Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 11

When she pushed the door open and walked in, Xandra Moore was holding her interview draft, frowning deeply.

"Willa, I read the draft. It's well written," Xandra said, looking up. "But Mr. Yates's assistant just called. He said we can't use this piece. They're pulling it."

"Why? If there are any factual errors, we can revise them..."

Xandra shook her head, cutting her off. "They claimed there were some... personal misunderstandings during the interview that compromised the objectivity of the content. Therefore, they refused to authorize its publication."

"Personal misunderstandings?" Willa froze, her face pale with confusion.

Xandra gave her a meaningful look. "Willa, did you... say the wrong thing and offend Mr. Yates?"

Willa opened her mouth, unable to defend herself.

What could she even say?

Could she tell her boss that she hadn't said a single word out of line, and that Mr. Yates was actually her ex-boyfriend who was now using his power for malicious revenge?

She had absolutely nothing to say.

"It's okay. There will be other opportunities," Xandra softened her tone to comfort her.

Willa forced a strained smile. "Yeah, I understand. Thank you, Xandra."

Walking out of the office, she returned to her cubicle like a ghost, staring blankly at her computer screen without absorbing a single word.

To say she wasn't devastated would be a lie.

She had polished this exclusive piece over and over, preparing for so long that even Xandra had praised it, only for it all to amount to nothing.

What she expected even less was that Randal's retaliation would go much further than this. He clearly wanted to completely block every single path forward for her.

During the weekly staff meeting a few days later, Xandra dropped a massive bombshell in front of everyone.

"Listen up, everyone. We just got a notice from upper management. The entire finance interview column is being temporarily suspended."

"What?"

"Why the sudden suspension?"

...

The room instantly erupted into chaos, with murmurs and complaints echoing everywhere.

She followed Xandra into the office.

After sitting down, Xandra stayed silent for a long moment before finally speaking. "Willa, you can probably guess what this is all about, right?"

Willa kept her head down, remaining completely silent.

Xandra's voice grew heavy. "Upper management is already breathing down my neck. They said if this isn't handled properly, we won't just lose the column—the entire finance department might..."

She didn't finish the sentence, opting for a heavy sigh instead. "I've subtly reached out to Mr. Yates's people. There's still room to turn this around."

Willa understood perfectly, yet she still didn't utter a word.

Faintly displeased, Xandra's tone sharpened. "I don't know exactly what kind of bad blood you have with Mr. Yates, but sometimes, pride really isn't that important. Go home and think it over."

Over the next two days, the atmosphere in the finance department plummeted to rock bottom. Some colleagues had already started transferring to other teams, and the way everyone looked at her had shifted, as if she were the sole culprit responsible for ruining their livelihoods.

After enduring it for two days, Willa finally pulled out her phone and unblocked the number she had previously blacklisted.

[Mr. Yates, can we talk?]

The message sent, but it sank like a stone in the ocean.