Chapter 1: The Green Stain of Betrayal
The first person to insult me on my first day as CEO was my husband’s secretary.
She stood in front of the executive elevator in the grand lobby of Vance Global, looked me over, and smiled as though she had already appraised my worth and found me bankrupt.
“Custodians and interns use the service elevator,” she said, her voice a practiced purr that echoed off the Italian marble.
For a second, I thought she was joking. I wore a plain beige dress and low heels. For six years, I had managed Vance Global’s overseas projects where hard hats, steel-toed boots, and functional laptops mattered more than designer handbags. Apparently, while I was out building the company’s infrastructure in the dirt, the New York headquarters had turned clothing into a rigid caste system.
“I’m not a custodian,” I said, keeping my voice even.
“Then you’re an intern. Interns use the service elevator too.”
Her nameplate, pinned to a flawless silk blouse, read Chloe Thorne — EXECUTIVE SECRETARY TO PRESIDENT VANCE.
My husband’s office. My husband’s secretary. I had been married to Julian Vance for ten years and had never formally met her.
A junior employee standing nearby whispered, “Please. Just take the service elevator. Miss Thorne can make your life a living hell.”
“Does it go to the sixty-eighth floor?” I asked the employee.
“No. It stops at sixty-three.”
“So what do employees do?”
She hesitated, her eyes darting nervously toward Chloe. “Take the stairs.”
