The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 339

Chapter 249-Breaking the Board. Part 2

Chapter 249: Breaking the Board, Part 2.

Alexander

Most people’s mistake is reacting; that’s never been mine. I don’t react, observe… and then adjust.

The next morning, I arrived before everyone else. The building was still half-awake, with that imperfect silence of construction sites where there’s always someone moving around somewhere invisible. Coffee in hand, clear agenda. And a decision made.

I wasn’t going to stop the project; I’m not an idiot. But I was going to control it, and that’s different.

“I want all the permit reports on my desk in thirty minutes.”

The team looked at me with that mixture of respect and tension that always appears when I stop being cordial.

“All of them?” one of them asked.

“All of them.” I didn’t repeat myself, I didn’t explain… I didn’t soften the blow.

Thirty minutes later, I had an organized stack in front of me. Signatures, dates, emails. Partial approvals, observations, and errors. Some real, others… precisely placed.

Howard arrived fifteen minutes late. It’s not a big deal, but in this context… it’s enough.

He came in with his folder under his arm, greeting me normally.

“Good morning.”

I didn’t respond immediately; I kept reviewing a document.

“Sit down.”

My tone left no room for interpretation; he did.

Clara hadn’t arrived yet. Perfect.

“Explain this to me.”

I slipped a document toward him; he took it and reviewed it.

He frowned.

“This… this wasn’t like this.”

“Wasn’t it?”

“No.”

He looked up at me, confused. Genuinely confused.

“There’s a change in the technical observation here. I didn’t authorize this.”

Chapter 249-Breaking the Board, Part 2

I watched him silently for a few seconds. Measuring.

“So someone did it for you.”

“No…” he shook his head, “that doesn’t make sense.”

“None of this is on it,” I replied calmly.

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“Mr. Alexander, I reviewed all of this before sending it.”

“Then explain to me why it’s wrong.”

+25 Points

Silence. The guy had no answer. Because there isn’t one when the mistake isn’t yours… but it has your

name on it.

Clara walked in at that moment.

“What’s going on?”

I didn’t raise my voice, I didn’t make a scene.

“We’re checking for inconsistencies.”

She came over, took the document. She read it and then looked at Howard.

“Is this yours?”

“Yes, but it’s not the way I left it.”

Clara frowned.

“Howard…”

“I didn’t change it,” he insisted.

I leaned back in my chair, silent… I let the tension do its work.

“This is delaying everything,” I added.

Clara closed the folder.

“I need a clear explanation.”

Howard looked at her, then at me. And that’s when I saw it. That moment, when someone starts to feel

cornered.

“I don’t know what happened,” he finally said. “But I can review it again.”

I shook my head.

“Were already reviewing it. Pause. “Now we need solutions.”

Clara was silent for a few seconds, thinking, evaluating.

Chapter 249-Breaking the Board, Part 2

“We’re going to do this,” she finally said. “A complete review of Block C. Line by line.”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

“And I want traceability of every change.”

She looked at Howard.

“Everything.”

Yes.”

His voice was no longer firm, it was… defensive, perfect.

25 Pain

The meeting adjourned with clear instructions, and with a crack open. Not a big one, but enough. Hours later, Clara and I were reviewing the progress again in a smaller room. More private, quieter.

“I don’t like this,” she said.

“Me neither.”

“Howard has never had problems like this.”

“People change.”

She looked at me.

“Or is someone making them change?”

I held her gaze.

That’s a possibility too.”

Silence.

“I think someone is interfering.”

I didn’t lie. I just… didn’t point in the right direction. Clara paced the room, lost in thought

“This can’t be delayed any longer.”

“It won’t be delayed.”

“It already is.”

“We’re keeping an eye on it.”

She turned to me.

“Are you keeping an eye on it?”

1 smiled slightly.

“Someone has to.”

ľ

Chapter 249-Breaking the Board, Part 2

25 Posts

She stared at me a few seconds longer than necessary, as if trying to see something deeper. Something I wasn’t showing her… And wouldn’t. Not yet.

“I trust you,” she finally said.

There it was again, that word. Trust. Always so useful.

“I know.”

“Don’t let me down.”

I shook my head.

“I won’t.” But in my mind… the sentence finished itself… Not like you.

That afternoon, while the team continued fixing bugs, I stepped out of the building for a moment. I needed air, not because of stress. For clarity. I lit a cigarette, not something I do often. But there are times, and this was one of them. I thought about Hale, the meeting, Clara… Ethan. Everything fit together too well to be a coincidence, and then I confirmed it within myself… This wasn’t just a business decision, it was a purge, a reconfiguration. And I was the inconvenient element.

I smiled… Because if there’s one thing I know how to do… it’s survive in systems that try to expel me.

I stubbed out my cigarette, went back to the building. And before going inside, I made a final decision.

Yes, I was going to make Clara understand something essential: you can’t build something great… by eliminating the person who held its foundation.

That night, when we returned to the hotel, we ran into each other in the elevator… Just the two of us. Closed, silent space. Her hair was loose, she looked tired, beautiful.

“Long day,” she said.

“Yes.”

“But we’re making progress.”

I looked at her.

“Our way.”

She smiled slightly.

“Always our way.”

The doors opened, and we went outside. We walked together down the hall, and before she reached her room, I called her name.

“Clara.”

She turned around.

“Yes?”

I took a step closer, not too close. But close enough.

Chapter 249-Breaking the Board, Part 2

“This…” I gestured generally-the project, the trip, everything-“isn’t easy.”

“It never has been.”

“And not everyone can handle it.”

Silence.

“I can.”

I held her gaze.

“I always have.”

She didn’t answer right away, but she understood. She nodded slightly.

“I know.”

I smiled.

“Good.”

+25 Points

She turned, went into her room, and I stood there for another second. Thinking, gauging. Because this wasn’t just business anymore, or just desire. It was positioning. And the game… was just beginning.

Comments

LUCK/DRAW >

Vote

274