"So you're telling me to leave."
Terry's lips curled into a sneer. "Yes."
I was so furious I almost laughed.
"Then I'm curious about your judgment back then. If you think so little of my education, why did you agree to be with me in the first place?"
My words struck a nerve. His expression darkened instantly.
"You think I wanted to marry you? If it weren't for my father, I would've called off this engagement a long time ago."
The moment those words left his mouth, Beulah practically leapt with excitement.
"That's wonderful, Terry! You should've cut ties with this illiterate nobody ages ago."
"Everyone always wondered how a man of your status ended up with some country bumpkin. I felt sorry for you even then."
"Some backwater hick has no business standing next to someone as accomplished as you!"
The shareholders chimed in one after another, raising their hands in support of Terry taking over the company.
"Olive, to be honest, we've never respected where you come from."
"The company keeps growing, and we don't want your background becoming a liability. Something people whisper about over drinks."
With everyone rallying behind her, Beulah's boldness swelled.
I had just pulled a slim cigarette from my case and was about to light it when she snatched it right out of my hand.
"Oh, a high-end brand?" She scoffed. "You think smoking expensive cigarettes makes you somebody?"
She stuck the cigarette she'd taken from me between her own lips, perched herself on the edge of the table right in front of me, and lit it with a smirk. She took a long drag.
Then, with all the arrogance in the world, she blew the smoke directly into my face.
"Why are you still sitting there like an idiot? Hurry up and—"
"Get up!"
She swung her foot and kicked my chair hard.
I looked up at her, my voice cold as ice.
"Last month, when I was away on a business trip, someone else was stupid enough to kick my chair."
"Do you know what happened to her leg?"
My warning didn't faze Beulah. If anything, it made her worse.
"Who do you think you are, Olive? You actually dare threaten me?"
"I'll kick your chair as many times as I damn well please. What are you going to do about it?"
As she lifted her other foot to kick again, I spun the steel pen in my hand and drove it straight into her thigh.
A piercing scream tore through the conference room. Every person in the room sucked in a sharp breath.