'I Do' For Revenge
Chapter 201: I’m Not Letting You Go
CHAPTER 201: I’M NOT LETTING YOU GO
~LAYLA~
"Meeting adjourned," I said.
The board members gather ed their papers and filed out quickly, avoiding eye contact. William was t he last to leave, and he paused at the door.
"You’re tougher th an I thought," he said to me quietly.
"I’m exactly as tough as I need to be," I replied, meeting his gaze with a tri umphant smile.
He nodde d and left.
I walked out of the boa rdroom, feeling the adrenaline finally starting to ebb. My hands were shaking slightly now that it was over. Tye fell into step besi de me.
"That wa s bru tal," he said admiringly. "Scotfield looked like he needed a defibrillator."
"He needed a reminder," I said. "Sometimes people forget who’s really in charge." I took a deep breath. "Where is s he?"
"Conference Room B," Tye said. "She’s been waiting for an hour. Should I stay?"
I didn’t need t o mention who I was talking about, he alread y knew. Tye had told me that he heard from a staff member t hat Helena was packing up her table, saying she was leaving the company. I had asked him to make her wait so I could see her myself
"No," I said. "This is private."
I nodded and turned the corner, pushing open the door to the sma ller conference room.
Helena was sitting at the table. There was a cardboard box in front of her filled with personal items: a framed photo, a coffee mug, and a desk plant. She looked small in the large room. When she saw me, she jumped to her feet.
"Mrs. O’Brien!" she s que aked. "I... I pack ed up my desk. I just wanted to drop off my security badge and keys. I won’t take u p any more of your t ime."
I closed the door behind me and walked over to her. She l ooked terrified, like she was waiting for the other shoe to dro p.
"Sit down, Helena," I said gently.
She sank back into the chair, clu tching her h ands in her lap. "I re ally am sorry, Mrs. O’Brien. I know I caused all of this. I know the bomb wa s my fault. I know I should go to jail too. I’ll testify if you need me to. I’ll do whateve r..."
"You aren’t go ing to j ail," I said, sitting in the chair nex t to her, ignoring the barrier of the table. "And you aren’t quitting."
Helena blinked. "What?"
"I need an assistant," I said. "A real one. Someone I can t rust. S omeone who can keep a secret. Someone who is loyal to me, not to the Board, not to consultants, and certainly not to people like Henry."
"But... I betrayed you," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I let that bomb into the building. I almost killed Mr. O’Brien, your husband. I...."
"You didn’t betray me," I corrected firmly. "You were manipulated by a professional criminal. And when it mattered, when you had a choice, you saved us . You gave us the drive. You ri sked everything to do the right thing. You saved my husband’s company. There’s no way I’m letting yo u go."
Before she could say anything, I reached into my pocket and pulled out an envelo pe.
"I know how it is raising Jason and Ryan all alone ," I said. "I know Henry wasn’t helping you financially, despite all his money. I know you’ve been struggling."
Helena looked down, tears welling in her eyes. "I manage."
"You shouldn’t have to just ’manage,’" I said, sli ding the envelope towa rd he r. "Open it."
"What is this?" she asked, her voice trembling as she picked up the envelope.
"It’s a scholarship fund," I s aid. "From New Horizons Foundation, the organisation I told you I was p lanning to start back then. I mean, we haven’t officially launch ed yet, but we wi ll. But this covers full tuition, books, uniforms, ev erything Jason and Ryan will ever need from now till any level of education they choose to pursue."
Helena stared at the envelope. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She pulled out the letter and read it, her eyes widening.
"Ma’am," she choked out finally. "I... I can’t take this. It’s too much. This is... this is hundreds of thousands of dollars."
"It’s not charity , Helena," I said firmly. "It’s an investment. You are the sole p rovi der for two boys. I need my Executive Assistant to be focused on work, not worrying about how she’s going to pay for textboo ks or heating bills or whether her brothers will have opportunities."
I put my hand over hers.
"We look after our own," I said, echoin g the words Axel had told me sometime ago. "And like it or not, you’re one of us now. Y ou’re family."
Helena looked at me, tea rs spilling over her cheeks. She didn’t say anything. She just lunged forwar d a nd hugged me.
It wasn’t a profes siona l hug. It w as messy and desperate and real. I hesitated for a fraction of a second, then hugged her back, patting her hair gently.
"Thank you," she sobbed into my shoulder. "Thank you, t hank you. I don’t know what to say ."
" You’re w elcome," I whispered. "Now pull yourself together. You’re my Executiv e Assistant now. You need to look the part."
She pulled back, laughing through her tears, wiping her face. "Yes, ma’am. I can do that."
"Good," I said, standing up. "Now, I heard you have a date with our head of security, hmm?"
She pulled back furth er and blushed furiously. "It’s not a date. It’s just dinner. Profess ional dinner. Between colleagues."
"Hmm," I said, a smile playing on my lips. "Professional dinner. I s that what we’re calling it?"
"Mrs. O’Brien..."
"Layla," I corrected. "Call me Layla when it’s just us."
"Layla," she sai d, s till blushing. "It’s really not..."
"Whatever you say, Helena," I said, walking toward the door. "Just make sure you wear something nice. Tye’s picking somewhere fancy. And for God’s sake, let him pay. His ego needs it."
I opene d the doo r an d paused, looking back at her.
"Welcome to the team, Helena. Don’t make me regret this."
"I won’t," she said, standing up straighter. "I promise."
I walked o ut, lett ing the door close behind me.