I was the favor he refused to see Chapter 01
After graduation, the boy I’d grown up with invited me to join his startup.
Ethan Langford had always gone to bat for his own people.
His own sister and close friends were promoted so openly that no one even pretended not to notice.
But when it came to me, he went out of his way to keep me at arm’s length, all in the name of avoiding any appearance of favoritism.
When my department praised one of my proposals for being outstanding, he shut me down in a cold voice, “It’s full of holes. There’s nothing here worth bragging about.”
When the department director finalized my performance review and recommended me for an early promotion and raise, the approval got stuck on Ethan’s desk.
“Years of grinding away don’t count as exceptional performance,” he said. “She doesn’t qualify for a fast-track promotion.”
When my coworkers praised my ability, he dismissed it in one flat sentence.
“With that much company backing, even a trained monkey could look brilliant.”
I used to think all those put-downs were just his way of keeping our relationship from looking inappropriate at work.
Until one of the friends who had built the company with him finally couldn’t help asking in private,
“Ethan, Ivy’s ability is obvious to everyone. Why would you promote an intern to be her supervisor?”
Ethan leaned back in his office chair, his expression cold and detached.
“Then that only proves she isn’t even as capable as an intern.”
Outside the door, I stood there staring at the messages my biological parents had sent me.
They were telling me to come home and take over the family business as soon as possible.
I held the proposal against my chest and turned back the way I had come.
I no longer wanted to wait for Ethan’s approval.
I didn’t want him anymore, either.
When I got back to my desk, I set the proposal beside me and opened my phone.
My mother had sent another long voice message. Inside were the same tired lines she had repeated over and over.
“It was my fault for leaving you at the train station back then, but I regretted it and went back to look for you. By then, you were already gone…”
“But we were barely staying alive at the time. Your sister stayed with us, and she starved to death.”
My father’s message was much shorter.
“You’re the only child we have left. If you truly don’t want to marry into the Whitmore family in Newport Beach, fine. Come home.”
I turned my phone facedown on the desk.
I hated my biological parents for choosing my sister over me back then.
I also hated that the moment they found me again, they were already busy arranging a marriage for
It was as if my only value as their daughter was the business deal they could trade me for.
That was why I had never wanted to go back.
I wanted to prove to them that I could make something of myself without relying on them.
To their credit, they had respected that and left me alone for a long time.
Unfortunately, I still hadn’t made anything of myself.
My love life and my career were both a complete mess.
At the morning meeting, Ethan publicly criticized a coworker’s proposal before his gaze finally swept toward me.
In the past, I would have immediately said, “I’ll revise it when I get back.”
Today, I simply sat there in silence and gave no response at all.
Ethan frowned. “Ivy, what do you think?”
I looked up. “Mr. Langford, this project isn’t my responsibility. I don’t have an opinion.”
The conference room went quiet for a moment.
His expression darkened.
After the meeting, he stopped me in the hallway. “Where’s the version from last night?”
“What version?”
“Project B. Didn’t you take it on yourself?”
I looked him in the eye. “Mr. Langford, doing it on my own was a favor, not an obligation.”
With that, I walked around him.
My phone rang. I pulled myself together and answered.
“Morning, Mr. Carter!”
“Ivy, you’re still handling Project B this time, right? I couldn’t make heads or tails of that proposal. What’s going on?”
My chest tightened.
Mr. Carter was a longtime client I had worked with many times during my years at the company.
He had specifically requested that I handle Project B.
But Ethan had suddenly decided to hand it to the new hires’ team, saying they needed the experience.
I exchanged a few polite words with Mr. Carter, hung up, then glanced at the proposal beside me and sighed.
` I had just been about to pick it up and go find Ethan when Lily Shaw walked in with a cup of coffee.
“Are you busy, Ivy?”
She had gone to the same university as Ethan and me, just a few years after us.
She was also the backup lead for Project B.
The original lead had been torn apart during the morning meeting and removed from the role
Naturally, Lily had become the new lead.
“Do you need something?”
“Not really. It’s just…” She stepped closer. “Oh no…”
With a startled gasp, the coffee in her hand spilled all over the proposal I had just printed.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”
Before I could even get angry, Ethan’s assistant came over.
“Ivy, the pitch meeting starts in thirty minutes. Mr. Langford wants the latest version.”
I had to swallow the anger rising in my chest.
Ethan was always like this.
Whenever he needed me to do something, he had his assistant notify me.
But no matter how well I did it, he would always belittle me in public.
He was like the kind of father who sees an A and only asks why it wasn’t an A-plus.
For all that he was an infuriating boss, he was a completely different person in private.
He remembered every important date between us.
He remembered my period, my favorite foods, and my favorite celebrity.
If I said I wanted the stars, he would find a way to bring them down for me.
As long as it didn’t conflict with the company, he was the perfect boyfriend.
But it had been five years.
I was exhausted by the way he kept switching back and forth.