The Billionaire's Mistake

MISTAKE 250

Chapter 250: Issues at work

Back home, Hazel slept till morning. When she woke up she prepared for work.

She donned one of her favorite crisp red pant suits and ran a brush through her glossy chestnut tresses. By the time she appraised herself in the steamy mirror, Hazel saw only a shadow of the pale, drawn woman from the previous night. Today she looked every inch the consummate professional she used to be; sharp, confident, commanding.

This was her armor, her personal suit of psychological mail that she would don to shield herself from the callous blows of this new, hazardous world.

After locking up her fortress apartment, Hazel strode toward the lobby's exit with her head held high. Only to come up short at the sight of two conspicuously large men loitering by the front stoop.

Her sense of triumphant poise wavered as their eyes tracked her emergence from the building, burnt umber irises devoid of expression. Marcus's sentinels were already in place, grim-faced and inescapable. "Ms. Gra

Greyson," one rumbled by way of greeting, the seemingly filled with respect.

Hazel swallowed hard, feeling the need to curse.

She had thought they were long gone.

Hazel could not believe they had been hear this long But they returned by morning. She held her tongue, acutely aware that what ever she said would mostly likely make its way back into Marcus Green's ears. She silently followed them down stairs and they opened the car door for her and she got in.

Hazel sat in the back of the slick black car, staring blankly out the window as Marcus's men drove her to the office. Her body was still slightly sore from last night's events, but her mind raced with how she would face her colleagues after brutally taking down her superior Mr. Reeds and those despicable Hug Tech investors.

She had defended herself, that much was certain. But would everyone else see it that way? Or would they view her as some sort of unhinged maniac, capable of inexplicable violence?

building, Hazel straightened her spine and set her jaw. No matter what sort of rumors or gossip was swirling, she would not cower or shrink away. If anything, her actions last night proved her strength in the face of horrible mistreatment. Hazel strode through the lobby towards

she was greeted with hushed "good mornings"

simply gave the briefest of nods in return, standing ramrod straight

thick with tension. Hazel's colleagues not-so-surreptitiously stopped their conversations and activities as she strode. towards her desk. Even Lucy, her usual snarky professional rival,

Hazel passed by.

at her workstation, Hazel's eyes scanned the wary faces all

asked, her tone laced with mild impatience. "If you all have

opened their mouths as if to respond before seeming to think better of it.

computer. She figured if there was some wild rumor circulating about

investors in what appeared to be a brutal beating. The report claimed the victims were

fight erupted, only for her to later emerge

face flush crimson as she read the vivid, overblown account. While the broad strokes were factual, the article made her sound

she saw that the company forum was already ablaze with comments and speculation

I'm almost jealous I wasn't there

we need to hire this mystery woman to teach

cheering her actions towards the abusive Reeds. But she was still uneasy

aggressor.

that the men were barely conscious. She had not fought in a while and the fight last night was

sheer sensationalism surrounding her made Hazel

people were joking about, just a woman

the forum, Hazel couldn't shake the feeling that her previously under-the-radar life at the office was now permanently shattered. No longer could she simply blend in, head down, crunching numbers and data without any hoopla or fanfare. For better or worse, Hazel had stepped into a brilliant new spotlight, the formerly mousy and forgettable data analyst reborn as a fierce, fearsome woman

again. And she was right. It