What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 186

He never imagined it was a hand-me-down from Kaia, nor could he have predicted that Kaia's staff would run their mouths and use it to publicly humiliate Noelle.

Thinking about Kaia's rebellious, lone-wolf behavior lately, Finnian wondered if she was weaponizing her resentment toward him to attack Noelle.

Finnian turned around, stubbed out his cigarette, and picked up his desk phone. "Tell Kaia to come to my office."

Half an hour later, Kaia knocked and walked in.

Dressed in a sleek black cashmere coat over a beige turtleneck, she looked effortlessly elegant and completely unbothered.

She walked straight up to his desk and stood there, waiting for him to speak.

"You knew I was going to call you in?" Finnian frowned, seeing how calm and unsurprised she looked.

Kaia kept her tone neutral. "If you have something to say, Mr. Sanders, say it."

"I heard your assistant got into a screaming match at Aethelstan over Noelle's magazine cover. Are you aware of this?"

Kaia's eyes flickered. It was precisely because she was aware of it that she knew Finnian would come knocking.

"I'm not sure what you're referring to. If it's just idle workplace gossip, I think HR or Administration would be much better equipped to handle it."

Kaia had no interest in turning this into a personal battle, cleanly deflecting it back to corporate protocol.

Finnian's expression darkened. He could hear the deliberate distance and evasion in her voice.

"You knew about this. Did you condone it?" Finnian demanded, staring directly into her eyes.

Kaia looked down at the desk, her voice perfectly even. "My assistant spoke the truth. It didn't require my permission."

"Kaia!" Finnian snapped, his voice rising. "You think this is just water cooler gossip? This affects Noelle's reputation and the relationship between our two companies."

Kaia paused.

Right. In Finnian's eyes, Noelle was a fragile flower who couldn't be allowed to suffer the slightest indignity.

"Understood. I'll make sure my staff watches their tone. But please pass a message to Ms. Lawrence for me: sometimes, facing reality isn't a crime."

"Kaia, have your assistant issue a public apology," Finnian demanded, his voice thick with frustration.

Kaia's eyes turned icy, and the temperature in the office seemed to drop below freezing.

Kaia let out a cold laugh. At the end of the day, Finnian couldn't bear to let Noelle face the music. He would always choose to shield her.

"I heard you loud and clear, Mr. Sanders." Kaia turned on her heel, opened the door, and walked out.

Back on the R&D floor at Concordia, Kaia's face was still tense.

But the relentless mountain of work forced her to keep moving without a moment to catch her breath.

Around 5:00 PM, as the workday was winding down, Kaia got a call from her mom, Jane. She told Kaia that she and her husband had picked Brynlee up and brought her over for dinner, and told Kaia to come straight there after work.

Kaia hung up the phone and looked up to see a tall figure leaning casually in her doorway.

Seeing she was off the phone, Silas Sanders strolled in, tossing his phone lightly from hand to hand.

His signature charming eyes crinkled with a lazy smile. "Done for the day?"

Kaia nodded. "Just have to finish a couple of summary reports and I'm out."

"Nice." Silas had actually been working non-stop himself, having just flown back into the country. He was wearing a dark dress shirt, no tie, the top two buttons undone, and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off lean forearms. "The second I land, I hear a rumor. You and her... got into a fight?"