Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 124

Chapter 124

Emma stared at Cecilia, who was sobbing so hard she had to cover her face, tears streaming in fat drops between her trembling fingers.

Instantly, both Theodore and Jared Hanley fixed their eyes on Cecilia, their faces etched with obvious concern.

Jared, always the hothead, lost it first. “Why are you crying? You’ve got us backing you up! Who would dare give you a hard time?”

Hanley jumped right in, as if on cue. “That’s right! Ask Theo–there’s only one person in this company who gets to call the shots, and that’s you!”

“Theo…” Cecilia’s tear–filled eyes turned to Theodore. “I–I’m not afraid for myself. I’m just worried that these ugly rumors will hurt the company. If that happens, it’ll be my fault. Theo, maybe I should just resign?”

“Don’t you dare!” Jared snapped, his eyes bloodshot as he shot Emma a glare sharp enough to cut. “Anyone who tries to force you out is going against me! And against Theo! I’d like to see who really runs this place.”

“Exactly!” Hanley, ever Jared’s shadow and yes–man, turned to Theodore. “Theo, you’re the boss here! It’s not up to some dead weight with no real contributions to tell us how things should be done.”

Dead weight–Emma knew exactly who they meant.

To them, she had always been the useless one, the broken leg dragging

behind the team.

Emma listened in silence, expecting nothing from Theodore. She knew all too well–he would never take her side.

Right now, Theodore was sitting close beside Cecilia, who was still crying as she shook her head, her voice trembling. “Theo, I don’t want to make things hard for you. I would never, ever put you in that position. If there ever comes a day when you have to choose between me and anything–or anyone–else, I hope you’ll always choose to let me go…”

How moving.

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Chapter 124

Emma couldn’t help but wonder–when had she ever forced Theodore to choose? She’d always wanted him to let her go, hadn’t she?

Was Theodore even thinking straight?

Apparently not. He was actually tearing up.

Correction: not just Theodore–Jared and Hanley looked equally misty–eyed. Emma couldn’t help but marvel at the absurdity. With these three at the helm, how had the company not gone under already?

If this was the direction things were heading, she figured it was only a matter of time before they drove the whole place into bankruptcy.

“Theo, this is what loyalty looks like,” Jared blubbered, voice thick with emotion. “Only the people who were with you from the start have your best interests at heart. Only Cici would ever put you first. Don’t lose sight of that, Theo!”

Cecilia collapsed against Theodore’s shoulder, sobbing even harder.

Naturally, Theodore didn’t let her down–he wrapped his arm around Cecilia’s shoulders, drawing her close while the three men all seemed deeply moved. Emma, though, saw it for what it was: as Cecilia leaned into Theodore, she shot Emma a triumphant, taunting smile.

Emma hadn’t spoken a single word, but suddenly Cecilia sat up, wiping her tears and fixing Emma with a look of frantic remorse. “I’m sorry, Emma. I–I lost control just now because I was so upset. There’s really nothing going on between me and Theo, please don’t look at me that way. I’m so sorry–I apologize. Please don’t take it to heart..”

“What’s she got to be upset about?”

“What’s there to apologize for? Who does she think she is to be offended? Back when we were building all this from scratch, she was nowhere to be

found!”

Jared and Hanley immediately leapt to Cecilia’s defense.

And Theodore? In front of everyone, he just gave Emma a cold,

dismissive look–then pulled Cecilia back against his shoulder, holding

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her close as if nothing else mattered.

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