Zachary slumped into his mother’s office, still seething from what happened in the lobby.
Savannah looked up from her desk with a calm expression.
“You’re early. I thought you were meeting me for lunch.”
“I ran into that girl,” he said, dropping onto the leather couch and crossing his arms.
“The Bennett girl? The one whose brother…”
“Aurora,” Savannah said, pausing from what she was writing.
“Yes, she was in the lobby, acting like she owns the damn place.” Zachary’s jaw tightened.
“I confronted her and told her that I knew what she was doing here.”
“And what is she doing here?” Savannah raised a brow.
“Revenge, obviously.” He leaned forward in his seat.
“She’s trying to get close to Dad and Cassian because she wants to destroy us from the inside.”
Savannah studied him for a long moment before she set her pen down.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Zachary recounted the confrontation, making sure to exaggerate Aurora’s behavior while presenting himself as the victim.
He then claimed that she insulted him first, threatened him, and then tried to slap him.
He said Jaxson had appeared out of nowhere and attacked him without provocation.
Jaxson even dared to defend her.
Zachary said aggressively, like she was his girlfriend or something.
Savannah’s brows rose.
“Jaxson Smith?”
“Yes, Cassian’s lapdog.” Zachary sneered.
“He kicked me in the shin and then threatened me, said that Cassian would be angry if he found out I touched her.”
“Did you touch her?” Savannah asked after a tense moment.
Zachary hesitated.
“I…” He paused.
“Well, I grabbed her wrist only because she was going to slap me.”
“So you restrained her?” Savannah offered.
“Exactly.”
Savannah leaned back in her seat with an unreadable expression.
“Did you actually see anything inappropriate between Jaxson and Aurora? Anything that could be romantic at all?”
“What? No.” Zachary frowned.
“But why else would he—”
“So you don’t have any proof.”
“Well, I don’t need proof. The way he looked at her is evidence enough,”
“If you are going to accuse Jaxson of sleeping with Aurora, then you need concrete evidence,” Savannah said sharply.
“Fine.” Zachary slumped back.
“But something is going on there, I just know it.”
Jaxson was one of the few people Cassian trusted completely.
If Cassian began to question Jaxson’s loyalty, it could weaken their relationship and weaken Cassian.
But if they tried to push it aggressively, Cassian would know something was up.
“Don’t spread this yet,” she said finally.
“If you are going to use it, then you need to be sure. you will need actual proof.”
“And how am I supposed to get proof?”
“Just leave that to me.”
Savannah stood and walked around her desk.
“In the meantime, you will be starting at the company on Monday under Aurora.”
“You can’t be serious.” Zachary’s fists twisted.
“I am completely serious.”
“She hates me. She’s going to make me look incompetent and—”
“She has no choice but to do exactly what I tell her to do,” Savannah said coldly.
“You’re a Black. You shouldn’t let an ordinary employee humiliate you. Make sure you report to work, follow her instructions, and do everything she asks until we have a reason to challenge her authority.”
Zachary opened his mouth to argue, but he closed it when he saw the look in his mother’s eyes.
“Fine,” he grunted out.
“Good.” Savannah returned to her desk.
“Now go home and get some rest. Monday is going to be a long day.”
On Monday morning, Aurora had arrived at the office at 7:00 a.m. sharp.
She had spent the weekend preparing this training schedule, divided everything into categories for easier guidance, and created a performance record, checklist of activities and a log for every instruction that she would give.
By 8:00, she was at her desk, going through the materials one last time.
Zachary was supposed to arrive by 9:00, but 9:00 came and went with no signs of him.
Aurora then called his office, but received no answer.
She then sent a professional email.
Zachary, you are scheduled to meet at 9:00 a.m.
Please let me know when you will be available.
She waited and waited, and at 10:15, the door was finally pushed open, and Zachary strolled in like he owned all the time in the world.
He didn’t offer an apology or explanation; he just dropped into the chair across from her desk, stretching his legs out like he owned the place.
“You’re late,” Aurora pointed out.
“There was traffic.”
“That is not enough of an excuse.”
“Well, I overslept.” Zachary shrugged.
Aurora’s jaw tightened, but she just stared and let it go.
She pulled out the training materials and set them on the desk, turning them.
“Let’s begin. I’ve prepared a schedule for your first week. We’ll start with an overview of the company structure and then move on to project management basics.”
Zachary looked at the papers and then up at her. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Then he snorted a mocking laugh.
“You’re seriously expecting to take orders from you?”
Aurora met his gaze.
“I expect you to do the job you were employed to do, Your mother asked me to mentor you, which is what I’m simply doing.”
“She did that because she wanted to humiliate me,” Zachary snorted, leaning forward.
“And you’re going along with it because you want revenge for your brother.”
“I’m only doing my job,” Aurora said steadily.
“Now, pick up the material and let’s start with the company overview.”
Zachary didn’t move.
“I don’t take orders from people like you.”
“People like me?” Aurora raised a brow.
“You know what I mean.” He smirked.
“You’re nothing but a sales clerk who got lucky. What makes you think you’re better than me? That you can teach me something?”
Aurora scoffed, setting her pen down.
“Let me tell you what I think. I think you’ve never worked a day in your life. I think you’ve spent your entire existence mooching off of your family’s money and name. And I think the only reason you’re here is because Savannah wants to keep an eye on you.”
She paused, letting her words sink in.
“And I think that you’re terrified that everyone in this building knows about it.”
Zachary’s face flushed red.
His fists clenched on the table, and he looked like he was about to grab Aurora again.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“There’s nothing to know about you. You are as shallow as they come.”
Zachary stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor with a sharp sound.
“Do you have a death wish?”
“Not really.” Aurora picked up her pen.
“Now sit down, you have a lot of work to do.”
Zachary just stood there, his hands clenched into fists by his sides.
For a moment, she thought he might do something stupid, something that wouldrequire her to have him removed, but then he sat down.
He didn’t pick up the material or open the folder, just sat there glaring at her.
Aurora ignored him, swiping through her tablet.
“Chapter one,” she said, “company history. Founded in 1987 by Silas Black. Originally a shipping company, then expanded into real estate in 1995, and acquired the hotel division in 2005.”
She looked up at him through her silence.
“Are you paying attention?”
Zachary didn’t answer.
This prompted Aurora to make a note in her performance log.
10:22 a.m, Zachary Black arrived 1 hour and 22 minutes late, did not offer an apology, refused to engage with training materials, and demonstrated an unprofessional attitude.
She looked back at him with a smile.
“Let’s try again.”