Chapter 297

Chapter 297 Office Drama
Ava’s POV

Monday morning, Joseph drove me to the office. Our weekend had been wonderful, apart from his disagreeable father, which had left Joseph tense and preoccupied. Despite that, he’d been incredibly attentive to me, even making me temporarily forget about the mysterious letter I’d received. I didn’t want to burden Joseph with my concerns. I could see how anxious his father made him, and I didn’t want to add any extra pressure.

My task at the office was to gather everyone working on the administrative floor. Alpha Draven had informed me that Caroline was returning, and he wanted to announce this to everyone to prevent questions about why Caroline had left in the first place. So as soon as I arrived on the floor, I began gathering everyone.

“What is it now, bitch?” Linda asked me, using her not-so-friendly nickname for me. When we were alone, she called me bitch, and I called her whore.

“Alpha’s orders, slut. Just do it like the whore you are!” She was about to reply when I gave her a cold smile, just as she spotted Beta Ryan approaching.

“Good morning, ladies,” Ryan smiled, and Linda responded with a fake smile of her own.

“Beta Ryan, Alpha Draven wants everyone at reception. He’ll be here shortly with an announcement,” I informed him, which made him smile even wider.

When Alpha Draven arrived with Caroline, I watched Linda’s face turn pale. She was furious and couldn’t hide it. Still, she tried to cause trouble between Caroline and me, not knowing we were friends. When she heard this from Caroline herself, she became even more enraged.

After everyone dispersed and only the two of us remained at reception, Linda came over to confront me.

“So the bitch is friends with the little slut who wanted to hook up with the Alpha? I should have known.” Linda stopped in front of me, folding her arms.

“Oh, is all this jealousy, bitch?” I mocked, walking toward the break room.

“No sooner had I walked away than Linda picked up the phone, dialing Howard’s extension. I lingered within earshot, knowing she’d alert her lover. I reappeared in front of her just before she hung up.”

“Well, look at the little gossip bitch!” I said as she quickly hung up the phone. “Meeting up with someone or just spreading rumors?”

“None of your damn business, bitch!” Linda snapped through gritted teeth.

“Tell me, slut, do you tell your lover everything that happens here?” I smiled as if chatting with a friend. “What would the boss think if he knew?” I covered my face, widening my eyes dramatically.

“Mind your own business, you bitch, and don’t mess with me. You have no idea what I’m capable of!”

“Wow, I’m trembling with fear, see…” I held out my hand, pretending to shake. Linda’s face turned crimson with rage. Then I had a flash of inspiration and took out my phone. “Just to prove I’m a nice person, let me give you some advice: be more careful about where you hook up.”

I turned my phone toward Linda, showing her a video I’d captured of her giving Howard oral sex. In the part I showed her, you couldn’t clearly see who the man was—a strategic move to prevent her from suspecting I knew who her lover was. She tried to grab my phone, but I was faster.

“I was just curious who your client was,” I said, pretending not to recognize him. “I didn’t see his face.”

“Delete that video, you bitch!” she snarled.

“Oh, slut, I can’t do that! It’s already in the cloud. Technology is amazing, isn’t it? But let me give you some advice, you need to work on your technique. The guy didn’t even moan, just lying there looking bored. Seems he wasn’t satisfied with your services… maybe you don’t even qualify as a whore, Linda?”

At that moment, she lunged at me, knocking me to the ground and slapping me across the face. It took every ounce of self-control not to knock her down and beat her senseless, because I had no reason to give her grounds to claim self-defense. I let her hit me, but she couldn’t even do that well, slapping me wildly like a hysterical woman.

I started screaming, which made her even angrier. Ryan and Kyle quickly arrived but pull her off me. Other employees began gathering in the reception area, and Draven appeared, shouting loudly.

I stood up, explained what had happened, and Draven fired her. I was a mess, covered in scratches and bruises, but I was happy! Draven and I had been trying to figure out how to get rid of Linda without raising suspicions, and our fight was the perfect excuse. True, I had provoked her, but I never expected her to actually attack me.

Just as Draven had predicted, Joseph appeared at the office not long after.

“Ava, are you okay?” Joseph walked toward me, stopping in front of me and examining my face. “What the hell, that woman hurt you. I’ll destroy her.”

“Oh, Joseph, come on, it’s not that big a deal. Draven already ran her off.”

“What? Draven didn’t throw that crazy woman in the dungeon or give her a proper beating? Damn it! Is this how the Storm Valley Wolves handle things now?”

“No, we’re not! Draven didn’t do any of that because I asked him not to. Yeah, that woman’s a piece of trash, but we still needed her, you know how things are around here.”

“But Ava, look at you. You have scratches on your arms, your face is swollen and bruised, and there’s a cut on your lip. I hope she’s in much worse condition than you are.”

“Not even a scratch!” I couldn’t help laughing at Joseph’s horrified expression.

Even after I explained everything, Joseph was still fuming, pacing around. He clearly wasn’t happy I’d decided to just let her go. Just as he was about to start up again, Draven walked out of his office.

“Ah, you’re here,” Draven said to Joseph.

“Draven, you know this is ridiculous. You should have protected Ava.” Joseph was angry.

“My friend, I tried, but your lover didn’t make it easy for me,” Draven teased me. “But to be fair, she’s the one who didn’t want to punish Linda.”

“I can’t accept this,” Joseph said. “Come on, Ava, I’m taking you home.”

“No, we’re not going. I’m at work, and Caroline just returned to the company.” I stood my ground.

“But Ava…” Joseph tried to persuade me.

“Don’t waste your time, Joseph. Ava’s fine,” Kyle said, walking out of Ryan’s office. “The best thing we can do now is take these girls out for a nice meal.”

After lunch, Joseph left and I returned to work. We didn’t see each other for the next week because I was helping my mom sort out new apartment.

We had already moved, which was a relief because I’d been worried ever since receiving that letter. I tried not to think about it, but it was difficult. So I looked up the sender’s address and discovered it was just a post office, which gave me no clues whatsoever. The anonymity of it all continued to make me uneasy.