Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right by Rosie Steppe

Chapter 173

Chapter 173

I chuckled and nodded. "Just trying to catch up on all the company stuff as fast as I can."

"I get it, but you're coming in way too early. You know we don't do overtime, right?" Ron joked. I smiled a little. "Yeah, it's voluntary."

"That's why you're a department head. If everyone was as dedicated as you, OceanixCorp would be unstoppable." His flattery was almost laughable, but with Ron, it was hard to tell if he was joking or serious, so I never really took it to heart.

"But seriously," he added, his tone shifting, "the company can't run on your back alone. I've noticed how hard you've been working, and I've already let the higher-ups know. The boss said no more of this early morning routine. If you burn out, it'd be a real loss for the company."

So, just like that, Ron had made sure I couldn't sneak in those early hours anymore.

But that was fine. I didn't feel the need to dodge Hayden anymore. He hadn't left breakfast at my door for the past few days, so I figured he'd finally gotten the hint.

"I heard you've got a big client coming in today?" Ron asked, switching gears.

"Yeah, they're coming at ten. Just about an hour from now," I said, flashing a quick smile. "Mr. Shane, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish prepping.

said, raising

and went over all the materials one more time. By 9:50, I was already in the conference room, making

resources Jace had snatched from me recently-and it'd boost our numbers a few percentage points, which

moment I saw who it

It was Jace.

was supposed to negotiate with wasn't RiverwaveCorp,

expression right away but just smiled like he had all the

it. I just stared at him, feeling my anger flare. The smug look on his face, the

just to mess with me?" "Business, obviously. What else would I be

25 BONUS

Chapter 173

on the terms of the deal," I said, knowing full well he had an agenda. But still, I went through the motions, keeping it professional,

already gone over the details of this new company, EverRise Energy. It was a young startup, only. two years

obvious Jace wasn't putting all his eggs in the RiverwaveCorp basket. And it wasn't hard to see why -RiverwaveCorp was his father's legacy, and Wayne always had a say in things. Jace played along smoothly, agreeing to every single one of my terms without

alarms in my head. There was no

the contract, he pulled me aside and said, "Rea, why are you wasting your time as a small department director at this tiny company?" I