The Cost Of Betrayal

Chapter 1

As soon as I entered the company, people around me greeted me with smiles.

"Congratulations! We can't call you secretary anymore; we must call you General now!"

"Congratulations, General. Please take good care of us in the future."

"General, you have to invite us for a celebration dinner tonight, as we will all be working under your leadership from now on!"

I smiled and pursed my lips, "It's not decided yet; it's too early to say these things."

"Hey, it's a done deal; it's just a matter of procedure now. General, you're just too modest!"

I smiled and waved, walking towards the conference room.

My colleagues were not just flattering me.

I have been working with James since he started his business in his second year of college.

As his secretary, I wrote proposals, negotiated cooperation, and studied the company's development direction. I also had to take care of his daily life.

Without me, there would be no AHA and no James today.

This deputy general manager position was rightfully mine.

Suppressing my joy, I entered the conference room, where the executives were already seated.

However, the atmosphere inside was completely different from the outside.

The conference room was silent, and when my colleagues, with whom I had worked for many years, saw me, their faces were full of hidden resentment and pity.

I pointed my finger toward James, sitting at the top.

He had his fingers interlaced on the table, and a woman with long black hair and a pearl-white dress sat beside him.

She looked out of place in the severe conference room.

At that moment, my heart felt like it had fallen into icy water, but I still held onto a glimmer of hope and asked softly, "James, who is this?"

James avoided my gaze and pretended to be relaxed,

"This is our new deputy general manager, Lily. Later, you can take her to the HR department to complete the procedures, and as for the workspace...it will be next to my office."

I stood still, feeling as if I had been publicly slapped in the face, everything spinning around me.

The department manager beside me couldn't take it anymore and slammed the table, standing up.

"James, what is the meaning of this? Didn't you promise to give Betty the deputy general manager position?"

"Yeah," the HR manager frowned, "We've all seen how much Betty has contributed over the years.

It's not appropriate to replace her now, is it?"

These were all colleagues with whom I had worked for many years, and our relationship had always been good.

James's face darkened, his gaze sweeping the room.

After a moment, he spoke with a hint of anger:

"Am I the president, or are you the president?!"

The department manager did not back down and replied,

"You are the president, but the company does not belong to you alone. Is it justifiable to appoint someone as vice president out of nowhere?"

James sneered,

"Lily has a master's degree in finance and economics from Columbia University. Her qualifications are higher, and her abilities are better than Betty's. I am doing this for the sake of the company!" He continued, "

All of you have personal relationships in your minds, but the company's development cannot be based on personal relationships!"

I looked at Lily's familiar face and sneered,

"James, don't be ridiculous. You're saying all this because she's your first love, right?"

I have known James since high school, and although others may not know, I have a deep impression of Lily.

She was James's first love, and they were passionately in love in their early years.

However, they separated after a big fight because James wanted to stay to start a business while she wanted to study abroad.

Over the years, James had many girlfriends, but he never spent as much time with Lily.

I mercilessly exposed James's true intentions, and his face looked unpleasant.

He leaned back in his oversized leather chair and looked at me disdainfully,

"Lily is my first love, but what's wrong with what I said?"

He continued,

"She has higher qualifications and is more capable than you, Betty. You can't deny the reality."