Haynes' brow creased. "Send me her location. I'll go find her myself."
...
An hour later, Haynes finally returned with Stella by his side.
He barely paused before addressing Benson. "Tell security and the reception desk to hand in their resignations."
"Yes, sir." Benson was just about to leave when a woman's cool, measured voice cut through the air.
"Mr. O'Brien, why take it out on innocent employees?"
There was the faintest trace of a smile in Stella's eyes, but it never reached her expression.
"Wasn't it you, Mr. O'Brien, who gave strict orders that I wasn't allowed into the O'Brien Group? They were only following your instructions."
She turned to Lacey, who stood rigidly nearby. "Isn't that right, Lacey?"
Lacey's face had gone pale, and she didn't dare speak.
Last time Stella had tried to see Haynes, it had indeed been Haynes himself who'd said she was no longer allowed on the premises.
And just now, Haynes hadn't given Lacey any heads-up that Stella would be coming.
Strictly speaking, Lacey hadn't done anything wrong-except, perhaps, for her less-than-friendly attitude.
Haynes was silent for a few moments before speaking in a calm, detached tone. "Pass down the order. From now on, if Stella comes here, notify me first."
"Yes, sir." Benson replied, turning to go, but Stella's voice stopped him.
"That won't be necessary." Her tone was light, emotionless. "I won't be coming to the O'Brien Group again."
She recalled how, just a while ago, Rachel had breezed right in without so much as a call, and the front desk hadn't even blinked. But then, Haynes was always quick to bend the rules for Rachel.
Stella had long since grown used to it.
Watching the whole exchange, Jasper couldn't hide his disdain. He muttered under his breath, just loud enough to be heard, "How dramatic."
Stella turned, fixing him with a cool gaze. "Excuse me?"
Jasper sneered. "Am I wrong? If you know you're not welcome here, you could've called Haynes in advanceâsaved everyone the trouble Instead, you stormed out, and Haynes had to chase after you himself. Quite the performance, don't you think?"
Stella arched an eyebrow. "So what you're saying, Mr. Wilkinson, is that after being thrown out without so much as an apology, I should've just hung around, shamelessly pretending nothing happened? That's what you call not being dramatic?"
She smiled, cold and sharp. "That's not being dramatic, that's just pathetic. By the way, if I recall, weren't you the one just now suggesting they put up a sign-'No dogs or certain people allowed'?"
At that, Haynes shot Jasper a chilly glance. "Jasper, it seems you still haven't learned your lesson."
Jasper's face blanched.
Rachel rushed to explain, "Haynes, Jasper was just jokingâ"
Haynes' expression was unreadable. "Maybe a bit of time behind bars would do him some good. For both your sakes."
Tears welled up in Rachel's eyes. "Haynes, all those years I was abroad, Jasper was the only one who encouraged me. If it weren't for him, I might not have made it back alive."
She looked at Haynes pleadingly. "Please, give Jasper another chance." Wiping the tears from her eyes, she turned to Jasper. "Well? Aren't you going to apologize to Ms. Cameron?"
Jasper's pride bristled, but under Haynes' gaze, he didn't dare protest.
Reluctantly, he muttered, "Stella, I'm sorry."
Stella watched him, unmoved, saying nothing.
She knew full well Haynes' words weren't really for her benefit. He was simply
using the situation to put Jasper in his place.
After all, Jasper was the very definition of a liability.