Page 84 of Silver Fox's Christmas Scandal

She'd heard the shouting, knew something catastrophic had just occurred.

"Miss Wynn," Daniel said, "effective immediately, you'll be transferring any analytical projects or research assignments Mr. Cross has given you to our qualified analysts. Your job description is executive assistant—managing calendars, answering phones, making coffee. I trust that's clear?"

The color drained from Tessa's face, but her voice remained steady. "Of course, Mr. Mercer."

"Any files, reports, or presentations you've been working on need to be handed over to Daniel's team by end of business today," I said, hating myself for the words even as they left my mouth.

"Understood." Her professional composure never wavered, but I saw the hurt flash across her features before she could hide it.

Daniel nodded with satisfaction. "Good. The company's liability insurance doesn't cover inappropriate workplace relationships, and we can't afford any more distractions."

After Tessa left, closing the door quietly behind her, Daniel turned back to me and shook his head. "You left me in an impossible situation, Lucian. What did you expect me to do?" When he turned and walked out, I couldn’t take it anymore.

I picked up the stapler from the corner of my desk and launched it at the closed door and it broke into several pieces that scattered across the floor.

This could not be happening. I refused to allow them to drive me out and ruin Tessa's reputation.

Viktoria had to be stopped.

25

TESSA

I sat at my desk, hands trembling as I stared at the computer screen without seeing it.

Daniel's words kept replaying in my head.

Making coffee. Answering phones.

Your job description is executive assistant.

The humiliation burned in my chest, made worse by having to maintain my composure while being dressed down in front of Lucian.

Twenty minutes ago, I'd been riding the high of preparing to tell Lucian I was pregnant.

Now I felt stripped bare, reduced to nothing more than the office help who'd overstepped her boundaries.

The analytical work I'd poured my heart into, the projects that had made me feel valuable and intelligent—all of it dismissed with a wave of a board member's hand.

My phone buzzed with an internal call and I looked down to see it was Lucian's extension.

"Could you come back in, please?" His voice was tight, and after that loud thud I knew he'd thrown something. I didn'tblame him for being angry. I felt that way too, but I also felt scared.

I glanced around the office, noting the curious stares from colleagues who'd heard the shouting match with his ex-wife and then Daniel. Walking back toward his office felt suffocating, every step being watched.

When I entered his office, I found him pacing behind his desk, clearly agitated.

He ran both hands through his silver hair, mussing the coif, and I could see the fury radiating from every line of his body. He'd lost it.

His cagey gait and the angry scowl on his face frightened me.

The door closed behind me and he didn't even glance up. I wanted to say something comforting, to offer reassurance that we'd figure this out together.

But the words wouldn't come.

How could I comfort him when I was drowning in my own panic? When the secret growing inside me felt impossibly heavy?

We were foolish to try for a baby. I knew I wasn't prepared financially for it yet, though I did have a nest egg that could've been used for medical bills, but given how things looked, it appeared I would be using that to support myself while I looked for a new job.