All Chapters of Don't Wait for the Rain to Clear: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

When Winston Sterling returned to the office, I was just hanging my soaked coat over the back of my chair.Water dripped steadily from the cuffs, pooling into a small puddle on the office floor.The receptionist frowned as she watched the water drip. "Hey, Director Cross, didn't you go with Mr. Sterling to meet with Genesis Capital? How did you end up getting completely drenched like this?"Before I could open my mouth to answer, the elevator doors slid open again.Sera Thorne stepped out, perfectly wrapped in Winston’s overcoat. Her face was just the right shade of pale, and she was holding a warm cup of coffee carefully in both hands.Winston followed closely behind her, whispering low, attentive instructions. "Go straight to the lounge first. Stay away from the air conditioning vents."Sera nodded softly. As she passed by my desk, she paused."Nat, please don't get the wrong idea. I just suddenly felt unwell, so Winston..."I cut her off. "Is the coat warm, Director Thorne?"

The next morning, I submitted my formal resignation.The HR director stared at her monitor, her finger hovering over the approval button, completely hesitating."Director Cross, does Mr. Sterling know about this?""He's about to find out."The very second the words left my mouth, a wave of chaos erupted from the engineering department.A developer dashed out of the conference room, his face totally drained of color. "The client dashboard just crashed! The demonstration API that went live last night was modified, and the core reporting suite is completely wiped!"I stood up immediately.We had just secured the investment term sheet from Genesis Capital at last night’s launch event, and the first batch of enterprise clients was scheduled to begin their live trials today.If things fell apart right now, our series funding would completely evaporate.Winston walked out of his executive office, his expression terrifyingly cold. "Who accessed the permissions?"The engineering manag

Right before I stepped into the elevator, a new notification popped up on my phone.The sender was Genesis Capital’s legal department, with a carbon copy sent directly to the systems security team.The subject line was just a single sentence:Confirmed login IP address for the late-night operational account: Sera Thorne’s private office.I lifted my head.Winston had caught sight of the notification at the exact same moment.He stared intently at the screen, but the very first sentence out of his mouth was, "Natalie, when exactly did you start investigating the company behind my back?"I just looked at him.The definitive proof was laid out right in front of his face.Yet, the first thing his eyes latched onto still wasn't the clearing of my name.It was that I "shouldn't have looked into it."Standing right behind him, Sera’s face turned as white as a sheet of paper.Once the conference room doors clicked shut, Frank turned his laptop screen around to face me. "Director Cr

One week later, the news broke that Sterling Tech’s funding round had officially fallen through.When the announcement made waves across the industry, I was in our new office, spearheading a client migration briefing.Ethan slid a stack of legal agreements across the desk to me. "Three of their enterprise accounts are preparing to terminate their contracts. Representatives from two of those firms are arriving today."I flipped through the specific clauses. "I'll handle the negotiations myself."He glanced up at me, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't want to recuse yourself to avoid a conflict of interest?""No need." I lifted my chin, looking directly at him. "Clients aren't Winston’s personal property. Whoever can resolve their infrastructure problems is the one who walks away with the contract."At two o'clock in the afternoon, the client executives walked into our main conference room.To my complete surprise, Winston was trailing right behind them.He had visibly l

Six months later, our new product officially went live.On the day of the launch event, I stood on that stage for the very first time as a founding partner.The audience was packed to capacity with prominent investors and premier enterprise clients.Ethan stood right beside the control console, flashing me a subtle thumbs-up.I couldn't help but let a soft smile slip.As my presentation drew to a close, a deafening wave of applause erupted through the hall.I gripped the microphone tightly. My palms were sweating, but my hands weren't trembling in the slightest.I used to believe that my only place in this industry was standing in Winston’s shadow.Only now did I finally realize that it wasn't because I lacked the ability to shine.It was simply because someone had intentionally kept me hidden in the dark all along.By the time our celebratory dinner concluded, it had started raining again outside.As I walked out of the hotel lobby, I caught sight of Winston standing at the