Chapter 4 - Five Minutes Later
Back at the reunion, Derek tried to recover.
“You’re reviewing Hawthorne?” he asked.
Lauren nodded.
“Yes.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened.
“You never said you worked for Cole Meridian.”
“You never asked.”
Derek laughed weakly.
“Well, this is awkward.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
Adrian extended his hand.
“Derek.”
Derek shook it slowly.
“Mr. Cole. I had no idea.”
“Most people don’t memorize every employee in a company before an acquisition,” Adrian said politely.
Owen wrapped his arms around Lauren’s neck.
“Mama, can I have cake?”
“Yes,” Lauren said.
Derek looked at her wedding band.
“You’re married.”
“I am.”
“And you have a son.”
“Yes.”
He seemed unable to process the obvious.
Lauren had moved on.
Not in the sad, convenient way he had assumed.
Not alone, struggling, regretting, and waiting for him to realize what he had lost.
She had built a family.
A career.
A life.
Derek looked toward the Hawthorne chairman, who had just greeted Lauren with nervous enthusiasm.
“Lauren,” the chairman said, “we are looking forward to your review process.”
“Thank you, Mr. Hayes.”
Derek’s confidence returned in a flash.
“Well,” he said, “I’m sure Lauren will be fair.”
Lauren looked at him.
“I will be thorough.”
The difference was small.
But Derek heard it.
Vanessa stepped closer to him.
“Maybe we should go,” she murmured.
Derek ignored her.
He turned back to Lauren.
“You know, despite everything, I’m glad you did well.”
Lauren smiled.
“Thank you.”
“I always knew you were smart.”
Adrian’s gaze settled on Derek.
Lauren saw it.
The quiet recognition that Derek was trying to rewrite history in real time.
“I should introduce you to some people,” Derek continued. “There are a few things you should know about Hawthorne before the review begins.”
“I already know quite a lot,” Lauren replied.
His smile tightened.
“Of course you do.”
The string quartet began a slower song.
Around them, old classmates pretended not to listen.
Derek’s humiliation had not been loud.
It did not need to be.
He had spent the evening trying to convince everyone he had won.
May you like
Then the woman he called ordinary appeared with a husband who owned his future, a son who adored her, and authority over the company he depended on.
And suddenly, every person in the ballroom could see who had really lost.
