Chapter 13

Just then, my phone rang. I handed my bag to Logan and stepped aside to answer it in a quieter spot.

Kaylee’s voice came through, sounding aggrieved. “Jillian, you finally picked up.”

Her voice sounded off. She had been with me since she had graduated. Despite being young, she was tough, hardworking, and always eager to learn. No matter how stressful things had gotten, she had never once cried.

I comforted her, saying, “Take your time. Tell me everything.”

Kaylee sniffled. “Ever since you left, the company’s been a mess. Mr. Houghton listened to us at first, but within a few days, he started summoning the other board members. Not only that, Ms. Carter and Mrs. Houghton Senior keep using meal deliveries as an excuse to show up at the company.

“Mrs. Houghton Senior is your grandmother, but she keeps badmouthing you and has even overturned a lot of the policies you put in place. When we tried to stop her, she had Mr. Houghton fire us.”

I pressed my fingers against my temple. “Archie agreed to all of this?”

Kaylee sighed. “Yeah. Mr. Houghton never really trusted us to begin with. He’s been dropping hints about it for a while now.”

“I see,” I said, exhaling slowly. “You’re all incredibly capable. This is on me. I’ll recommend you to other companies.”

“We want to work for you, Jillian.”

I chuckled softly. “That means starting from scratch. Are you sure you’re up for that?”

“We’re sure. We’ve already talked it over. Wherever you go, we’ll go.”

I nodded. “Alright then. Treat this as a paid vacation for now. We’ll sort everything out when I return.”

When I hung up and turned around, I saw Logan standing there. He had clearly been listening for a while.

I slipped my phone back into my bag. “You heard all of that?”

Logan took my hand. “Yeah. So what’s your plan?”

I sighed. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

”

Harmon Group had already become a shareholder in my family’s company a while ago. It was all because of Archie’s massive gambling debt. That debt was also how Logan and I had first crossed paths.

“I’m done interfering. Just do what you need to do,” I said.

I had already done more than enough for that family. And Archie’s choices this time had truly disappointed me.

Logan ruffled my hair. “Then don’t stress about it. I picked out some clothes. Go try them on.”

Ever since I had turned my phone back on, the calls hadn’t stopped.

Most were from the management team, venting about the chaos at the company. I reminded them that I was no longer part of it before ending the calls.

At this rate, it was impossible to enjoy the trip any longer, so I booked a flight for the next day.

After landing, I met with Kaylee first and then immediately started scouting locations for the new company.

The moment Logan heard about it, he said, “That’s easy. Just pick a spot in one of our buildings.”

I appreciated the offer but shook my head. “It’s still just a small operation. I can’t afford the rent in a prime location like that.”

Logan leaned in and kissed me.

“What kind of nonsense is that? Since when does my wife need to pay?” His eyes gleamed mischievously as his hands started wandering. “But if you really insist on giving me something in return, we can negotiate a different kind of payment…”

I smacked his hand away. “Behave.”

Logan huffed in protest.