The CEO Fired Her in Front of Everyone, But He Had No Idea Who She Was
Chapter 9
The investigation found no wrongdoing.
But the damage had been done.
Employees whispered.
Investors worried.
Maya’s father wanted her to leave.
“You’ve done enough,” William said.
Maya shook her head.
“No.”
“You’ve proven yourself.”
“This isn’t about proving myself.”
“Then what is it about?”
She thought about Alexander.
“The company.”
William smiled sadly.
“Or the man?”
Maya didn’t answer.
He already knew.
Meanwhile, Alexander faced pressure from the board.
Some directors wanted him to resign.
Others wanted Maya removed.
Alexander refused both.
“If Maya goes, I go.”
The board chairman stared at him.
“You would risk your position for one executive?”
Alexander answered,
“She’s not one executive.”
“She saved this company.”
That statement changed the conversation.
Then a new discovery emerged.
The leaked accusations had originated from a server connected to Thomas Grant’s former office.
Investigators traced the data.
Thomas had been feeding information to a financial competitor.
He intended to trigger a stock collapse.
Then he planned to buy damaged shares through a shell company.
Maya had been right from the beginning.
The attack was bigger than Hawthorne.
It was an attempt to take over the company cheaply.
Thomas was arrested.
The shell companies were frozen.
The board cleared Maya publicly.
But after the crisis, Alexander found Maya in her office.
“We’re okay.”
She looked at him.
“We’re not.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“We survived.”
She stood.
“But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life fighting people who think we’re a scandal.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“What do you want?”
Alexander took a breath.
“You.”
Maya stared at him.
He continued.
“But not at the cost of your independence.”
She walked toward him.
“That might be the smartest thing you’ve ever said.”
Then she kissed him.
For the first time.
There were no cameras.
No employees.
No board members.
Just them.
And this time, neither of them regretted crossing the line.
