Chapter 10
The night of the gala came, and Corbin showed up in-God help me-a graphic tee and jean shorts.
Serena at least had some decency to wear a white cocktail dress.
1 should’ve known Corbin was up to something.
He kept whispering to me,
“Word is these ritzy places treat you like trash if you don’t look rich.”
“I wanna see if they’ll let me in like this.”
“If they kick me out, it makes Vortex Tech look bad, right?”
“Perfect moment to play the underdog genius card.”
I nearly choked on air.
This was a formal business gala-not a backyard barbecue.
A button-down would’ve been the bare minimum.
I sighed and waved for Mira to bring him a proper suit.
Corbin sulked, whining,
“I like my T-shirt and shorts.”
“I’m gonna be CEO soon-who’s gonna stop me?”
Mira shot me a helpless look.
I just gave her a wave.
Let him embarrass himself.
Not my face on the line. I smiled through gritted teeth.
Later that night, I was chatting with a few major partners when-of course-Corbin made a scene.
He got kicked into the pool.
Literally.
When they pulled him out, dripping wet and fuming, he shouted, “You messed with the wrong guy! I’m gonna be CEO of Vortex Tech!”
“You’ll be begging to work for me!”
Turns out he’d tried hitting on a celebrity.
Her bodyguard wasn’t having it.
Mira and I slipped away from the drama and quietly sent the actress a gift basket and a few favors to smooth things over.
At this point, Corbin was completely useless.
Serena? Not much better.
All our rivals-companies who hated us-started courting her, offering big bucks for intel on our confidential projects.
And the girl was bold. Said yes to everything.
I saw Corbin had funneled a solid ten million from company accounts.
Serena’s bank balance had shot up by nearly two million.
I turned to Mira.
“It’s time.”
The day Vortex Tech announced we’d be naming a new CEO, Corbin couldn’t hide his glee.
He was practically high-fiving every employee.
The moment they started the ceremony, he charged the stage, grabbed the mic and said,
“Hey everyone, I’m proud to say I’m your new CEO-”
He didn’t even finish the sentence.
The cops burst in.
Shoved him face-down on the stage.
“You’re under investigation for embezzling company funds,” the officer’s voice echoed through the mic.
And just as Corbin was dragged off, Serena got cuffed too.
“Miss Serena, you’re under arrest for selling corporate secrets.”
In the end, I sent both of them straight to prison.
Whether they survive that mess… is their own damn problem.
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the sunrise.
Life’s just getting started.
