Part 1He Promoted His Mistress So I Fired Him

The intern who ranked dead last in company performance just landed a manager position, all thanks to my husband.

I’d been overseas for a six-month executive program, and her salary tripled.

On my first day back, the girl publicly splashed coffee all over my new custom-tailored Armani suit.

“Marcus said that if I wanted your job, all he has to do is say the word.”

I countered by slapping her termination papers right onto her chest.

My husband and his entire inner circle responded by throwing their own resignation letters onto my desk.

“Unless you reinstate her immediately, we all walk today.”

I smiled. “Perfect. I’ll replace all of you, starting with you.”

* * *

The air in the spacious conference room was thick, frozen solid.

All eyes were fixed on Marcus Shaw.

And why wouldn’t they be? Every single person currently in the room was a loyalist he’d personally promoted.

The senior staff I had trained and mentored? They had either been systematically sidelined or politely phased out by him under various pretexts over the last six months.

Sienna Tate saw the clear shift in momentum and didn't even bother pretending anymore. She leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and a look of unconcealed mockery danced in her eyes.

“Ms. Rhodes,” she purred, using my formal title with maximum disdain. “See this? You trying to move me? It’s not going to be that easy.”

“As long as Marcus is on my side, no one in this room can touch me.”

“And I hate to break it to you, but these days, Marcus is the one calling the shots at Aether Advisors, inside and out. You? You’re just a very expensive figurehead.”

She chuckled, then reached for the coffee cup on the table. Finding it empty, a junior associate scrambled to her side to refill it. The steam rose, and the smug triumph on her face was almost blinding.

“How does that feel? A little tight in the chest?”

“Too bad. You’re just going to have to swallow it.”

The conference room was meant to be a place of quiet focus, but Sienna couldn't care less, her voice becoming sharper with every word. Seeing my silence only fueled her.

“Honestly, ‘Department Manager’ sounds a little boring anyway. I saw your corner office—the view looks incredible from up there.”

This was no longer a subtle grab; it was open coveting of my position as CEO. I truly didn’t understand her audacity. What gave her this bulletproof confidence?

I shifted my gaze, sweeping over the stack of glaring white resignation letters, then slowly looked up, meeting every pair of eyes in the room.

“Have you all thought this through? You’re going to use your careers as leverage to force my hand, all for her?”

“Is she—an underperforming employee who has done nothing but cause problems—worth sacrificing your futures for? Really?”

I found the whole situation darkly amusing, and I leaned back against the leather seat, truly baffled by their collective choice.

“Camille, you’re missing the point.” Marcus’s voice cut in, cold and sharp.

“They aren’t doing this for her. They are doing it for me. I am the one who controls their future here. Your words no longer carry any weight.”

The moment the words left his mouth, the conference room door swung open, and the assembled staff respectfully chorused:

“Mr. Shaw.”

Each one of those "Mr. Shaw’s" landed like a fresh, stinging slap across my face.

Aether Advisors wasn't his—it was my blood, sweat, and vision. I was the sole founder.

Yet, now, these employees only saw Marcus.

“Good, everyone’s here.”

Marcus visibly relished the deference, his face alight with the calm confidence of a man in control. He looked at me, a curl of cruel mockery on his lip.

“You see the situation. Withdraw the termination, reinstate Sienna immediately, or they all walk. You can’t afford the fallout of a core team collapse. You simply can’t handle the mess.”

Listening to Marcus’s ruthless threats, my nails dug deep into my palms.

I couldn’t understand why he was pushing this, why he would go to such lengths for an outsider. We were husband and wife.

“Marcus, are you out of your mind?”

“You’re colluding with outsiders to take me down?”

My voice trembled with anger. If I didn’t still have a thread of residual feeling for him, the pain wouldn’t have cut so deep.