The Valecroft Siblings: YIELD TO VALECROFT — Book One

Isabella packed her desk cactus, Kevin, into a cardboard box.

It was 4:58 on a Friday. Two minutes until her time at Harrington & Cole was officially over.

Sophie leaned over Isabella’s cubicle wall, looking miserable. They had been best friends since their first year of university, and she was the main reason Isabella had survived the last two years there.

“I don’t know how I’m going to manage without you, Bella,” she said softly.

“You’ll be fine,” Isabella smiled, putting her mug into the box. “We still have dinner on Wednesdays, and you can ring me anytime. I’ll miss working with you, but I can’t stay in this place.”

“Nobody blames you,” Sophie said firmly. “You should have left when David retired.”

She was right.

Harrington & Cole was a small brand and strategy consultancy. David, Isabella’s old boss, had hired her as a Junior Strategy Executive straight out of university. He was a great mentor and taught her everything. When he retired, Isabella stayed out of loyalty to him, hoping to keep the team running smoothly.

That was a huge mistake.

Management replaced him with Harris—a man who stole Isabella’s ideas, left early every day, and took all the credit for her work. She should have walked out immediately.

Instead, she stayed until two months ago, when Harris crossed the line. He trapped her in his office after hours, put his hand on her shoulder, and told her she could have the Senior Strategy Lead role if she slept with him.

Isabella told him no.

The following Monday, he gave the Senior Strategy Lead title to Courtney. She was twenty-one, spent most of her day taking selfies, and barely knew the basics of strategy. But she spent plenty of time behind closed doors in Harris’s office.

Then Harris told Isabella she had to do all of Courtney’s work in secret.

Isabella didn’t argue. She went home, applied for a Senior Strategy role at Valecroft International, passed four rounds of interviews, and got the job with double the pay. The day the offer arrived, she handed in her four weeks’ notice.

“Bella.”

Isabella turned around. Courtney was standing in her cubicle, glaring at her with her arms crossed.

“You didn’t finish the slides for Monday’s client pitch,” Courtney said.

“That’s your job now, Courtney,” Isabella replied, picking up her box. “My contract ends at five.”

“Harris said you’d leave notes,” she snapped. “I don’t understand your framework.”

“Then read the files and figure it out. You wanted the title and the money.”

Courtney’s face went red. “You’re just bitter because Harris picked me.”

“Courtney, the only reason you got this job is because you slept with the boss. Good luck on Monday.”

Her jaw dropped.

Before Courtney could speak, Harris stormed out of his office. “Bella! In my office right now.”

Isabella checked her watch. 5:00 PM.

“Hell no, Mr. Harris. I’m done.”

“You leave without handing over that deck, and I will call Valecroft myself,” he threatened. “I’ll tell them you’re unprofessional.”

Isabella looked him straight in the eye.

“Do you really think you’re important enough to call a company like Valecroft?” she asked. “Go ahead. Ring them up and explain how you gave my job to the girl you’re sleeping with, asked me to work for free, and now can’t run your own department without me. See what they say.”

Harris went pale. He couldn’t find a single word.

“Goodbye,” Isabella said.

She hugged Sophie goodbye, stepped into the lift, and watched the doors close on Harris and Courtney’s faces.

Down on the street, the London air felt great. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was Emma, her childhood best friend who had known her since they were six years old.

Isabella answered right away. “I’m out.”

“Did you get Kevin?” Emma asked.

“He’s right here in the box.”

“Good,” Emma laughed. “Sophie needs to get the hell out of there next. That place is a sinking ship.”

“She’s working on it,” Isabella said, dodging a commuter on the pavement. “She’s already updating her CV.”

“Good. Now, are you ready for Monday?”

Isabella’s stomach twisted a little. Valecroft International was massive, and the CEO, Alexander Valecroft, was known for being ruthless.

“A bit nervous,” Isabella admitted.

“Don’t be. You earned that job,” Emma said. “Plus, everyone says Valecroft is ridiculously attractive. Cold, but gorgeous.”

“I don’t care what he looks like,” Isabella said, holding the box under her arm. “I’m there to do my job, get paid, and never let anyone take advantage of me again.”

“Good for you. Go home, relax, and get ready for Monday.”

“Talk later, Em.”

Isabella’s phone chimed again. This time, the screen read Mum.

“I’m officially an unemployed woman of leisure,” Isabella answered, adjusting her grip on Kevin. “At least until Monday.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” her mum sighed. “I was half convinced you’d talk yourself into staying out of some misplaced sense of manners.”

“I have manners, Mum, not a martyr complex.”

“Debatable, darling. But I am so proud of you. You worked yourself to exhaustion for those people.” She paused with classic motherly authority. “Promise me you won’t do it again at the new place.”

“I won’t.”

“And you’ll eat lunch? A real lunch, not a cereal bar at your desk while typing with one hand?”

“I will eat balanced meals, sit at actual tables, and feed myself properly,” Isabella recited dutifully.

“Good. Because you look like a ghost when you don’t eat or sleep.”

“Love you too, Mum.”

They said goodbye, and as Isabella stepped into the shadow of a shop awning, she caught her reflection in the dark window.

Chestnut hair pulled back into a slightly messy knot, hazel eyes bright with excitement, a crisp cream blouse tucked into dark trousers. Comfortable flats instead of heels—because she had long since abandoned the idea that confidence required blisters.

She looked hopeful.

Monday morning, Isabella would walk through the doors of Valecroft International as their newest Senior Strategy Coordinator. It was a company known for high stakes and zero patience for mistakes. It was scary, yes, but it was a step up.

She had no way of knowing, as she stood on that sunny pavement holding a cardboard box and a stubborn cactus, that her carefully planned life was about to collide headfirst with something completely unexpected.

But for now, Isabella took a deep breath, tucked Kevin under her arm, and took the first step forward.