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The day before the gala.

I was deep in preparations for my address — the one where I'd be announced as Holloway Group's new executive director.

My assistant sent a photo from the venue. In the seat reserved for me — Jenna Holloway, heiress and incoming director — the place card read: Mr Ashford's Fiancée.

I didn't look up. "It's wrong. Bin it."

Minutes later, Lily posted a photo of the discarded place card in the bin. Caption:

The fiancée is probably skipping the gala!! I don't understand her logic — this event represents Garrett's work, it affects two family reputations and hundreds of jobs. How can she be this selfish??

Comments: Only people who've had bosses know how destabilizing this is, No wonder he went elsewhere, who would put up with this?

What Lily hadn't seen was that my seat now had a new card: Holloway Group — Executive Director.

The comments started going a different direction as people began to place the venue. Someone put it together:

Wait — is this the Holloway-Ashford charity gala? Is the fiancée actually… Jenna Holloway? The one who graduated from Oxford at nineteen?

Within minutes, the post had been flooded by people from outside the usual circle — none of them politely amused. Holloway Group and Ashford Holdings both started trending. Lily's identity as a corporate secretary was surfaced and circulated.

Garrett called immediately, furious. "Was that you? Do you have nothing better to do?"

I sent him the screenshots. "She practically published your home address herself. I didn't have to do a thing."

"I only care about results," Garrett said, voice flat. "If you want us to stay civil, you'll deal with the fallout and protect her. Make it go away."

I ended the call.

I had my PR team bury the story — not for Garrett's benefit, but because I needed the gala to go exactly as planned.

When I checked the forum again, the post had been hidden. Lily had published a members-only update:

The fiancée clearly still misunderstood me. She's willing to burn both families' reputations just to come at me. I think I should step back…

That was not the plan.