When Matthew calmed down slightly, the employees helped to clean up his mess while Carol accompanied me back to my office.

Suddenly, Matthew burst into my office. “Chloe, what’s your relationship with Mr. Maddox? Why didn’t you say anything about it when we were together? How many more resources and connections do you have? Why are you doing this?!”

I stood behind my desk and rested my hands on it as I gazed at him in amusement. His questions seemed comical, as if he believed I should surrender all my answers. He had a peculiar way of thinking.

I replied, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“Why are you doing this to me, Chloe?” His tone softened abruptly, and he sounded disheartened, “When did you become so ruthless?”

My phone rang as he spoke, interrupting our conversation. I saw it was Atlas, collected my thoughts, and answered the call, “Hello?”

"Where are you?" Atlas's voice came through.

"In my office," I replied simply.

"Wait for me," he said before hanging up. I di