His face softened.
“Tong Tong,” he said warmly. “What’s wrong? Who would dare mess with you?”
She pointed at me.
“Just a newbie. An intern.”
He followed her finger.
And froze.
For three long seconds, my husband said nothing.
Jang mistook his silence for anger.
“She ignored company rules, insulted me, and forced her way into the executive elevator. You should fire her immediately.”
I looked at Shiaoza.
Then at the watch.
“Go ahead,” I said quietly. “Tell everyone who I am.”
His face drained of color.
Finally, he forced out the words.
“She’s my wife.”
The hallway went silent.
Jang lowered her hand.
Someone whispered, “Oh my God.”
I should have felt triumphant.
Instead, I felt hollow, because Shiaoza’s first instinct was not to come to me.
He placed a hand on Jang’s shoulder.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
“Which part?” I asked.
“Not here.”
“Why not? She insulted employees here. She threatened people here. She told everyone you would destroy my career here.”
Jang whispered, “I didn’t know who she was.”
“That is exactly the problem.”
Then I pointed toward her wrist.
“And why is she wearing your mother’s birthday present?”
Jang looked at him.
He looked at the watch.
Fear crossed his face.
“It’s complicated.”
“No. It’s a watch.”
“He gave it to me,” Jang said.
Shiaoza closed his eyes for half a second.
That tiny reaction hurt more than any confession.
At ten o’clock, the board announcement was released.
Effective immediately, I was CEO.
By ten-fifteen, I issued my first directive: all employee elevator restrictions were suspended pending review.
My second ordered preservation of every security log, expense report, executive badge record, HR revision, and vendor contract from the previous five years.
That was when Shiaoza stormed into my new office.
“You’re humiliating me.”
I looked up. “Interesting choice of words.”
“You know what I mean.”
“No. Humiliation is being told you’re too low-ranking to stand in an elevator.”
He closed the door. “Jang overstepped.”
“You protected her.”
“I was trying to keep a scene from getting worse.”
“You called her Tong Tong.”
He rubbed his face.
“The watch,” I said. “Tell me the truth.”
“My mother didn’t want it.”
“Did she see it?”
Silence.
I called Eleanor Shiao.
“Darling,” she said. “How did your morning go?”
I kept my eyes on her son.
