Winning My Ex-Crush

Fenella’s POV

“I want to quit,” I said as I placed the white envelope on Alan’s desk.

Alan looked at the envelope and raised one eyebrow. I had prepared myself for Alan’s possible outburst, knowing how he could become extremely temperamental when he was angry. Everyone knew how Alan could be very volatile when upset.

I swallowed hard, bracing myself for Alan’s reaction, but he simply remained seated in his chair. He tapped his pen on his hand. Alan just sat there, staring at the envelope, with both elbows resting on the armrests of his chair.

After a while, he finally swiveled his chair to face me directly. He uncrossed his legs and propped both elbows on the desk.

I tightened my fingers around my small white bag. My body was stiff in the chair, waiting for Alan’s reaction as if I were awaiting a judge’s verdict. He then looked at me coldly.

“Is this an April Fool’s joke?” He asked, frowning with a raised eyebrow, dismissing me.

“It’s December 1st, Alan, not April 1st. This is not a joke,” I said quietly, emphasizing that I was not making a prank.

“Then why are you handing over this nonsense letter?” he asked as he opened the envelope and quickly read the letter.

“Because I want to resign from Gene.”

“You can’t quit Gene, not ever.” He placed my letter down as if disgusted by it.

“That’s nonsense, Alan. I can quit,” I insisted, leaning in closer.

“No, you can’t quit. I know you didn’t read the contract, but I’m sure Laird should have informed you before you submitted your resignation.”

“Uhm, I haven’t told him yet. I wanted to surprise him; I know he will be very pleased to hear it,” I said with a shrug.

“Aha! No wonder. If you had told him, he would have been shocked to receive this bad news from you, and he would immediately suffer a severe migraine.” Alan’s hand massaged one side of his temple as if he were actually suffering a migraine due to my resignation letter.

“You don’t know that,” I said, shaking my head.

“Yes, I do. Because I know the contract states that you will work at Gene for five years, and if you choose to terminate the contract before the term, you have to repay all the money and bonuses that have been given to you.”

“Are you serious?” I asked, my eyes widening and taking a quick breath. “How could you do this to me?”

“That’s what you signed. It’s a standard contract for lead models.” Alan pointed his chin.

“This is fraud, and I can sue you with Laird.”

“Go ahead. I’m sure Laird understands this better.” Alan leaned back in his chair.

I remained silent for a long time, reflecting on my own foolishness. Ugh, yes, I had never read the entire contract. How could I digest all those legal clauses? My confidence began to wane with the reality Alan laid out.

“Why do you want to quit? Are you still angry about what happened with Mallory, hmm?”

“Exactly. Alan, you’ve ruined my relationship with Laird. You don’t know what I’ve been through to make up with him.” I spontaneously voiced the feelings I had been holding back for a week.

I had tried repeatedly to meet with Alan but only had the chance today. In truth, my decision was not solely based on frustration with Alan’s attitude. It was more than that!

Alan Schmidt might be Amy Schmidt’s brother and my biggest bully in high school. No wonder he did all these things to me, and he might even be sabotaging my career and my relationship with Laird. He was like a male version of Amy!

One word that came to mind when I realized Alan might be related to Amy was ‘run’. I should have run away from them as far as I could!

Alan sighed deeply. He folded his lips inward and then spoke again.

“Okay, fine. I admit it was my fault for not explaining it better to you and forcing you to follow my scheme. The problem was, yesterday I ran out of time to explain it to you because you left in a hurry after the fashion show and you didn’t come earlier to the after-party.”

“Oh, great! Now you’re blaming me? For some reason, you seem to be defending yourself now.” I cut him off.

“If you keep pretending to be the victim and being defensive, I won’t be nice anymore. I don’t care if you sue me, but I will become your biggest enemy and leave here holding a grudge against you, your family, and all your descendants.”

My words began to get out of control, and I was gasping for breath. My hands were raised, gripping the air as if I were trying to restrain myself with all my might.

Alan remained silent, blinking repeatedly. Maybe I was acting like a mad woman, but I was truly desperate to leave Gene. I was utterly fed up with dealing with Alan and all the manipulation he had done!

“Wow. I’m shocked, Fenella. I did all that to boost your career. I worked hard, but if you despise me that much, I will give up.” Alan raised both hands in surrender.

“Does that mean you’ll let me go?”

“Yes, if that’s what you want. Consider it as if I fire you, and in that case, you won’t have to pay any compensation.” He spoke coldly with his hands clenched on the desk, as if trying to suppress his anger.

“But?” I knew there would be additional conditions he would ask for.

“Complete all the projects you’ve signed, and don’t ever expect Mallory to give you any attention again.”

I swallowed hard. Everyone knew how Mallory West was the cruelest grudge-holder in the entertainment industry. She once made an entire album about her cheating ex, and that album won her various music awards. She had also made life difficult for everyone she considered a betrayer until they were completely sunk in the fashion or entertainment industry.

I began to doubt my decision. Did I really want to be on the opposite side of Mallory West? But it shouldn’t be that bad as long as I don’t attack her directly, right? It wouldn’t be that bad.

“Alright. Anyway, I’ve only met Mallory once; she might not even consider me a friend.”

There was indeed a small feeling of disappointment, but I maintained my resolve.

“You really prefer Laird over your career, don’t you?” Alan snorted, and his lopsided grin clearly mocked me.

“Yes. My decision is final,” I said coldly.

“Fine.”

***

I tasted my own bolognese sauce from the tip of the spoon. Yes, it was indeed unusual, but I thought cooking dinner for Laird would be a good distraction from all my bad thoughts.

Just earlier this afternoon, I was determined to quit Gene, but by tonight, I was beginning to feel that I had made the wrong decision. My mind kept imagining various negative outcomes that hadn’t happened yet, but they made me anxious.This is from NôvelDrama.Org.

I knew it was my anxiety and overthinking acting up, but all the online articles mentioned that a new hobby would help us forget our worries.

“Yuck!” I grimaced and stuck out my tongue.

The taste of my sauce was sour and too spicy on my tongue, even though I followed the recipe he sent this afternoon through the messaging app. I didn’t understand how Laird could make his instant spaghetti sauce taste so amazing.

Suddenly, the door opened, signaling that Laird had returned. Sure enough, Laird appeared with a wide smile on his face.

“Fenella!”

He hugged me tightly and swept me off my feet. Then he kissed my cheek and my lips repeatedly with quick pecks.

“What’s up, Laird?” I chuckled, amused by his behavior. This was the first time I saw Laird laugh so broadly and look so happy.

“We did it! A major developer from LA just told us that they want to collaborate with us!”