The Billionaire's Mistake

MISTAKE 250

Chapter 250: Issues at work

Back home, Hazel slept till morning. When she woke up she prepared for work.

She donned one of her favorite crisp red pant suits and ran a brush through her glossy chestnut tresses. By the

tshe appraised herself in the steamy mirror, Hazel saw only a shadow of the pale, drawn woman from the

previous night. Today she looked every inch the consummate professional she used to be; sharp, confident,

commanding.

This was her armor, her personal suit of psychological mail that she would don to shield herself from the callous

blows of this new, hazardous world.

After locking up her fortress apartment, Hazel strode toward the lobby's exit with her head held high. Only to

cup short at the sight of two conspicuously large men loitering by the front stoop.

Her sense of triumphant poise wavered as their eyes tracked her emergence from the building, burnt umber

irises devoid of expression. Marcus's sentinels were already in place, grim-faced and inescapable. "Ms. Gra

Greyson," one rumbled by way of greeting, the seemingly filled with respect.

Hazel swallowed hard, feeling the need to curse.

She had thought they were long gone.

Hazel could not believe they had been hear this long But they returned by morning. She held her tongue, acutely

aware that what ever she said would mostly likely make its way back into Marcus Green's ears. She silently

followed them down stairs and they opened the car door for her and she got in.

Hazel sat in the back of the slick black car, staring blankly out the window as Marcus's men drove her to the

office. Her body was still slightly sore from last night's events, but her mind raced with how she would face her

colleagues after brutally taking down her superior Mr. Reeds and those despicable Hug Tech investors.

She had defended herself, that much was certain. But would everyone else see it that way? Or would they view

her as ssort of unhinged maniac, capable of inexplicable violence?

As the car pulled up to the office building, Hazel straightened her spine and set her jaw. No matter what sort of

rumors or gossip was swirling, she would not cower or shrink away. If anything, her actions last night proved her

strength in the face of horrible mistreatment. Hazel strode through the lobby towards the elevator bank, her

heels clicking defiantly against the marble floors. She could already feel the weight of wary glances and quickly

averted eyes from employees milling about. Word had clearly spread about an incident involving her.

In the elevator, she was greeted with hushed "good mornings" from other riders, their tones

a mixture of politeness and trepidation. Hazel simply gave the briefest of nods in return, standing ramrod

straight as she focused on the ascending floor numbers.

When she finally reached her department, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Hazel's colleagues not-so-

surreptitiously stopped their conversations and activities as she strode. towards her desk. Even Lucy, her usual

snarky professional rival, remained silent and still as

Hazel passed by.

Settling in at her workstation, Hazel's eyes scanned the wary faces all around her. She couldn't stop the annoyed

huff that escaped her lips.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, her tone laced with mild impatience. "If you all have something to say, I'd prefer

you just say it."

The uncomfortable silence only stretched further in the wake of her words. A few people opened their mouths as

if to respond before seeming to think better of it. Eventually, everyone just awkwardly returned to their work,

stealing furtive glances at Hazel every few seconds.

Irritated by the strange dynamic, Hazel pulled up the company forum on her computer. She figured if there was

swild rumor circulating about her exploits last night, that's where it would take root.

As soon as the first thread loaded, Hazel's jaw dropped in shock. There, in bold digital ink, was a news article

breathlessly recounting how a "mystery woman" had taken down Mr. Reeds and. several wealthy investors in

what appeared to be a brutal beating. The report claimed the victims were all hospitalized in intensive care after

being attacked by this unnamed female assailant. Quotes from witnesses at the scene described a woman

calmly

entering the room before a horrific fight erupted, only for her to later emerge completely unscathed while the

men were left battered and unconscious.

Hazel felt her face flush crimson as she read the vivid, overblown account. While the broad strokes were factual,

the article made her sound like sunhinged supervillain capable of unprovoked violence.

As she kept scrolling, she saw that the company forum was already ablaze with comments and speculation on

the article. At first, many simply mocked Reeds' misfortune.

"That sleaze ball Reeds probably tried soliciting spoor girl to his investor buddies. I'm almost jealous | wasn't

there to watch him get his ass kicked!" one person gleefully wrote.

Forget customer service training, we need to hire this mystery woman to teach self-defense classes to all the

ladies in the office!" another chimed in.

Hazel couldn't completely disagree with the chorus of people cheering her actions towards the abusive Reeds.

But she was still uneasy with being characterized as ssort of crazed

aggressor.

Part of her felt a rush of pride when she saw that the men were barely conscious. She had not fought in a while

and the fight last night was much needed. Sapter 260 Issues

At the stime, The sheer sensationalism surrounding her made Hazel deeply

uncomfortable. She wasn't a mercenary or secre assassin as people were joking about, just a woman who

wanted to fight for a bit.

As she closed out of the forum, Hazel couldn't shake the feeling that her previously under-the-radar life at the

office was now permanently shattered. No longer could she simply blend in, head down, crunching numbers and

data without any hoopla or fanfare. For better or worse, Hazel had stepped into a brilliant new spotlight, the

formerly mousy and forgettable data analyst reborn as a fierce, fearswoman who refused to be subjugated

or disrespected. As she eyed her colleagues still stealing nervous glances her way, Hazel fought the urge to both

smile and frown at her tically upended circumstances.

One thing was for certain her life would never be the sagain. And she was right. It did not take long for

Hazel to be called into HR for a meeting.

Hazel strode down the hall towards the HR department, her heels clicking defiantly against the linoleum floors.

She had received an abrupt summons from leadership demanding her presence, and she had a sinking suspicion

about the reason.

As she entered the dingy office space, Hazel was met by Ted, the beleaguered HR manager, and Sarah, one of

the senior vice presidents. Their expressions were a mixture of sternness and trepidation.

"Have a seat, Hazel," Ted said, gesturing stiffly to the chair across from his desk. "We need to discuss a...rather

serious matter."

Hazel complied silently, keeping her spine straight and her hands folded in her lap. She knew the line of

questioning was incoming.

"I'll cut right to the chase," Sarah interjected, her tone clipped and accusatory. "Were you the one responsible for

the incident with Mr. Reeds and those investors? Did you assault them at that club the other night?" Hazel simply

met Sarah's gaze, her expression reso "And what evidence do you have that |

was involved?"

The two HR reps shared a tense look before Ted spoke up again. "The...comments and speculation circulating

have been difficult to ignore. Not to mention that picture from outside the club depicting you at the scene."

"I see," Hazel replied evenly. "So that's enough to declareguilty then? Comments?"

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "We have an responsibility to take these accusations seriously, Hazel. Especially given

the severity of the alleged actions. If you were indeed responsible for that... that vicious assault, we would have

no choice but to terminate your employment immediately."

A fleeting smirk played across Hazel's lips as she reached into her purse and retrieved her

phone. "Is that so? Well, let's revisit those 'alleged actions’ shall we?"