Chapter 4 - The Broken Vows|
Kevin looked like he was about to pass out on the kitchen tile.
“Yes, Miss Vance! Immediately!” Kevin stammered, frantically waving his clipboard.
“Nelia, take off that apron and get your things! You’re terminated on the spot for misconduct!”
Nelia felt the cold floor tilt beneath her feet.
Fired.
No last paycheck.
Rent was due in four days, and her bank account held exactly fifty-two dollars and sixteen cents.
How would she pay for the prenatal vitamins?
How would she buy formula, or diapers, or even a second-hand crib for the baby kicking beneath her ribs?
Despair washed over her like an icy wave, threatening to drown whatever pride she had left.
She reached behind her back with numb fingers to untie the apron strings.
Before she could undo the knot, Diego’s large, warm hand closed firmly around her wrist.
His grip was strong, yet astonishingly gentle.
“Stop,” Diego commanded softly, looking directly into her wide, tear-filled eyes.
He turned his gaze slowly toward Kevin.
The shift manager shrank under the lethal frost in Diego’s stare.
“You are not firing anyone,” Diego stated, his voice quiet, cold, and final.
Julianna let out a high-pitched, incredulous laugh.
“Diego, are you out of your mind? My father is the District Attorney! You can’t let this little tramp disrespect us like this!”
Diego released Nelia’s wrist and turned to face Julianna.
The expression on his face made Julianna take an involuntary step backward into a prep station.
“The only tramp in this room is the woman screaming in a commercial kitchen,” Diego said coldly.
Julianna gasped in sheer horror, clutching her pearl necklace as if struck.
“How dare you speak to me that way!”
“I speak to you however I see fit,” Diego replied without an ounce of warmth.
He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a sleek platinum card.
He tossed it onto Kevin’s clipboard without looking at him.
“This restaurant now belongs to Ramos Holdings,” Diego said smoothly.
“Laurent will assume the general manager position immediately, and you, Kevin, are fired.”
Kevin’s jaw dropped open, his face turning an ashen shade of gray.
“Sir, please—I have a family—!”
“Get out of my sight before my men throw you into the alley,” Diego warned.
The two armed bodyguards stepped forward, and Kevin scrambled through the rear exit without another word.
Nelia watched the entire scene unfold with mounting horror.
This was Diego Ramos in his true element.
He didn’t negotiate; he conquered, destroyed, and bought whatever stood in his way.
It was the very darkness that had terrified her into running away from their penthouse seven months ago.
“Diego, you can’t buy everything to solve your problems,” Nelia whispered, clutching her stomach.
Diego turned back to her, his gaze softening into an unbearable sadness.
May you like
“I’m not trying to buy anything, Nelia,” he said softly.
“I am taking back what has always belonged to me.”
