Chapter 9 - Chloe’s Choice
Chloe expected Leah to remove every Hartwell from the company.
Instead, Leah asked her to meet at the restored breakfast room.
The broken table had been removed. The walls had been repainted, and the windows stood open to the spring air.
Chloe remained near the doorway.
“I understand if you never want to see me again.”
“Why?”
“I stayed quiet for too long.”
Leah poured two cups of coffee.
“You spoke when it mattered most.”
“I should have warned you before the wedding.”
“Yes,” Leah said. “You should have.”
Chloe looked down.
Leah did not soften the truth, but neither did she use it as a weapon.
“What made you change your mind?” Leah asked.
Chloe sat across from her.
“My father used to say the company was a promise. He said every employee who trusted our name became part of that promise. Ryan treated them like numbers.”
“And you?”
“I looked away.”
“Until you didn’t.”
Chloe nodded.
Leah slid a folder across the table.
It was not the forged blue folder.
It contained an employment offer.
Leah had created a corporate ethics and employee protection division. Chloe would begin as a junior investigator, reporting to an independent compliance board.
“This is not a reward,” Leah said. “You will have to earn trust every day.”
Chloe opened the folder.
“Why give me a chance?”
“Because someone gave me the truth when hiding it would have been easier.”
May you like
Tears filled Chloe’s eyes, but she did not cry.
She signed the offer.
