The CEO Husband Who Chose His Protégé Over Me

1: 1

Three years at the branch office, and my transfer back to headquarters finally came through.

On my first day, I'd barely signed the contract when I noticed the director position I'd been promised had become a team lead role.

I sat down in the stairwell, hands shaking, and typed out five hundred words to my husband, Clifford Greer, asking why.

The reply I got was six words.

Keep it professional. Report to your supervisor.

A second later a message pinged in the company-wide group chat, tagging everyone. It was from Regina Pruitt.

Thank you all for looking after me these past six months. I've ordered afternoon coffee for everyone, help yourselves in the eighth-floor conference room~

Right after, Clifford dropped a cash gift in the chat.

Congratulations, Director Pruitt.

Voices drifted in from the hallway.

Some people just have all the luck.

Well, she's Mr. Greer's protge. She only said she wanted to give it a try, and the appointment landed in her lap.

I stood frozen where I was, my eyes stinging.

Back when Clifford first started out, he'd had a project all but locked down, only to lose it at the last moment to someone who cut in front of him.

He learned later the other person had gotten there through connections.

After the company went public, he made a hard rule about personnel appointments: if he ever caught that kind of thing, he showed no mercy.

So I worked myself to the bone, climbing up on my own merit.

And in the end, there was no praise. Someone still cut in front of me.

And the one behind it, it turned out, was him.

If that was how it was, then I didn't want the position or the man.

I swallowed the ache in my throat and finished writing my resignation letter.

Staring at the send button, in the end, I still wanted a clear answer.

Eight years together, four of them building the company at his side, three at the branch office.

For three years I ran a team on my own. Retention hit ninety-five percent. I brought in over a hundred million in investment for the company.

And now I'd been passed over for someone with no real track record.

And the reason was simply that she wanted to give it a try.

But I wanted to hear the answer from his own mouth.

I keyed in the code for the top-floor elevator, 0924, the day his company made it.

The elevator rose slowly, the whole city opening up beneath me.

I could see the old apartment block Clifford and I used to squeeze into, where we'd dreamed about the future, refined our plans, hunched over a secondhand laptop watching the stock charts.

He promised me he would give me the best of everything.

But once the company went public, he moved our marriage underground and sent me off to the branch office.

He said too many companies ran into trouble because of a husband-and-wife dynamic.

That he also wanted me to gain real experience, instead of standing beside him because of who I was to him.

I agreed.

Now the apartment block was gone, torn down and rebuilt into a new shopping district.

And I'd done everything I set out to do.

And this was how it turned out.

The elevator stopped at the twenty-eighth floor and opened with a soft chime.

The moment I stepped out, I saw Clifford at the counter, patiently holding a pen and guiding Regina.

See how much clearer that is?

Don't rush. Take your time.

There's a roadshow in a few days. You'll be running the whole thing.

Mr. Greer, I've never coordinated an event that big. If something goes wrong

Regina let the words trail off.

Don't be afraid. Go for it.

Clifford looked at her, his expression soft.

No experience? Then create some.

That finance instructor you like will be there too. Get a photo with him while you're at it, give yourself a little motivation.

The late-autumn sun came through the window and fell across me.

But I had never felt colder.

In all these years, he had never once handed me an opportunity.

There was a time when a businesswoman I deeply admired was giving a talk at a symposium.

The company received an invitation from the organizers.

I'd just closed a thirty-million project, and I wanted Clifford to take me. He said we had to avoid the appearance of favoritism.

I asked him, a little angry, what appearance there was to avoid when no one around us even knew we were together.

His face went hard.

Valerie Cooley, the workplace is for building a career, not for chasing your idols.

Besides, not every woman has that kind of potential.

After that, I carried the rule about appearances all the way through.

No matter how hard it rained, I never took his car to or from work.

In meetings, I wouldn't spare him a second glance.

In the elevator, I kept my distance from him.

I always believed the standard he held me to was the standard he held everyone to.

But now Regina had shattered all of it.

Regina answered obediently.

Yes, Mr. Greer, I'll go get started now.

She turned and met my eyes.

Valerie

I didn't look at her. I walked straight into Clifford's office, sat down on the couch, and tossed the employment contract onto the desk.

I want an explanation.

He frowned.

The contract says it plainly enough.

I let out a small laugh.

Three years, and you give me a team lead position?

Clifford, did you bring me back just so I could watch you flirt with your little protge?

His voice dropped.

Valerie, what are you talking about?

I'm talking nonsense?

I met those eyes of his, full of edge.

Then why does the whole company know she's your protge, and no one knows I'm your wife?

Clifford, am I really thatthat much of an embarrassment to show off?

As those last words left me, something like a wad of cotton lodged in my chest.

My nose stung, and the tears spilled over all at once.

I hated that after all these years I still couldn't break the habit of crying at moments like this, and I turned away to wipe my eyes.

When I turned back, Clifford was watching me with a calm face, like he was looking at a madwoman.

Valerie, you're not some girl fresh out of school. Don't bring your emotions into the office.

He picked up his ringing phone, his tone gentle.

I'll come with you. Wait for me in the parking lot. That guy's a slippery old hand, you can't handle him on your own.

Then he took a bottle of peach-flavored drink out of the fridge, twisted it open, set it on the desk, and said to me,

When you've cooled off, we'll talk.

The door shut, and the whole floor went quiet again.

I threw that bottle of peach drink into the trash.

He'd forgotten I was allergic to anything with peach in it.

The Clifford Greer from eight years ago was gone.

2: 2

I dragged my suitcase home to find Clifford's car parked downstairs and the lights on in the apartment.

I keyed in my fingerprint. Wrong once. Wrong twice.

I was about to try a third time when the door opened.

A head poked out. It was Regina.

She saw it was me, and looked a little startled.

"Valerie... what are you doing here?"

I curved my lips.

"I'm coming home to my own place. Is there a problem with that?"

"Your place?"

She gave a little smile.

"You've got it wrong. This is company housing they gave me. You've been gone so long, maybe you came to the wrong door?"

I pushed the door open and let out a cold laugh.

"I have been gone a long time, but not long enough to forget my own home."

"Should I call the police and have someone come confirm it for you?"

Clifford came out of the bathroom, one hand toweling his hair, the other pulling my suitcase inside.

He saw me. His expression didn't change, and his tone was offhand.

"You've been away these past few years. I've been staying at our marriage home most of the time, and this place was sitting empty."

"Gina had just graduated and had nowhere to stay, so I let her move in."

I walked a circle through the apartment.

Everything I'd carefully arranged before I left had been dumped into the storage room, the kitchenware thrown into the cabinets in a mess.

The coats in the bedroom closet had been stuffed into bags, crushed out of shape.

My father's memorial portrait, which had stood on top of the living room cabinet, had been shoved carelessly into a drawer packed with junk, covered in dust.

I lifted it out gently, wiped it clean with my sleeve, and turned my glare on Regina.

"Why did you touch my father's portrait?"

Regina shrank back, her eyes reddening at once, and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Valerie, I didn't mean to..."

"I live here alone, and every time I walk in I see that portrait. It scares me!"

"Scares you, and you moved in anyway?"

"Enough!"

Clifford cut me off sharply.

"Valerie, it's one photo. Do you have to blow it up into something this big?"

"She's a young girl, she scares easily. So she put it away. What's the harm?"

"One photo?"

I gave a cold laugh, staring at him.

"Say that again while you're looking at my father. I dare you."

He was quiet for a few seconds, then his voice softened.

"All right, don't be angry. I was in the wrong on this."

"I should have told you beforehand."

He reached out to take my hand as he spoke.

"You flew all morning and ran back and forth to the office. You're exhausted. Get some rest first."

"I've already made up the guest room for you."

I froze for a beat, wondering if I'd heard him wrong.

I shook his hand off, and when I spoke my throat was tight.

"You want me to sleep in the guest room?"

There was a trace of impatience in his eyes, but his tone stayed coaxing.

"I'll switch it back myself tomorrow. Just let Gina have it for tonight."

"Clifford! Don't push this too far!"

My chest was heaving.

"This is premarital property my father left me. It has nothing to do with you."

"I won't give it up, and I won't let her keep living here."

I looked up, checked my watch, and turned to Regina.

"It's eight o'clock now. I want you out of my home before nine thirty."

"Otherwise, I'll press charges against you for unlawful occupancy."

"Valerie, so now it's mine and yours between us?"

Clifford threw the towel onto the couch and looked at me coldly.

"For me it's only now. For you it's been all along."

I didn't look at him. I took gloves and a mask out of the drawer and walked into the bedroom.

I threw all of Regina's things out.

Then I hung my own clothes up, one piece at a time.

Regina stood where she was, at a loss.

Not until I threw out the last item did she rush over, scoop it up, and clutch it to her chest, tears falling in big drops.

She looked at me, her whole face wronged.

"Valerie, I know you're angry, but you can't just throw out the keepsake my grandmother left me!"

I watched that pitiful look on her face, wiped my hands with a look of dread.

"You're afraid of my father's portrait, so of course I'm afraid of your grandmother's keepsake too!"

"So there was nothing to do but throw it out."

Regina choked on her words. She stuffed her things back into her suitcase one by one, then sobbed to a grim-faced Clifford.

"Mr. Greer, I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."

"I'll go now."

Thunder crashed, and the rain came pouring down.

Clifford snatched up his car keys and strode for the door.

I watched his back and asked.

"Where are you going?"

He turned around, his eyes full of disappointment.

"When did you get so heartless? You used to worry about stray cats getting hurt on rainy days, didn't you?"

"The storms lately are dangerous. Driving her out this late at night, aren't you afraid something will happen to her?"

I curled up on the couch and nodded.

"You can go."

"But once you walk out that door, don't regret it."

His steps hitched. He didn't look back.

3: 3

That night, Clifford didn't come home.

I spent the whole night putting the house back together, piece by piece. When I got to the bathroom, I found more than Regina's tampons in the drawer. Clifford's razor was there too.

On the counter sat two toothbrush cups, the classic pink-and-blue his-and-hers set.

I stared at all of it, and a discomfort crept over me that I couldn't name.

In all the years we dated and were married, he had never once mixed his things in with mine, and he certainly never used matching couple's items with me.

I looked toward the living room. It was as though every corner held traces of a life the two of them had shared.

These past six months, had Regina really been living here alone, or had this been their home together?

The only answer was the rain hammering down outside the window.

I threw everything into a trash bag and put it out.

I disinfected the whole place top to bottom, changed the locks, and only lay down when the sky was starting to lighten.

Early the next morning, I was woken by knocking at the door.

I opened it. It was Clifford.

He was holding a bouquet of flowers and a small cake.

This exact scene had played out years ago.

It left me a little dazed.

Back then, he'd done it to cheer me up.

And now?

He set the flowers and the cake on the table.

"Your favorite bakery. Have a little before you sleep."

I sat down and opened the box.

When I saw the peach pieces on top, I sank back against the chair.

"Clifford, first a peach drink, now a peach cake. Do you not know I'm allergic?"

A flicker of embarrassment crossed his face.

"Sorry... it's been so long since I bought it, I forgot."

"Let me order you delivery."

"No need."

I picked up my laptop and, right in front of him, submitted my rejection of the position-change notice, then sent my resignation letter to his inbox.

"When you have a moment, I'd appreciate it if you'd approve it, Mr. Greer."

His expression darkened.

"Valerie, are you still throwing a fit?"

"If you feel your current position doesn't match your ability, then wait until the spot in Market Management opens up next year."

"But I don't want to wait anymore."

"You're twenty-nine now. In a couple of years we'll be trying for a baby. Do you really think that if you quit now, you'll find a good job out there?"

"Clifford!"

I raised my eyes to him, my voice tight.

"Whether there's a baby is my decision, when I want one. That's not yours to make!"

The year we made it big, I got pregnant by accident.

I waited until the three-month mark, when it was stable, planning to tell him as a surprise.

Instead he held me and told me to get rid of it.

I asked him why, and he said this age was the prime time to push our careers.

Now, after everything it took to get here, he wasn't just tearing down my career. He wanted to shut me up at home.

He froze for a second, his voice going flat.

"If you quit now, your bonus from last quarter at the branch is forfeited. Are you sure you want to resign?"

"I think I've already made myself perfectly clear."

He took out his phone, typed a few lines, and two minutes later the request was approved.

Then he headed for the door.

"Over the next three days, hand off all your project resources and work properly."

"I'd like to see just what you can do once you're out of this company!"

I gave a small hum and didn't look up.

An hour later, the company-wide group chat shared a link to the roadshow livestream.

The camera happened to pan across Clifford's seat. His eyes were on Regina as she spoke on stage, and they were full of softness.

My feed refreshed. Regina had posted. She stood beside the finance mogul, her smile sweet, every strand of her hair catching the light.

Everything went perfectly! Who knew a workday could mean meeting your idol and getting great photos too! Thank you, Mr. Greer, for your incredible photography skills!

My heart skipped a beat.

For eight years, one of the things Clifford hated most was taking pictures.

The first time we went out together, I wore a dress I'd saved up a long time to buy, and I coaxed and begged him forever before he agreed to take my photo.

Every single shot came out with me blending into the scenery. When I posted them, people thought it was one of those spot-the-difference games.

After that, I always believed he just couldn't take pictures.

I'd rather use a tripod for a selfie than ask him.

But now, he'd made someone else look so lively and charming.

A line suddenly came back to me.

A camera carries feeling. Someone who loves you will make you look beautiful.

I opened the legal services site and added the most reputable divorce lawyer I could find.

4: 4

In the days after, I started handing off the projects and resources I still held, clearing away whatever scraps of work remained.

Dozens of documents a day, running from department to department.

On the last day, I walked into the company and felt every pair of eyes crawl over me, the whispering never stopping.

"That's her. Thinks that because she's an old-timer here, because she pulled off a little something at the branch, she doesn't have to know her place anymore."

"So annoying. Overtime again today."

I had no idea what any of it meant. I'd barely sat down at my desk when Clifford came striding over.

A stack of documents slammed down on my desk, the pages fanning out, one sharp edge slicing my finger.

"Valerie! Look at what you've done!"

"Because of your screwup, the launch date got pushed back a full three days."

"Do you have any idea what that means for the company? Channels, supply chain, the whole PR schedule, all thrown into chaos. Can you afford a loss like that?"

Regina stood beside him, her eyes rimmed red, her whole face pinched with worry.

"Valerie, I know you think I don't deserve this position, so you didn't want to cooperate with me."

"But that's between us. If you're holding a grudge, take it out on me in private. Hit me, curse at me, I'll take it."

"Everyone's been putting in overtime for three whole months on this project. We were finally about to see the results, and you"

By the end she was nearly in tears.

I drew a slow breath. I didn't rush to defend myself.

I took the flash drive out of my bag and threw the screen recordings of every step of the last three days up onto the big screen.

"Anyone with eyes, open them wide and take a good look."

Then I turned to Regina.

"A project this size, and the most critical milestone got quietly merged onto me? Someone who's about to resign, someone who, strictly speaking, no longer even counts as part of this company, and who wasn't told a thing about it?"

"Is that a reasonable process?"

I paused, and looked at Clifford.

"And let's say I did handle it. Did I even have the access to?"

The whole office went quiet.

Clifford pressed his lips together, his expression cold.

"Even so, you should have flagged it right away!"

"The company deciding not to give you that position was the best call it ever made."

"Someone as irresponsible as you doesn't deserve to stay here."

The words landed on me one after another, and something in my chest shook hard.

I wanted to speak, and found I barely had the strength left to breathe.

All these years I'd worked myself to the bone at that job. When things were hardest for him, I'd handed over the savings my father left me, everything I had, to back his startup.

I listened to him and kept my distance to avoid gossip. I listened to him and went to the branch office.

I even gave up my first child for what he called his prime years to build.

And now he was calling me irresponsible.

He pulled a tissue from the desk and handed it to Regina.

"Mistakes happen. Bring your laptop to my office and we'll go through it."

I looked at his face gone soft, and started to wonder if he was schizophrenic.

To wonder what these past eight years had even been for.

But I didn't want to dig into it anymore.

"Clifford Greer."

He stopped walking and turned his head.

"Valerie, I don't recall the company training telling employees to call their boss by his full name."

"No, it didn't."

I looked at him steadily.

"But this is the first time, and the last."

Then I set my badge on the desk and left without looking back.

Early the next morning, I'd just finished the last round of online interviews. I took out my phone, ready to talk to him about the divorce, when Regina's feed updated.

In the photo she lay on a bed at the wellness clinic, the thin blanket I'd knitted last year draped over her, and he stood there talking to the doctor, his brows drawn tight.

I stared at that photo for a long time, then blocked his number.

Before the plane took off, I turned the divorce over to my lawyer, in full.

From then on, there would never again be any him in my life.