Page 54 of The CEO's Sweetheart Deal
"Yeah. I got my notice this morning. Thirty days and a 'generous' severance package." Her laugh is hollow. "They said Oscar's existing team will handle our responsibilities moving forward."
"That's impossible," I whisper, my gaze automatically seeking out Oscar's figure in the distance. He's pacing back and forth, gesturing animatedly into his phone. "He promised me…"
"Did Oscar say anything about this?” She asks.
I can't answer. My mind is racing, piecing together the timeline. It's all too convenient — the romantic getaway, keeping me distracted and unreachable while his team executed layoffs that they knew I would fight tooth and nail against, were I in town.
"Alice?" Sydney's voice pulls me back. "Are you still there?"
"I have to go," I manage to say, despite the way my voice shakes. "I'll call you back."
I end the call and stand frozen, staring at Oscar. All those sweet words, those promises about respecting my vision for RootedPantry, about wanting to build something together — was it all just a calculated distraction? A way to keep me occupied while he did exactly what I feared from the beginning?
The betrayal cuts deeper than I could have imagined. More painful because I actually believed him this time. I let myself fall for him, opened myself up completely, while he was orchestrating the dismantling of the team I spent years building.
Oscar finishes his call and turns toward me, smiling briefly before his expression shifts to concern. He must see something in my face because he quickly walks over.
"Alice? What's wrong?"
"You tell me," I say, my voice deadly quiet. "Did you enjoy our little vacation?"
His brow furrows in confusion. "Of course I did. What are you?—"
"It must have been so convenient," I continue, my voice growing stronger as anger replaces shock. "Having me tucked away in San Diego, unreachable, while you gutted my team."
“What are you…”’ He trails off, eyes going wide, understanding dawning on his face. "The restructuring? Alice, I can explain?—"
"Explain?" I laugh, the sound sharp and brittle. "What's there to explain? You promised me creative control. You said you wouldn't destroy what I built. And the moment my back is turned, you axe half my team. Including Sydney."
"That's not what happened," he insists, reaching for me. I step back, out of his reach. "I didn't authorize those layoffs. I was going to tell you?—"
"When? After they'd all cleaned out their desks? After you'd replaced them with your yes-men?" The hurt is overwhelming, threatening to choke me. "You know what the worst part is? I actually believed you this time. I thought you'd changed."
"I have changed," he pleads, his eyes desperate. "Alice, please, just listen?—"
"To what? More lies?" I shake my head, backing further away. "You used me, Oscar. You distracted me with… with romance and sex while you flushed away everything I care about."
"That's not true!" He runs a hand through his hair in frustration. "The board presented that plan last week. I never approved it?—"
"But you never rejected it either, did you?" I shoot back, watching his face fall. Yep - I've hit the mark. And we haven’t even addressed the fact that there must have been some secret board meeting I wasn’t invited to. "You just sat on it, waiting for the right moment. Waiting for me to be conveniently out of the way."
"It wasn't like that," he says, his voice quieter now. "I was trying to find another solution, a compromise?—"
"Save it." I hold up my hand, unable to bear any more. "I told myself that I'd never let you hurt me again. Shame on me for forgetting that lesson."
I see a car approaching — our ride, finally arriving. But I can't get into a car with him. I can't sit next to him pretending everything's fine while my life is falling apart again. I take a few steps back, holding in the tears that I refuse to let him see.
"Alice, please. Don't walk away. Not again." His voice breaks, and for a split second, I waver.
But then I think of Sydney, of all the others who trusted me to protect them, who are now losing their jobs because I was too busy falling back in love with the man who betrayed me once before. The man who probably doesn’t even like me. All of those whispered sweet nothings were a sham, a distraction technique.
"I'm not the one who walks away, Oscar. That's always been you." I take one final look at him, committing to memory the pain in his eyes, the desperation in his posture.
Good. "Goodbye," I tell him.
I turn and walk away, not toward the approaching car but toward the airport terminal. I'll find my own way home. I'll figure out my next steps alone, like I always have.
He calls my name, but I don't look back. I can't. Because if I do — if I see his face, if I let him explain — I might believe him again. And I can't afford to make that mistake a third time.
