Ten minutes before the promotion review, I went to get the USB drive my fiancé was holding for me. Instead, he told me he'd already handed my project files over to Chloe. His "best friend." “Marceline, I gave your materials to Chloe. Let her have the director position.” For a second, I thought I’d misheard him. “Chloe's been here three months. She doesn't even know the basics of our project workflow.” My fiancé, Eamon didn’t flinch, as if this was the most reasonable thing in the world. “That’s why she needs it more. Marceline, don’t make this difficult.” “I already promised her. If you go up there and present now, she'll blame me.” I laughed. He had no idea. My own startup closed its Series A last week. We're valued at over twenty million dollars. The only reason I was even here today was to pave the way for him. Guess I don't need to anymore. ... A few minutes later, Eamon strode over and snatched the USB drive from my hand. “Marceline, don’t go on stage today. Give Chloe the chance.” “Her father can bring the company a two-million-dollar investment. You’ll have other opportunities.” When he finished, he shoved my USB drive into his pocket as if it were his own. I stared at him. “What did you just say?” “I said, let Chloe go up.” “She’s only been here three months. She hasn’t even been through a full project cycle.” Eamon frowned. “Her father made it very clear. As long as Chloe is promoted to director, that investment gets signed immediately. This is important to the company.” “So you want me to step aside?” “Don’t make it sound so ugly.” He looked at me, his eyes hard. “I’m asking you to think about the good of the company.” I stared at him. We had been together for seven years. Our wedding date was set. But in that moment, for the first time, he felt like a complete stranger. Inside the conference room, our colleagues were taking their seats. Chloe was in the front row.......
