Page 318 of Savage Bosses

"Grace," I say tersely as I approach her office. "We need to talk. Now."

"Mr. Gates, what's wrong?" Her gray eyes narrow in concern.

"Private meeting. You, me, and Mason," I command, not giving her any room for argument.

She nods, understanding the gravity of my tone, and quickly arranges the meeting. We gather in a small conference room, the tension thick in the air.

"Mr. Gates, you have our attention," Grace says calmly, folding her hands on the table. "What's this about?"

"Someone has been undermining Tahani's project," I begin, my voice low and dangerous. "And that someone is you, Mason." I stare into his eyes, daring him to deny it.

"Me?" Mason scoffs, glancing around the room as if there is another Mason in the building. "You must be mistaken."

"Cut the crap, Mason," I snap. "I found proof that you were logged into the computer that changed the codes for Zeenith. There really is no other explanation except that you're responsible for the sabotage."

Mason's face turns red, but he tries to maintain his cool exterior. "You can't prove anything."

“Actually, I can," I counter, my patience wearing thin. "But I would rather you own up to your actions."

"I don't know what you think you've found, but—" Mason starts, but I cut him off.

"Enough!" I slam my fist on the table, making both Mason and Grace flinch. "You've betrayed Tahani and put Iconic's reputation at risk. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Mason clenches his jaw, realizing he's cornered. He glares at me. “You’re having an affair with your top engineer, and you’re accusing me of putting our reputation at risk? Maybe you should take a look in the mirror first! If this gets out…”

“If it gets out, it gets out. We will be fine. We won’t be fine, however, if we have someone inside the company sabotaging our developments. Why can’t you understand that?” I present, causing Grace to give him a side-eye.

"Come on, you know as well as I do that people use other people's logins all the time around here," Mason says, his voice smooth, like he's trying to convince me he's innocent. "Just because it was my user ID doesn't mean it was me."

My hands clench into fists as I force myself to stay calm and collected. I need to make him confess; I need to bring justice for Tahani.

"Nice try," I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "But our tech team also found traces of a remote access program installed on your computer. You messed up, Mason."

His eyes widen ever so slightly, but he quickly regains his composure. "I didn't do—"

"Stop lying!" I interrupt, slamming my hand against the table. The sound echoes through the room, startling Grace. "You tried to sabotage Tahani's project, and now you're going to pay for it."

Mason's face contorts with rage, his facade finally crumbling. "Fine, I did it,” he spits out. "But it wasn't personal. It's just business. I was working on a similar software that would have been Zeenith’s competition so I tried to slow her down. You of all people should understand that."

"Trying to destroy someone's life's work is not 'just business,'" I seethe, feeling my control slipping away. "Admit it, you were jealous of Tahani, and you couldn't handle her success."

"Jealous?" Mason scoffs, but there's a hint of truth in his eyes that confirms my suspicions. "I'm not threatened by some woman who thinks she's better than everyone else."

"Enough!" I yell, my patience at its end. "You're done here, Mason. Say goodbye to Iconic."

"Mr. Gates, wait!" Grace's voice breaks through the tense atmosphere, her gray eyes wide with shock. "You can't just fire him without a proper investigation. There might be an explanation for all of this."

"An explanation?" I scoff, feeling my fury bubbling over. "He just admitted to sabotaging Tahani's project! We have the evidence right here!" I slam the damning documents from the tech team on the table, my pulse pounding in my ears.

"Mr. Gates—" Mason starts, but I cut him off with a sharp, forceful warning.

"Shut up, Mason. You don't get to speak anymore." My voice is low and dangerous, like a predator stalking its prey. "You're lucky I'm not calling the police and having you arrested for corporate espionage."

"Mr. Gates," Grace says, her tone pleading. "We need to think about the company. Firing him so abruptly could cause unrest among the team and damage our reputation."

"Excuse me?" Rage courses through my veins, my hands trembling with the effort to keep them still. "I am thinking about the company that I own, Grace. I won't let someone who intentionally sabotages projects and undermines his coworkers continue working at Iconic."

"Please, Mr. Gates—" Mason tries again, desperation creeping into his voice.

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