A Year To Ruin Him

Naomi

I strutted into the building, feeling like I was walking on air.

I was in a good mood…that's, of course, because I had no idea that my day was about to turn to be ruined.

“Good morning, Miss Sinclair.” The receptionist smiled up at me.

Today was a great day.

I'm a highly sought-after 29-year-old both physically and in the tech world, not to mention that I had a massive contract to seal the morning with a leading firm in the tech industry.

“Hey, Sandra!” I waved back, heading towards the elevator doors.

Once inside, I straightened the hem of my jacket and glanced at my reflection on the doors before the doors pinged open, and I passed through.

Only to walk right into the senior accounting manager of the company, Brian Bloom.

The wide smile on my cheeks faded instantly upon seeing him.

Brian rarely left his ‘suite’ up on the first floor to the lower floors unless he was heading home.

For him to be here meant there was a serious issue.

“In my office,” I say before he can open his mouth.

After I had ushered him in, I closed the door and turned to face him. “What is it?”

“It's Rose,” he said flatly, taking me by surprise.

“Rose, head of Operations?” I said blankly. “What about her?”

He slapped a folder down on the desk. “That!” He spat out, the corners of his brows coming together. “She's cleared out over 70% percent of the company's funds, leaving us practically penniless.”

I nearly had a heart attack there and then. “What?” My voice went up an octave.

Sweet, innocent, and fresh donut giver Rose?

“No, that's not possible.” I tried to deny it, flipping over the folder, only to realize that it was very possible.

“Holy….” My eyes widened as I let out a slew of curse words. “How in the hell is this possible?” I questioned, trying not to have a panic attack.

“Oh, it's very much possible as a bunch of you chose to make her the official holder of the trust.” He spat out.

Fuck.

“Yeah, well, it's not like anyone expected her to wake up one morning and rob us blind.” I tried to sound defensive but all I could hear was someone making excuses.

My legs felt weak, my chest caving in on itself. I rushed to take a seat before I fell flat on my face.

Usually, I had a major amount of money tied up in shares, but there was an opening for an investment in the company, and I decided to invest heavily.

Now, I'm being told that less than a week after I invested, did this happen?

Brian kept talking, ranting about the situation before he eventually left, realizing that the news had kept me in a daze.

My thoughts were all over the place, trying to comprehend how this happened.

With a sigh, I buried my face in my hands, squeezing my eyes shut tightly.

Unbidden, a tear rolled down my cheek, splattering on the gleaming mahogany desk.

I didn't bother to dry my tears as more kept coming.

Aside from the huge financial mistake I made, this company has been my bedrock.

Through working for this company, I got my first job, my first car, and eventually my first house several years later.

I didn't expect that a simple mistake would crumble everything the staff and I have worked so hard for.

Not to tell you more about pushing the company to bankruptcy.

I let a couple of minutes crawl by while I wallowed in self-pity before drying up my tears.

Squaring up my shoulders, I dug through my planner for the day.

For the next couple of hours, I went through several phone calls and conference meetings, basically pleading and asking for help from my contacts in the industry.

After a series of ‘I'll get back to you’, I clicked out and reached out to my best friend, Celeste Vaughan.

“Hey,” I said to the speaker, my voice somber after exchanging the usual pleasantries. “Can we talk?”

She replied in the affirmative and in less than two hours, I'd clocked out of work and was lounging in her backyard.

“I'm so sorry to hear that,” Celeste murmured, sympathetic to the news. I just broke to her, touching my arm in comfort as we lounged on the patio. “Are you okay?”

“No, not really,” I admitted, truthfully letting my guard down. “It just sucks that everything I've worked so hard for was taken by someone in less than a second.”

On my way here, I received an email that the board wanted to call a meeting to dissolve the shares and declare bankruptcy, but I held on, trying to convince them of another alternative.

There has got to be a way to salvage the company.

Not only was I the COO, but I owned 20% of the shares.

Aside from that, I use this company like my baby.

I've groomed it and worked so hard to get to this position over the years that it just feels so pointless to give up.

Plus, I'm not so good at accepting the word ‘no’.

“So what do you want to do because worrying yourself to death isn't going to solve anything?” Celeste asked.

“I need to find a solution.” I groaned shortly before a light bulb went off in my head. “Unless you've got any rich or wealthy friends who would be willing to make an investment in the company?” I tried to sway her in my direction.

In case it wasn't clear before, Celeste comes from old money.

Like, old money.

She has connections as long as my arm and a network of highly connected and wealthy people.

Sometimes, when I think back to our history, I am surprised that we remained friends all my life. I've had this notion that rich people could be snobby, mean, and entitled due to their status, but Celeste proved me wrong.

I mean, don't take this wrongly, but she's still selfish and entitled, but that's because it's been so part of who she was that it's difficult to change.

However, none of her actions came from a place of wickedness.

“Oh, I've got several, but I'm not sure that they are interested in tech. "No offense.” She grimaced, gazing off in the distance. “However, there is one person that can help…although he's not exactly my first choice.” She grimaced at the end of that sentence.

My head shot up so fast, it made my head spin. “Who? Who is it?”

“Julian.” She winced, biting down on her lower lip.

Wait, don't tell me…

“Julian?!” I screeched at the top of my lungs. “You mean Julian Hart?”

The reason why I was so upset is because of who Julian Hart is.

Apart from the fact that he was Celeste's husband - now ex-husband- since they divorced over two years ago, he's also a billionaire playboy. The CEO of one of the largest companies in Los Angeles.

He's also someone I am not on very good terms with because of the last incident we had, which resulted in me angrily tossing a drink on his very expensive suit.

“No, no, no!” I spat out, getting to my feet. “That's crazy, why would I talk to your ex-husband?!”

“Okay, first of all…you need to stop thinking with your heart and start thinking with your head,” Celeste said firmly. “Julian has the financial capacity to assist you out of this current situation.”

“What about the fact that you guys were…you know?” I waved my hand to encompass what I meant. “Won't that be weird?”

“Maybe a little.” She shrugged. “But at the end of the day, your happiness triumphs over a little bit of discomfort. Besides, it's just long enough for him to help you out.”

See, it was moments like these that strengthened the bond of their friendship.

Underneath the vain, entitled, and spoiled surface was a caring woman.

Ecstatic, I jumped into her arms, trying to hold the tears in. “Thank you, thank you so much, Celeste! You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you!”

“You're welcome, after all…what are best friends for?” She raised a glass to take a toast and I happily clinked my glass to hers, happy to have been able to solve a part of that problem.