall I'd built up crumbled instantly.
Octavius's tall frame moved through the doorway, backlit like some corporate avenging angel. The sheer presence he commanded could've stopped traffic.
His gaze swept across the conference room with calculated indifference before landing squarely on Rhys.
The entire room fell silent. You could've heard a pin drop. Everyone was practically frozen under the weight of Octavius's presence.
The fury on Rhys's face stuttered to a halt, replaced by sheer bewilderment.
He scrambled to his feet. "Mr. Capulet? What brings you here?"
Brielle's eyes went wide with panic, her fingers clutching at her sleeves like a lifeline.
Octavius didn't even glance at Rhys. He came straight to my side, his voice dropping low. "Did they give you hell?"
Honestly? I hadn't really thought of myself as the victim here—I was just fighting for my team.
But the moment he asked, something inside me cracked. That stupid warmth spread through my chest, and suddenly I felt every bit of frustration I'd been holding back.
My lips pressed together. I nodded, my voice coming out rougher than I intended. "Yeah."
Octavius turned his attention to Brielle.
"This medical initiative? I'm the primary backer."
The room erupted into shocked whispers.
He paused, his gaze shifting back to me, protective and deliberate. "I specifically assigned this project to Seraphine. But she wasn't feeling well, and I was concerned she couldn't handle the workload at the time. That's the only reason I temporarily redirected it to another team at your company."
His eyes returned to Brielle, now laced with undisguised contempt. "In terms of qualifications, only Seraphine is fit to lead this project. As for the General Manager position..."
Octavius let out a cold laugh. "I never imagined that someone, instead of being grateful for a temporary opportunity to prove themselves, would abuse their authority to sabotage the very person who made it all possible."
Brielle's face drained of color. She swallowed hard, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.
Octavius's voice turned glacial. "I'm extremely dissatisfied with this kind of partnership."
Brielle trembled under his scrutiny, her head bowing. "Mr. Capulet, I'm so sorry, I—I—"
"Save it." Octavius cut her off without mercy. "I've already contacted Mr. Whitaker and the board to reassess the Whitaker Group's commitment and sincerity regarding this collaboration."
My heart stuttered. I stared at his profile in disbelief.
He'd anticipated this. Or maybe he was just worried I'd get steamrolled, so he came prepared—already having looped in Heath and the board.
A wave of gratitude I couldn't quite name washed over me.
Brielle was full-on spiraling now, her desperate gaze darting to Rhys.
But Rhys was drenched in his own flop sweat, way too busy trying to save his own skin to care about hers. He practically threw himself at Octavius with a nervous smile.
"Please, you have to understand—this is all a misunderstanding! We had no idea you were the investor. Just now, Brielle asked me to back her up, so I went after Seraphine. I would never overstep like this on my own!"
He couldn't distance himself from Brielle fast enough.
Brielle bit her lip so hard I thought it might bleed, but she didn't dare say a word.
That's when Heath burst into the room, a small army of board members trailing behind him.
He took one look at the scene and froze, clearly lost.
"Mr. Capulet, what's going on?"
Octavius's tone remained icy. "I invested in this project because I believe in Seraphine's abilities. If your company's internal affairs are this chaotic—with unqualified people causing problems left and right—then there's no point continuing this partnership."
He turned as if to leave.
"Mr. Capulet, wait!"
"Please don't be upset, just hear us out!"
Heath and the shareholders practically tripped over themselves trying to stop him.
Canceling this project meant losing a massive investment—not to mention torching their relationship with Octavius. Even an idiot could see which way this had to go.
Heath whipped around to face me. "Seraphine, please talk to Mr. Capulet."
The shareholders joined in, voices dripping with desperation. "That's right, Ms. Whitaker. We were too hasty in making this project a promotion benchmark. Please don't hold it against us."
"Talk to Mr. Capulet! We genuinely want this partnership to work!"
Funny how none of these people showed up during the actual confrontation. But now that the whole company was on the line, suddenly everyone knew exactly who could fix this mess.
I looked at their complete one-eighty and laid out everything Brielle had done.
"This isn't Mr. Capulet being unreasonable. Brielle brought this on herself. My team handles the company's most critical projects—our top talent. And she dumped a bunch of random busywork on us like we were interns."
Heath's expression darkened. He slammed his hand on the table. "This is unacceptable!"
He jabbed a finger at Brielle. "You're done as Project General Manager. Go home and think about what you've done!"
Then he shot Rhys a withering glare.
"Rhys, stick to your own job. Stop showing up here unless you're actually needed!"
Rhys's face cycled through about five different shades of humiliation before he hung his head.
Brielle couldn't take it anymore. She covered her face and ran from the conference room, shoulders shaking.
Only then did Octavius stop. His voice carried that signature commanding edge. "I only work with Seraphine on this project. If she's leading it, we continue. Otherwise, no deal."
Heath and the board agreed instantly.
"Of course! We always intended for Seraphine to secure this project. If Brielle hadn't interfered, none of this would've happened!"
"Seraphine is our top candidate for General Manager. We only gave it to Brielle temporarily because of the sudden circumstances."
Octavius didn't confirm or deny it.
With the project secured and everyone in agreement, I was promoted to Project General Manager on the spot—full authority over the partnership with Octavius's company.
Only then did Octavius look satisfied. He turned to leave.
"I'll walk you out."
I hurried after him.
The elevator was empty. I finally asked, "How did you know something would go down today?"
Octavius glanced at me, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Take a guess."
"I have no idea. But... you showed up exactly when I needed you. Again. You always do."
At some point, without me even realizing it, Octavius had become the person who had my back. Every single time.
I didn't have to worry about standing alone anymore. I didn't have to fear being defenseless or getting crushed. I didn't have to relive the nightmare of my past life.
"Thank you. For today."
I looked up at Octavius, meaning every word.
His hand paused on the car door. He glanced back at me, something warm flickering in his eyes, though his tone stayed playful. "Your thanks are always just words, huh?"
My face went up in flames. My pulse kicked into overdrive. His face was so close, and I felt this wild, reckless urge I couldn't control.
Before I could second-guess myself, I pushed up on my toes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
"There's your thank-you gift."
I dropped that bomb and bolted, not daring to look back at his reaction, racing toward the building like my life depended on it.