After the divorce, he begged

“Go ahead,” Rebecca said.

Alexander said, “Don’t think | won't do it.”

Rebecca challenged, “If you're really that brave, what's stopping you?”

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Alexander ground his molars. If Jeffrey hadn't laid down the law-that nobody is allowed to breathe a word about

his thing with Rebecca to anyone at PrimePlay Technologies without his personal green light- Alexander would've

tattled ages ago.

Alexander seethed inwardly, ‘She still drivescrazy, just like she did back in the day!"

Rebecca continued, “You breathe a word, and Jessica's fist will land right on your face.” She guessed that

Alexander must have been warned not to spill her relationship with Jeffrey.

She thought, ‘Otherwise, with Alexander's usual attitude, he'd be callingMrs. Hanson with that signature

sarcasm of his, just to get under my skin.

Alexander snapped, “Don’t take it too far. Jessica isn’t around now. Even if | mess with you, she won't be there to

bail you out.”

“True, can’t argue with that,” Rebecca replied.

Alexander got even more pissed, grinding his teeth in frustration. But he couldn't do a damn thing to Rebecca.

Sure, Jeffrey wasn’t backing her up anymore, but she still had Jessica and lan in her corner. Those two were no

pushovers.

Just then, Derek showed up with a bunch of people, carrying top-shelf booze, coffee, and juice. He said, “Not

sure what you're into, Mr. Kendall, so | brought a bit of everything. Anything else | can do for you?”

Rebecca frowned slightly.

Alexander straightened his clothes, trying to look like he'd cooled off. He decided to change his approach to

retaliation. As long as he wasn’t up against Jeffrey, he was willing to go all out against the others.

He asked, “You said she is your team member, right?”

Derek replied, “That's right.”

Alexander said, “Seriously, what's her problem? One minute she’s callingfilthy rich and clueless about real

life, the next she’s taking shots at my looks and outfit.”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow questioningly..

Alexander continued, “And when | asked for an apology, she just looked totally annoyed.”

Derek said, “She’s new, doesn’t know any better. I'll apologize on her behalf. I'll give her a good talking-to later.

Don't let it ruin your day.”

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Alexander said, “I want her to apologize right now. If she doesn’t, this isn’t over, and your anniversary bash

might not go as smoothly as you'd like.”

Alexander was determined to make Rebecca eat her words. He'd been on the receiving end of her and Jessica’s

teasing since they were kids.

Derek’s heart skipped a beat. He shot Rebecca a meaningful look and said quietly, “Go apologize to Mr. Kendall.”

“I didn’t say any of that,” Rebecca replied firmly, refusing to confess to something she hadn't done.

Derek leaned in and whispered, “It doesn’t matter if you didn’t. What matters is that Mr. Kendall says you did. If

this blows up and wrecks the anniversary event, it'd be way beyond what you or anyone else here could fix.”

Rebecca bit down hard, swallowing her anger. “An apology, is it?” She asked, her mind already spinning with

ideas for payback.

Alexander, completely oblivious to the storm brewing, nodded.

Meanwhile, in the presidential suite on the 28th floor of the hotel, Jeffrey and Stanley were lounging on the

couch, watching the whole scene unfold on a laptop screen hooked up to the hotel's security cameras.

Stanley hadn't planned on tagging along at first. But after thinking it over, he figured he didn’t have much going

on anyway, so he might cand see what the was all about.

As Alexander made his demands, Stanley caught the sudden chill coming off Jeffrey and reminded him, “Weren't

you the one who said Rebecca needed to know what it’s like without you watching her back?”

“That's Rebecca,” Jeffrey replied, barely moving his lips.

Stanley said, “Yeah, | know.”

Jeffrey said, “She shouldn’t have to bow her head and say sorry to anyone.”

From the very first moment he’d met her, Rebecca looked like she was all sweetness and softness-but deep

down, she was unbreakable.

Jeffrey thought, ‘Let her apologize? As if he even qualifies.’

Stanley was really baffled by Jeffrey’s twisted take on love. He said, “Don’t you think you're being totally

contradictory? First, you want her to struggle without you, now you can’t stand watching her get pushed

around.”

Jeffrey's gaze grew colder as he watched the surveillance screen.

Stanley continued, “Either let Rebecca handle her life without you-no matter what goes down, even if she’s

dying, just stay out of it. Or keep her under your wing, and don’t let anyone lay a finger on her.”

Jeffrey stayed silent, his eyes staring intently at the monitor, his phone in hand with the hotel manager's contact

already pulled up.

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Seeing this, Stanley could only fall silent. He knew his words just weren't getting through to Jeffrey.

Meanwhile, Rebecca and Alexander were completely oblivious to the fact that they were being watched.

Rebecca locked eyes with Alexander and said, “Alright then, I'll apologize. Just now, | brought up that infamous

thing you did when you were eighteen, and | was about to give you—"

“Shut up!” Alexander shouted, standing up so fast he nearly knocked over his chair.

Rebecca had to cut herself off.

Alexander clenched his fists, his nerves on edge. He was freaking out that she'd spill the beans about what went

down back in the day. He blurted out, “Fire her. Someone like her shouldn't be allowed to stay.”

Derek replied, “That's kinda tough. Our department reports to Mr. Hanson. For anyone to be let go, you gotta get

his approval first.”

Alexander paused, remembering all the whispers he’d heard floating around lately, unease creasing his brow. He

thought, ‘Did Jeffrey really go out of his way for Rebecca just to take charge of this barely-listed company?’

Derek asked, “Should I let Mr. Hanson know what

you want?”

“No need,” Alexander spat. He was certain that if he did that, he might not even know what hit him.

Alexander thought, ‘Jeffrey has said he won't have Rebecca's back like before, but the fact that he showed up for

her at this tiny company means there has to be something more going on.

‘Getting on Jeffrey’s nerves over something so trivial? No way that’s worth it.”

“I'll let it slide this time, but next tit won't be so easy,” Alexander said, gritting his teeth at Rebecca as he

stalked out.

Derek quickly followed after him. He asked, “Mr. Kendall, where are you going?”

Alexander said, “Just need sair, got worked up. See you at the party tonight.”

Derek let out a relieved breath. After sending Alexander off, he circled back to Rebecca and said, “Seriously, why

go out of your way to tick off Mr. Kendall? This kind of mess-just don’t do it again.”

Rebecca shot him a skeptical look, her suspicion quietly growing. She thought, ‘Given how things have played

out before, Derek should have jumped at the chance to criticize me, maybe got all passive-aggressive and

lectured me,

‘So why is he being almost courteous now?’

Derek said, “What are you standing around for? Go get yourself ready for tonight's event. Didn't you hear Mr.

Kendall say he’ll be back later?”

Rebecca just said “okay” and left.

Derek watched her leave, a calculating look flickering in his eyes. He pondered, ‘Mr. Kendall actually called

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Chapter 94

her Ms. Jensen-so they've clearly got history. And she dared to go toe-to-toe with him.

“There is no way Rebecca is as simple as she lets on. Gotta keep an eye on her.

Meanwhile, Alexander hopped into his car, glanced back at the hotel, and pulled out his phone.

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He fired off a quick message in a private group chat: [Heads up-it’s official, Rebecca's on her own now. Go ahead

and stir things up.]

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