Beneath The Servant's Apron

Chp 7

Elena stared in shock as the two-billion-dollar contract documents were violently ripped to pieces right before her eyes. 

Her entire body began to tremble uncontrollably, sweat breaking out across her forehead as tears of sheer, agonizing disbelief welled up in her wide, bulging eyes. Her manicured jaw dropped open in disbelief as she watched the scraps scatter over the mahogany desk like worthless autumn leaves.

The contract that was supposed to elevate her company into high society, crush her rivals, and crown her as the wealthiest woman in the entire province lay completely destroyed in a matter of seconds.

She stared down at Lucas's bandaged leg with intense, venomous hatred, her beautiful face contorting into rage. She drew her hand back, clenched her fingers into a tight, violent fist, and rushed forward with all her remaining strength to hit him directly where he was injured.

Before her hand could even touch his skin, Natalie reacted immediately, slamming her palm down on an emergency alarm button hidden beneath the edge of her desk.

The office doors flew open instantly with a loud bang that rattled the room. Two guards rushed inside like lightning, lunging forward and grabbing Elena’s arms, holding her back.

"Let go of me! Let go of me right now!" Elena continued to scream at the top of her lungs, thrashing violently against the security's powerful hold like a wild, cornered beast.

Elena shrieked, glaring at Lucas with a fiery, unforgiving hatred.

"I will make you regret that you were ever born into this world!" "I swear I will make you pay!" 

Violently yanking her hands away from the security guards, she whirled around and glared at the two officers with fury.

"If you ever dare to touch me again, I will make sure you end up rotting in a prison for the rest of your miserable lives!" 

Beside her, Julian stood completely frozen in shock as well.

His face had drained of all its color, turning as pale as a corpse as he stared blankly at the shredded pieces of white paper resting on the mahogany table. 

He slowly bent down to the floor, his hands trembling violently as he frantically tried to piece together, gather, and compile the shredded documents in a desperate bid to save the multi-billion-dollar agreement. But his efforts were entirely useless, as the critical legal clauses, official stamps, and signature lines were torn into tiny scraps.

Realizing that it has been completely destroyed beyond any hope of repair, Julian snapped his head up and glared angrily at Lucas..

"How dare you, a poor, penniless man, tear a two-billion-dollar contract just like that?!" Julian shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking violently with rage.

"You worthless piece of trash!" Julian shouted, hurling vile insults as his face twisted with rage. "I will personally make sure you regret that single reckless action for the rest of your miserable, worthless life!" 

Elena remained standing nearby in shock, her chest heaving up and down with rapid, erratic gasps as tears welled down her cheek. 

She slowly turned her sharp gaze away from Lucas and locked her burning, tear-filled eyes onto Natalie. 

"This entire catastrophe is all your fault!" Elena shrieked, her shrill voice echoing sharply off the walls of the executive suite. "If you had simply listened to my advice earlier instead of foolishly protecting a worthless fraud, something like this would never have happened!”.

Natalie slowly stood up from her chair, placing her palms flat on the desk.

"Since matters have come to this, and you choose to blame me," Natalie said in a cold tone, " As the Chief Secretary of Sterling Group, this contract is officially revoked, with immediate effect."

Elena’s eyes widened in fury, and she pointed an accusing finger straight at Natalie's face. 

"You are nothing more than a helpless orphan who merely rose to the position of Secretary through pity!" Elena shrieked, her voice echoing off the walls. "Know your humble place! You are just a glorified employee acting on behalf of the Chairman!"

She crossed her arms in arrogance.

"The Chairman himself is the real deal, not a foolish secretary who fell for some nobody I discarded without a second thought!" Elena spat out. "I will personally contact the Chairman directly, report your insolence, and strip you of your title immediately!"

She leaned in closer, letting out a loud laugh.

"The Chairman will back me up just as he always has! You will soon be in complete shock when I sign an even bigger contract worth over five billion dollars directly with him, while you fall right back into the broke pauper you used to be!"

Natalie’s cold patience completely snapped, and her eyes flashed with irritation as she raised her hand.

"Throw them out. Immediately," Natalie ordered the security guards.

Hearing those words, Julian panicked, his face turning pale as he rushed toward the desk.

"Secretary Natalie, please! I beg of you!" Julian stammered, grabbing the edge of the desk. "Do not fire me!"

Elena spun around, grabbing Julian's arm with frustration.

"Julian, stop groveling!" Elena snapped angrily. "She is just an ordinary employee working for the Chairman! She doesn't actually possess the immense power people claim she has!"

Julian angrily shoved Elena's hand away from his arm, his eyes wide with terror as he continued pleading with Natalie.

"Please, Secretary Natalie! Listen to me—"

"Silence," Natalie hissed.

She turned on her heel and walked briskly out of the office through the private side door, followed closely by the two security guards. Lucas calmly turned around and followed them out as well.

As Lucas passed through the doorway, Elena pointed after him, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"You coward!" Elena shrieked bitterly. "You're nothing more than a pathetic loser hiding behind a woman's skirt!"

The moment the doors clicked shut, Elena stamped her high heels violently against the floor, screaming in rage.

"I swear with my life, that bitch Natalie is going to pay for humiliating me today!" Elena yelled, her chest heaving.

Seeing her shaking with fury, Julian stepped closer. He took a deep breath, smoothing down his suit, and wrapped his arms smoothly around her waist from behind, pulling her tight against his chest.

"Shh, my love. Calm down," Julian whispered softly into her ear, his voice dripping with false sweetness. "As long as you are with me, nothing bad will ever happen to you. I will protect you."

He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"My uncle is a director close to the Chairman," Julian lied smoothly. "He holds massive influence on the board. He can easily help us contact the Chairman directly and kick that arrogant Natalie out of Sterling Group once and for all."

Elena blinked away her tears, a victorious smile blooming across her face. 

"Really? You can do that?"

"Of course, my queen," Julian murmured, kissing her on her cheek.

"Good. With this, I’m going to kill two birds with one stone!" Elena laughed triumphantly. "Stripping Natalie of her position means getting rid of Lucas. I am going to crush them both for good!" 

Julian wrapped his arms around her, letting out a smile, knowing she had finally walked right into his trap.