Chapter 14: Cossette POV – Mommy's Having a Meltdown
They both stared at me like I'd crashed their wedding and not my own meeting.
Seriously, could they be more obvious?
Anika looked like she was about to spontaneously combust.
Then she snapped.
"What do you mean?!" she shouted, both hands slamming on the table like a toddler mid-tantrum.
"You know why I'm here! I've managed your father's company for an entire year after his death when you were sleeping like a little princess . I was the one running Foody!"
I didn't flinch. Didn't even blink.
I stayed seated — calm, elegant, composed — like a CEO.
"Yes," I said smoothly, "because I let you."
Then I pointed to myself. "You were the worker, Anika. I am the owner. I'm the one whose name is on the company. And last I checked…" I tilted my head.
"That means I belong here more than you do."
I smiled.
Her expression?
Indescribable.
I swear, even her hair stood up from the voltage of her rage.
I almost felt bad for the strands.
Almost.
Then Frost stood up — dramatic much?
"You're late to your first day," he said icily. "And you think you deserve to sit in on a confidential meeting?"
"Oh?" I lifted a brow. "of couse i do i'm Foody CEO but tell me what is she ?" I pointed to Anika. "Let's not pretend the rules are the issue here, babe."
Then I added, sharper this time:
"Let me remind you — I'm your wife. Not her. So who has more right to be here?"
Frost's eyes narrowed.
"Being my wife doesn't give you privileges. Anika is better than you at everything. Business. Marketing. You know nothing, Cossette."
Silence.
The kind that cuts.
My heart squeezed — not because I believed him…
But because she smiled.
That smile.
The same one she gave me before I died. Cold. Triumphant. Poisonous.
And Frost just handed her the match to burn me again.
"So," I said sharply, "you're close enough to judge our skills now? Friends, are you? Since when exactly?"
They didn't answer. But their eyes met.
Across the table, Alvis looked trapped between a soap opera and a grenade.
The two other employees whispered like schoolgirls in a scandal.
Anika twirled a strand of hair, fake-sweet.
"It's not that deep, Cossette. I'm just more experienced. That's all."
I leaned back in my chair and smiled — calm, lethal.
"Of course. You're older than me, Mommy. Let's bring in a 100-year-old CEO and let them beat you with a walking stick, shall we?"
Gasps.
Literal gasps.
Even Alvis chuckled under his breath before catching Frost's glare and shutting up fast.
Anika?
She froze.
Like her entire soul got deleted.
I think I saw her hand tremble.
Frost opened his mouth to bark something, but Alvis cut in:
"She's not wrong. She owns Foody's assets. She needs to be in this meeting."
Wait… Alvis is defending me?
Frost looked at him like he'd just grown horns. Then, with a heavy sigh:
"Whatever. Let's get on with it."
Anika stared at him in disbelief.
Like… That's it? No defending her? No kicking me out?
But no, darling.
I was staying.
And we were just getting started.