Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 313

The office door clicked shut softly. The editor-in-chief leaned against the edge of his desk, arms crossed, his expression unreadable and conflicted.

"Willa, I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. Upper management called. They want you to work from home for a while, just until the public outcry dies down."

He sighed heavily, pulling an envelope from his drawer and handing it to her. "This is from the company, a stipend to cover you during this time. The company has its own pressures to deal with."

Willa remained perfectly calm. "I understand, Boss. I don't need the stipend. I'll head out now."

While she was packing her things, Lana seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Leaning against the cubicle partition, she sneered, "Wow, leaving already? I thought your skin was thick enough to tough it out until the end."

Willa ignored her.

Seeing her silence, Lana pushed even harder. "You really do have some skills, Willa, climbing into the beds of the rich. It's a shame you took a wrong turn. You were bound to crash and burn sooner or later."

Willa was in the middle of slipping her thermos into her bag. At Lana's comment, her fingers paused halfway through pulling the zipper.

She tossed the bag back onto the desk and turned to face the aggressive woman. With a subtle curl of her lips, she asked calmly, "Lana, how many years have you been at this company?"

Lana blinked, answering instinctively, "Two years. Why?"

Willa nodded. "Two years on the job, and you're still stuck doing basic data entry. Your professional skills can't even compare to our new intern, Chloe. If anyone here is truly impressive, it's you."

The smirk slid right off Lana's face. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You've been at Vantage Media for two years and haven't produced a single decent exclusive. Instead of wasting time making snide remarks, you should probably figure out how to be better at your job."

Someone nearby let out a stifled laugh. Lana's face flushed dark with humiliation.

Willa picked her bag back up and walked past Lana, dropping one last careless remark. "Oh, by the way, keep an eye out for my lawyer's letter."

Sophie waved frantically at her, shouting something that was completely drowned out by the traffic.

Willa walked over and greeted them first. "Corbin, sorry for bothering you again."

Corbin shook his head and pulled open the rear door. "Get in. Let's head back first."

Willa slid into the seat. Sophie scrambled in from the other side, pressing close to her and chattering away. "Willa, don't worry about the job. I'll have Corbin find you a better one."

Corbin glanced at her through the rearview mirror, speaking in a measured tone. "Sophie is right."

Warmth bloomed in Willa's chest. She nodded. "Thank you, Corbin. I'll see how things play out first."

The car fell quiet for a moment before Sophie suddenly dropped her playful demeanor, her tone turning dead serious.