"Richie."N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    "Ma''am Sydney." He called back and I couldn''t stop the brief bitter chuckle that bubbled up my throat. Wasn''t he inly calling me Sydney the other day? Now what was the fuss with the whole ma''am? "Tell me, Richie, what would you gain by hiring an assassin disguised as a supplier to kill me?"


    It all made sense now, when we discussed the new addition to Luxe vogue and obviously, as a department head, Bran had to be present and he had been. He had been among the department heads that even dropped their opinions.


    "What assassin?" His lips tembled slightly. "What do you mean? I don''t understand what you''re talking about," he continued, attempting to feign ignorance, but I could see through it all. His fidgety fingers, his trembling lips, his unnecessarily creased brows and squinted eyes, it was all there - the telltale signs of guilt.


    I raised my brows, "Is that how you want to escape this? By pretending to know nothing about it."


    His brows furrowed deeper, "What...why..." he stuttered pathetically so I shut him up.


    "It''s alright. You don''t need to pretend. The dumb man you hired has confessed." His eyes widened and his face turned pale instantly, he knew he had been exposed and there was no way around it anymore.


    I regarded him for a while, watching his lips wobble as he tried to speak up. "If I were you, I would have taken the money you paid then I would run away, far from here. Unfortunately, you''re still here, filled and clinging to a thin sliver of hope."


    He looked at me and his eyes glinted, whether with hate or anger, I could barely tell but I still held his gaze, there was a limit to whatever he could do to me here.


    "Before you harm me, think about the consequences, Richie. Trust me, I may not be in the field but I am sure that the punishment for ordering a murder andmitting one personally are not the same. Besides, I''ve had all the exits blocked, you can''t escape even if you''re able to kill me and get me out of your way."


    I walked to the window. I smiled as I looked down at the police cars that were parking, his lightbars dimmed as he tried to stop her. Then I pointed down to the window with, "Even if you''re able to, the police have also surrounded the wholepany. There''s no way out."


    I watched Richie''s face turn even paler as he looked down the window. His eyes hastily scanned the room, probably searching for an escape route.


    "I''m sorry!" She grinned as Richie pleaded as his face wobbled. He dropped to his knees, "I''ve been with you since thepany was founded, don''t do this to me. I will change. I swear it, Sydney, please."


    I looked at him coldly, "I already gave you a chance, Richie. I gave you a choice but you chose not to cherish it. Instead, you chose not to let me see.


    At that moment, one of the police walked in. They handcuffed Richie, ignoring his protests and pleas and took him away. Despite everything, Richie still looked at me pleadingly, "Sydney, please plead for me in court, please!"


    I ignored him. They took him out of the room and down the elevator. I stormed to the financial director''s


    office and yelled out an order, "Print out the evidence of Richie ''s embezzlement and submit it to thewyer for prosecution. Inwnat every detail there, the amount he stole from thepany, the personal trips, I started to pace the room and my body shook with so much anger. I turned to money. I didn''t recall how much he stole from thepany, and I don''t want to know. I want whatever he has taken from thepany back in multiples!"


    The financial director nodded in agreement and immediately set out to do as he has been instructed.


    The office was silent; no one dared to look at me. But at that moment, everyone knew who the real boss of thepany was and they ced it at the back of their heads that, no matter how dear or valuable they were to thepany, they would get thrown out of thepany, if they misbehaved, in the blink of


    an eye.