Billionaire's Pleasure-Chapter 70: She’s Fired

Apple’s POV

I used the rest of Sunday to finish up my report in preparation for the wrap-up meeting that will take place on Monday with Dew and the rest of the Omnilert team.

In the report, there were only positive things to say about the situation. Nothing was present that would make the acquisition more difficult in the future.

The caution flags were taken down, and the start of the race was signaled. After completing the task successfully, I praised my own performance. It was impossible for me to deny the terrible pangs of homesickness I had whenever I thought about Bruce. I was somewhat aback by how much more connected to him I felt after our brief time together in Europe. Please keep in mind that I am not making any claims that I am in love. I am merely relaying the fact that I thought about him constantly. I wished that he was thinking of me as well.

Although we didn’t get a chance to talk over the weekend, I was aware that he had a lot going on. And because the nature of our relationship was not entirely obvious, I was unable to call him every two minutes as often as I desired to. I didn’t want to put him off or give the impression that I wasn’t interested in hearing from him, but at the same time, I didn’t want to do any of those things.

It was the same problem that has plagued unmarried women since the beginning of time. Should I give him a call, or should I wait for him to give me a call? But what if he doesn’t get in touch with me? Oh, whoever is in charge of dating, what should I do? What am I to do?

I came to the conclusion that it was proper behavior for me to send a few brief texts to the person I was dating over the course of the weekend, but I made sure to space them out in a way that wouldn’t make me appear needy.

His responses were concise and got right to the point.

Bruce was going to pick up the phone. To me, it was completely evident.

As soon as I recognized his voice, I realized that everything was going to be okay.

After finishing everything that needed to be done on Sunday, I went to bed at midnight and got some rest. The Omnilert team had a debriefing session the following morning at 10 o’clock in the morning.

It was going to be mind-blowing for them.

I placed my bag and briefcase behind my desk, and then ripped the lid off of a cup of black coffee that I had purchased from the coffee shop below before turning on my computer. A message from Dew was displayed on the screen nearly immediately after it was brought up. "Please make your way to my office as soon as you are able to. " I took a few sips of my steaming coffee and gave the message a cursory perusal while I waited for it. Although it wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to find internal emails waiting for me when I arrived at work, this particular one showed even before I had logged onto the office network. I eased the cup down onto the desk carefully while simultaneously pressing the login button on the screen of the computer. My fingers started shaking as I typed in my user name and password and then pressed the Enter button.

I was forced to swallow the knot in my throat as I read the words that were being reflected back at me from the computer.

Account Access Only by Invitation. It is recommended that you get in touch with the system administrator.

"What the fuck..." I retyped both my user name and password while simultaneously slamming my fingers against the keyboard as if doing so would cure the issue. It was the equivalent of pressing the elevator button over and over again in the vain expectation that the ride will go by more quickly.

I resisted the urge to keep my hands on the keyboard for too long. My knuckles crinkled into the palms of my hands as my fingers curled inward. Suddenly, I felt a palpitation in my chest.

I had to fight back the tears that were starting to build up in my eyes. I had a complete understanding of the circumstances. I don’t understand how I could have been such an idiot.

When I arrived at Dew’s office, his secretary showed me to a conference room and introduced us both. She let me inside and then quickly closed the door after me. Dew was seated at the conference table, and he kept his hands folded nicely in front of him. He appeared to be very disturbed by the look on his face. He indicated that I should take a seat on the opposite side of the table from him.

Dew was sitting next to an elderly woman who appeared to be in a gloomy mood. Next to her was a man who appeared to be quite serious.

They were instantly recognizable to me. She worked in human resources, and he was in the legal department. Everyone was there with the intention of fucking me. And not in a pleasant manner either. Dew brought them up one at a time as though we were at a cocktail party.

"Apple, may I introduce Mrs. Nely from Human Resources and Mr. Gerald from our Legal Department?" Both of them gazed at me, but neither of them spoke.

"Dew, how are things going?" I enquired while putting on a phone smile and trying to seem interested. Dew forced his saliva back down his throat and clenched his hands till the whiteness of his knuckles appeared.

"During your vacation in Europe, it has come to our attention, Apple, that you engaged in some actions that, to put it bluntly, are not proper for an Omnilert & Onez employee."

I had truly done anything to get myself fired from a job. I made an effort to cover up my grin, but it was pointless. It disappeared from my lips as quickly as a snowman might on a hot day. I took the only course of action I could think of at the time and did that. I acted like an idiot.

I responded with the statement, "I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about."

The attorney weighed in with his opinion. He spoke swiftly as if he were a prosecutor interrogating a witness. He seemed very serious. "Miss Apple, while you were in Europe, did you have any sexual interaction with Bruce Lawrence, the Chief Executive Officer of Onez Enterprises?"

"I’m sorry, but I don’t understand why that would be of concern to anyone..."

The attorney gave a dismissive shrug while saying to the client, "Miss Apple, it’s a simple question. When you were in Europe, did you or did you not engage in sexual activity with Bruce Lawrence?"

I gave the HR guy a quick blink of my eye. She was looking at me as if I had just smacked her husband in the face while he was sleeping. It was a combination of contempt and amazement on his face.

"Am I obligated to provide responses to these questions?" I inquired, getting as close as I could. "Isn’t there something I can do under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission?"

Dew sneered at me and told me, "I’m afraid the Equal Employment Opportunity rules aren’t appropriate in this instance, Miss Apple. Could you kindly respond to Mr. Gerald’s inquiry?"

I sneaked a look in Dew’s direction. He was looking at his hands, which were resting on the table. He wouldn’t even look in my direction. I set my attention squarely on the attorney while gritting my teeth. I said, "Yes, I did have a personal relationship with Bruce Lawrence when I was in Europe," I said it with a straight face.

The attorney’s eyes moved slowly around my head. I could see the muscle at the corner of his lips twitch as he spoke. This was starting to excite him a little bit more.

"You were involved in a sexual connection." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Yes."

"What exactly are you trying to say, Miss Apple?"

I inhaled deeply as I watched my career disintegrate in front of my very eyes.

"Mr. Gerald, yeah. During my time in Europe, I had a sexual encounter with Bruce, who is the chief executive officer of Onez Enterprises." I gritted my teeth in response to him. "Would you say that meets your needs?"

Gerald acknowledged with a nod and responded, "Yes, it is."

"In the event that this occurs, we do not have any other option but to immediately terminate your employment and have you removed from the building." She let out a long sigh, and it seemed as though she had been holding her breath the whole time.

My voice was shaking with desperation as I pleaded with Dew, "You can’t let them do this. I’m the most capable analyst that you have, Dew."

Dew jerked his head back and forth while lifting his chin. When I got to that stage, I understood that everything had been handled incorrectly.

"I’m sorry, Apple, but due to your actions, Omnilert & Maximo and our collaboration with Onez Enterprises are in peril. Please accept my apologies for this. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do to help."

The attorney stood up and proceeded to enter the conference room. A massive security guard could be seen standing at attention just outside the entrance.

The attorney stated while nodding his head, "Guide Miss Apple to her desk and make sure that she only retrieves her personal belongings before escorting her out of the building."