Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 264

Clarence was a man entirely devoid of morals—cunning, treacherous, and driven by base greed. The only thing that truly motivated him was the allure of cold, hard cash.

So, the moment Vivienne promised him a fifty percent bonus, he threw himself into the investigation at breakneck speed. Of course, it wasn't a real investigation. He had started with a predetermined conclusion: Willow had slept her way to her position.

From there, it was just a matter of scraping together circumstantial evidence and making massive leaps in logic. Finally, he arrived at the exact result he wanted. It was true—she had relied on a man to get ahead. And that man was none other than Silas Thorne's own executive assistant, Arthur Vance.

When he delivered the news to Vivienne, she was ecstatic. The outcome was far better than anything she could have hoped for.

Not only had Willow made massive professional blunders, but she had also slept her way into the job. Vivienne was practically vibrating with anticipation, desperate to see the look on Willow's face when the truth was dragged out into the light.

"Excellent work," Vivienne said, sliding a sleek bank card across the table. She was still fully disguised behind her hat and sunglasses. "Here's the thirty percent advance we agreed on. The rest will be wired the moment the job is done."

"Thank you, Ms. S—"

Clarence grinned greedily, reaching for the card, but Vivienne slammed her hand down, pinning it to the table. "When does this happen?"

"Very soon. I just need the right moment."

Vivienne had zero patience left. "Give me a concrete date."

Clarence thought frantically, then grit his teeth. "This Friday. There's a Strategic Planning Session on Friday. Every key player involved in the project will be there, including your people. It's the perfect stage to drop the bomb."

Vivienne finally released the card. "Don't disappoint me."

"Just CC me on the emails. I don't have the time to micromanage every detail." Julian's hostility toward Willow was bleeding into his attitude toward the entire project.

"But this is different. It's the first major strategy meeting of the year. They're setting the entire direction of the project. If you aren't there, I'm just going to feel completely anxious."

Julian didn't immediately reject the idea this time, though he remained silent.

Vivienne pressed her advantage. "Julian, please just come with me. Think of it as giving me moral support, okay? If you really don't want to talk, you can sit there and not say a single word. Is that fair?"

"Please. Between the project and taking care of Toby, I'm exhausted. My head has been all over the place lately. I'm terrified I'll say the wrong thing and jeopardize the whole deal. What would I do then?"