She Replaced Me with Her College Crush:Now I'll Destroy Everything She BuiltChapter 1
After the New Year holiday, work resumed—and my wife, Marlene Henson, blindsided everyone by bringing in a returned overseas student to restructure the company.
"Henson Group is on the verge of signing a partnership with the Delgado family of Grandview."
"Which means we need to purge the dead weight first!"
The man stood on the elevated stage, eyes locked on me with open contempt. "So the restructuring starts with you—you parasite!"
He then called out the eighty employees I'd personally recruited.
I turned to Marlene. "Someone's coming after your husband. You're not going to say anything?"
She was quiet for a moment. Then: "Let's go with what Miles suggests. He's doing this for the company. And he's a top-tier talent."
Three years of marriage. This was the first time she hadn't taken my side.
The room went still with shock.
But I laughed.
Of course. The words of a first love always carried more weight.
What she didn't know was that the Delgado family had only agreed to the partnership as a way to get closer to me.
——
Onstage.
Miles Sullivan—freshly returned from abroad—fixed me with a taunting smirk and spoke again. "I'm announcing that effective today, Jacob Gilbert is stripped of his position as Vice President. His new assignment: restroom janitor."
"As for the other eighty? Terminated. Every last one."
The room erupted.
"On what grounds are you firing us?"
"Exactly! Vice President Gilbert led us with everything he had. We never made a single mistake—we delivered outstanding results!"
Some pushed back.
Others watched with barely concealed amusement.
"Hmph. Being loyal to Jacob Gilbert is your crime!"
"I've been sick of him for a long time. Riding Ms. Henson's coattails, bossing the rest of us around."
"Sure, he got us bonuses. Sure, he gave us more time off. But at the end of the day, he's just the CEO's lapdog. Not exactly someone who belongs in the boardroom."
"Some community college kid—how's he supposed to compare to Consultant Sullivan, who studied overseas?"
More than a few of them owed their careers to me. Now they were turning like weathervanes in a storm.
"Enough! Everyone, quiet!"
Marlene slammed her palm on the table.
For a split second, I thought she was finally going to speak up for me. Then her tone shifted.
"Jacob."