Ficorpio
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Ava Winters was always making “little mistakes.”
She would casually switch out the coffee I’d already ordered for herbal tea.
She would also “helpfully” replace the gift set I’d carefully chosen for a client with something she thought looked better.
I had pointed it out to Ethan more than once.
He always brushed it off, saying Ava was young, new to the workplace, and only trying to be helpful.
It wasn’t until she nearly ruined an important contract with one of our key clients that I finally understood.
This wasn’t carelessness. It was deliberate.
We had an appointment that night to discuss the project.
Before the clients arrived, I had personally gone over every detail. The seating, the menu, the drinks—everything had been arranged around their preferences.
What I hadn’t expected was for Ava, the little office darling everyone seemed eager to protect, to show up uninvited.
By the time I noticed her, she was already standing beside Ethan, smiling sweetly.
She wore her hair in twin ponytails, with wispy bangs framing a face that leaned hard into innocence. Her pale pink dress and white heels made her look less like someone attending a business dinner and more like a college girl dressed for a date. She even carried a tiny designer purse.
If this had been a casual company gathering, I might have let it go.
But the moment one of our clients, Mr. Chen, gave her a once-over and asked with a grin, “And who’s this? Your new little favorite?” I knew exactly how bad this looked.
Before I could answer, Ava smiled brightly and took it upon herself to step closer to Ethan.
“I’m Ethan’s assistant,” she said.
My expression turned cold.
Then she added with a shy laugh, “You can think of me as the person who understands him best.”
Mr. Chen lifted his brows and laughed. “Mr. Carter, you’re something else. I didn’t realize you brought someone special tonight.”
Ava lowered her head and stole a glance at Ethan, her voice small and embarrassed. “No, no, you’ve got it wrong…”
That tone. That timing.
My hands clenched under the table.
This was not the first time.
I had tolerated it before because I thought she was just a naive junior employee who didn’t know better.
Later, when people in the company started gossiping, I tried to convince myself it was only idle talk. I never imagined Ava would grab hold of those rumors and use them.
“Ethan looks after me a lot,” she said softly. “He’s taught me so much.”
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Another client chuckled and said, half-joking, half-probing, “Miss Winters, with Mr. Carter taking such good care of you, I’m sure your future at this company is set.”
Someone else joined in, smiling. “Exactly. In this line of work, having the boss’s favor matters more than anything.”
The atmosphere at the table shifted.
I watched the color drain from Ethan’s face.
Finally, he turned to Ava and said, “That’s enough.”
But even then, his tone wasn’t truly harsh. It sounded more like someone coaxing a child who’d said the wrong thing in public.
That only made my anger burn hotter.
If he had shut it down cleanly from the start, the situation never would have spiraled this far.
Instead, because of his silence, because of his indulgence, Ava had become bolder and bolder.
And now, even in front of clients, she dared to imply that Ethan and I were nothing.
I looked at Ethan and said flatly, “Are you not going to explain?”
He seemed to realize, at last, that things had gone too far, and he hurriedly tried to smooth it over.
“Ava doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” he said. “Don’t take it seriously.”
His expression stiffened as he spoke.
But Ava showed no sign that she understood what she’d done. She only bit her lip and looked at me with wounded innocence, as if she were the one being wronged.
I stared at her for two full seconds.
Then I forced myself to sit back down.
The contract still had to be discussed. No matter how ugly the dinner had become, I couldn’t afford to blow up in front of the client side.
Only after I restrained myself did Ethan’s face ease slightly.
But just when the server brought out the premium liquor, Ava turned to Ethan and asked in a soft, concerned voice, “Should you really be drinking tonight? Didn’t you say your stomach’s been bothering you?”
The moment she said it, my heart dropped.
Sure enough, every eye at the table turned toward Ethan.
Ava blinked at him and said gently, “You should take care of yourself.”
I had worked with Ethan for over ten years.
We’d built this company side by side from nothing, and there was no one here who understood him better than I did.
That was exactly why Ava’s little stunt tonight felt so absurd.
The whole evening, Ethan and I had been focused on keeping the conversation with the clients smooth. The company was preparing to launch Plan B, and we were so busy we barely had time to breathe. I never expected something this important to go wrong because of Ava.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
I had only stepped away for a moment to take a call. When I came back, Ava was already directing the servers to swap out the dishes.
A rich, greasy smell hit me the second I reached the table.
I froze.
All of it was heavy food—fried, oily, aggressively seasoned. She’d even ordered a platter loaded with sugar and butter, the kind of thing that looked decadent and tasted even richer.
This was a client dinner. How could she make such a stupid mistake?
I immediately stopped the staff. “Wait. These dishes aren’t what we ordered.”
The server looked stunned. “But this young lady said you wanted everything changed.”
I turned to Ava. “Who told you to do that?”
Ava blinked innocently and spread her hands. “Lauren, don’t be so tense. We’re at dinner. Shouldn’t people actually enjoy the food? If everything’s bland and healthy, what’s the point?”
Then she glanced at the clients and laughed lightly. “Come on, you can’t seriously expect executives to eat like rabbits. They probably don’t get these kinds of dishes often. It’ll be nice for them to try something different.”
I almost laughed from sheer disbelief.
Who did she think she was?
Did she really imagine these people had never seen expensive food before? That they’d be dazzled by a few rich dishes piled with cream and sugar?
What Ava didn’t know was that I had personally arranged tonight’s menu.
Several of the clients had high blood sugar and high cholesterol. Ethan was one of them too—his numbers had been bad lately, and I’d been watching his diet closely because of it. To keep everyone comfortable and avoid any problems, I’d specifically chosen lighter dishes.
Every item on this table had been selected for a reason.
And she had replaced all of it with rich, heavy food without asking anyone.
I was just about to call her out in front of everyone when Ethan cut in before I could speak.
“It’s not a big deal,” he said, his voice low, almost dismissive. “She was only trying to be thoughtful. Don’t make such a scene. If you don’t want it, just eat a little less.”
For a second, I thought I had heard him wrong.
Ava lowered her head and gave a tiny nod, as if she’d been wronged but was too kind to argue.
Fine.
I took a breath and forced down the surge of anger clawing at my chest. Then I turned to the staff and said calmly, “Remove these. Bring back the original menu we confirmed earlier.”
“Lauren…” Ava’s voice came out soft and wounded.
I ignored her.
Only then, because I had taken control, did Ava finally stop putting on that meek little act and sit down with reddened eyes, looking as if I had bullied her.
A moment later, Ethan suddenly reached across and rested a hand against her arm.
His brow tightened slightly. He looked at her and said, with unmistakable concern, “If you can’t handle rich food, don’t force yourself.”
Ava’s eyes immediately turned glassy.
My fingers clenched under the table.