Author's Note: Hello and welcome to

The Curse of Time!

I have been writing this story for quite some time now and I thought I would share it here. While I will be updating the chapters regularly up until a certain point, this story is already published on AO3 by the same title, but with a different username: ladyoftruffles. So if you want to read a bit ahead, you can certainly do so there!

"Are you sure we should deny their offer?" James Graham spoke and hushed whispers filled the meeting room for a while.

"She's crazy," one of the other employees whispered to another as they sat by a large oval shaped meeting table.

"The company is on the verge of bankruptcy and if she keeps denying the offers, we'll lose our jobs in no time," came from the other side of the table.

"That's enough!" Immediately, silence ensued and all eyes were now set on the raven haired woman who now stood from her seat by the head of the table. She was dressed elegantly as ever, in a black skirt reaching halfway down her thighs with a white blouse tucked inside which was adorned with a blazer matching the color of the skirt. Her hair was tied neatly into a high bun and her head was held high, imposing her authority.

Her name was Delia Veynes, founder and CEO of Diveyne, a brand most notably known for luxurious fashion and interior design. What had started out as a simple idea when she was in university, had finally turned into a successful brand by the time she was twenty six years of age.

However, the company was going through a hard time due to false allegations and the accusations and scandals seemed to pile up even more in such a short period. The only solution seemed to be selling off the company and essentially, her life's work.

But Delia did not back down so easily.

"We have gathered here to discuss our strategies against the recent scandal and the dropping sales of our products, not the offers from other companies to buy us!"

Although she was a woman, most of her employees respected her as an equal, if not more. Her word was the law in the company, not only because she was their boss, but also because they had come to respect her as their leader despite her position or gender. Thanks to her, the company had been able to face and defend themselves against the numerous false allegations and scandals. Although this time, her advisors were convinced that the company could not be saved without help from bigger corporations, since the customers had been boycotting their products ever since the animal cruelty scandal. And help was a much hated word by Delia. She was keen on saving and clearing her name all by herself, as she had always done. Her perfectionism and, most of all, her pride never allowed her to accept any help or offer from the outside.

"We need to get in touch with Mr Blake for the best course of action," the woman spoke, her hazel eyes lingering on each person present in the room as they scanned the room, a shade of bright gold seeming to flash across her irises and revealing her anger. "And furthermore-"

"But Ma'am, Mr Blake has been discharged," one woman spoke hesitantly, causing the CEO to stop dead in her tracks. "What? By whom?"

"By you… Ma'am."

Her gaze dropped as she furrowed her brows, seemingly confused. Delia would never fire her best lawyer, so why? Who? Her racing mind came to a halt when she came to a conclusion: she had been betrayed. And seeing as only a few people stood in direct contact with her and were given the authority to pass on a direct order from herself, the culprit must be in the room with her.

"Right… I forgot," she lied as she quickly composed herself, raising her gaze and facing her employees again. "I will sort this issue out myself. Meanwhile, I want you to gather all information regarding the scandal and propose appropriate countermeasures-"

She spotted an elderly man raising his hand and opening his mouth. Knowing exactly what he was about to say, she quickly shut him down without giving him any chance to speak at all, raising a finger as she did so. "- which do not include taking up any offers to sell off our brand."

With that, he shut his mouth again, lowering his gaze sheepishly after he eyed his colleagues in embarrassment, wondering if anyone had noticed he had been about to speak.

Shortly after, everyone was dismissed.