Eight Years of Maybe One Day of I Do—Bride Swapped Deal With It novel Chapter 75

Chapter 5

Silas’s glass tipped over on the table.

Liquid soaked the dress of the woman sitting next to him. He didn’t even try to set it upright.

“What the hell!”

The woman shot him an annoyed look, got up, and left to change.

But he just let the cold liquid drip onto the floor. Started muttering to himself like he’d lost it.

“No way. No way…”

“The chairman’s last name is Ashford…”

GM at the head of the table smiled calmly and announced:

“Some of you might not know-our Director of Operations at the domestic office, Reagan Brennan, is Chairman Ashford’s only daughter.”

Besides a few top execs from headquarters, most people had no idea. They all turned to look at me, shocked.

Silas’s head dropped completely. Looked like he’d been punched in the gut.

“Actually, today’s going-away party isn’t just about choosing a successor. There’s another big announcement we need to make.”

“Starting next month, Director Brennan will be transferring back to headquarters. She’ll officially become VP.”

He said “transferring back,” not “promoted.”

And besides Silas-who was still completely out of it—and Cora, who kept her head down, everyone else looked totally normal. No one objected.

Truth was, last summer Dad had already brought this up. Wanted me to come straight back to headquarters.

“I heard from Chairman Ashford that you insisted on staying at the domestic office. Wanted to close that major deal before coming back.”

The GM raised his glass to me, clearly pleased.

“Having the drive to stay rooted there for seven years, starting from the bottom and still doing this well-that’s what I’d expect from Chairman Ashford’s daughter.”

Once he raised his glass, everyone else at the table-all these old pros who knew how the game worked-started piling on the praise.

“Like father, like daughter! If I had a daughter this talented, I’d be grinning in my sleep!”

“Wait, Director Brennan was the one who landed that hundred-billion-dollar smart platform contract? No wonder. I was wondering where the domestic office found talent good enough to outshine headquarters.”

Everyone kept praising me, and the Tech Director nodded with a smile.

“In that case, I’m sure Director Brennan’s pick won’t be wrong.”

“May I ask-who’s been selected?”

10.03

I smiled, drained my wine, and slowly said:

“Based on the evaluation, the final choice is Tech VP Thea Blake.”

Thea, sitting across from Silas, instantly looked up. Totally shocked.

Earlier, watching Silas chat it up with the outgoing director, she’d already written herself off as cannon fodder. Never imagined this prize would land in her lap.

Silas sat rigid in his chair. Face ashen.

“We compared the track records of both VPS-Silas and Thea-along with project experience and various metrics. Ultimately, we determined Thea was better suited for the position.”

I kept my tone even.

“I’ve already submitted the detailed evaluation to headquarters management. You’re all welcome to review it again.”

“If you disagree, feel free to speak up. We can discuss further.”

The executives nodded in satisfaction. The Tech Director chuckled knowingly.

“I already reviewed that report. Thea is definitely the better fit.”

He patted the shell-shocked Silas on the shoulder.

“You’re not bad either, Silas. But you need more experience.”

“I looked at the proposal headquarters sent over before. Both you and Thea gave solid feedback. But clearly, her design was more practical and actionable.”

“You’re still young. Innovation is great, but when it comes to real-world application, you’re still lacking.”

Normally, that would’ve been an easy way out. Even some solid advice. At minimum, Silas should’ve thanked him.

But Silas just sat there like a hollow shell. Face dark. No response.

Thea, on the other hand, quickly stepped in to smooth things over. Said a few gracious words. Even made a point to thank me.

The mood lightened. Dinner went on as usual.

But in the minds of these headquarters veterans, Silas had completely made himself look overly emotional. Unprofessional.

Still, besides sulking, Silas really couldn’t say anything.

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