Page 25 of The Billionaire's Betrayal
"How do you expect her to prove what she's worth if we never give her a chance?"he continued, indifferent to my distress."My decision is made; I won't go back on it."
His way of imposing his authority to close the discussion made my irritation explode.I hated this arrogance in him.This implicit reminder that, in this company, he was the boss, and I...just an employee among others.
I had lost this battle; no use insisting.Yet there was still one thing I needed to tell him.
"Tristan, I don't know what's going on, but you need to wake up before it's too late."
He seemed disconcerted.
"What are you talking about?"
I took a long breath.
"Audrey."
He looked at me, incredulous, before protesting.
"Eva, you're imagining things.There's nothing more than work."
"Really?Your increasingly frequent lateness, our canceled meetings...None of that has anything to do with her?"
He sighed, visibly annoyed.
"I'm just trying to catch up on accumulated delays and manage the overload related to the upcoming fundraising.As for our meetings, I think they don't need to be as frequent.Our visions are aligned, so I preferred to focus on Audrey to make her autonomous."
He had an answer for everything, but his explanations didn't convince me.A doubt persisted, gnawing at me from within.I decided to test him.
"If I asked you to transfer Audrey to another department and take Maud as your assistant, would you do it?"
I stared at him, trying to catch a reaction.Tristan remained silent, surprised.His eyebrows furrowed as he weighed his words.
"Eva...why would I do that?Audrey is on the rise, she's handling strategic files, and she's already integrated.Transferring her would be counterproductive."
He paused, then his gaze hardened.
"Why this question?Don't you trust me?"
I took another breath before answering, my heart pounding.
"Your recent actions give me reasons to doubt."
He paled slightly, shocked by my words.
"That's insulting, Eva.No, I won't transfer Audrey.As long as she's doing her job, she stays in her position.Don't let your jealousy cloud your judgment."
Anger rose a notch.
"You can lie to yourself if you want, but I know what I see.You're giving in to attraction and making poor decisions."
"What you're saying is absurd!"he exploded."Now, if you're finished, I have work to do."
I left his office, my legs trembling.The conversation I had dreaded had taken place, and yet, instead of relief, I felt only a growing emptiness.His denials, his way of dismissing my doubts...all of it only confirmed my worst fears.
I headed toward the restroom, seeking a moment of respite.Facing the mirror, my own reflection returned a worried gaze.Where was the strong, confident woman I was supposed to be?All I saw was the fear in my eyes.The fear of losing him.The fear that it might already be too late.
My argument with Tristan was several days ago, but at home, nothing seemed to have changed.He still prepared my coffee in the morning, we still cooked together on weekends, and he still took me in his arms when we watched a movie in the evening.At night, our embraces were as sensual and passionate as before.Only our conversations, once so natural and complicit, sometimes filled with uncomfortable silences.And certain subjects had now become taboo: his mother and Audrey.
I knew this when I tried to bring up our argument again and he cut me off abruptly:
