Summer Simmons drank in the praise like champagne, her ego swelling with every honeyed word. In her mind, Mr. Gilbert was already on his knees, desperate to claim her for the Gilbert dynasty.
I went cold.
The day I'd cut ties with the Simmons family, I hadn't just contacted the Gilbert Group. I'd notified every major partner of my departure.
Their response had been unanimous: *We follow you, Ms. Simmons. Wherever you go.*
Headhunters had descended like vultures—double salaries, triple, corner offices with skyline views. I'd turned them all down. My sights were set on one target.
Colin Gilbert.
I'd approached him directly. Told him I wanted in on his empire.
He'd agreed without hesitation. Said he'd send an assistant to handle the transition.
This man must be him.
I thrashed against the bodyguards, desperate to speak—but before a single syllable left my lips, Summer's palm cracked across my face.
The force sent me sprawling. My skull bounced off the marble. A metallic flood filled my mouth as blood welled from my split lip. The world spun in ink-black swirls, my brain struggling to reboot.
Paul Walker took a deliberate step back, nose wrinkling.
He clearly hadn't expected the woman Mr. Gilbert valued so highly to be this unhinged. This *brutal.*
Summer sneered down at me. "Useless parasite. It's bad enough you drag the whole family down—now you're trying to seduce Mr. Gilbert's people?"
Paul's gaze slid toward me. Contempt hardened his features.
Summer noticed the shift immediately. Her eyes welled with tears on command. Her posture crumpled into something fragile and pitiful.
"Assistant Walker, I'm so sorry you had to witness that." A delicate sniffle. "I've made a complete fool of myself."
She dabbed at her cheek. "I'm just so *angry.* This woman... she relied on my parents' sponsorship to latch onto our family like a leech. Used her poverty to manipulate their pity. Stole the love and care that should have been *mine.*"
Paul's jaw tightened.
Mr. Gilbert had mentioned that Miss Simmons had suffered greatly—the reason for her sudden resignation.
*So this woman is the cause.*
He helped Summer back into her chair.
The black spots in my vision finally receded. That was the first thing I saw.
"You will regret this." My voice came out shredded, barely human.