Chapter 1

"She really took off her badge just like that?"

"I thought Vice President Natalie Shaw always fought her corner. Was that whole tough act fake?"

"What else is she supposed to do? The person firing her is Mr. Hale himself. Nobody's going to challenge the new CEO on his first day."

Their whispers drifted through the banquet hall.

I glanced at the employee badge lying on the table and said nothing.

I had poured everything I had into helping Grant Hale reach the CEO's office. I never imagined that his first act after gaining power would be to fire me so his little assistant could take my place.

Across the room, Chloe Vance smiled with naked satisfaction. My fingers curled tightly against my palm.

Then several sharper voices cut through the murmuring.

"Good. Mr. Hale made the right call. Natalie should have been thrown out ages ago."

"Why is everyone outraged when Mr. Hale fires her? She was allowed to fire employees whenever she wanted when she was vice president. That's a double standard."

"Honestly, she deserves it. She fired so many people. It's only fair she gets a taste of it herself."

I was not surprised.

Staffing and internal discipline had always fallen under my authority. Of course I had offended people.

But I had never fired anyone for personal reasons. The employees who were terminated under my watch had made serious mistakes that directly hurt the company. If the damage was not severe, I usually only demoted them or cut their pay, just as I had done with the people now speaking against me.

If they had worked hard afterward, they could have earned their positions back.

The room grew louder.

Grant looked on coldly from the stage, making no move to stop it. His face was full of contempt, and he even wore a mocking smirk, as if he were waiting for a good show.

That familiar expression caught me off guard. In the past, he only showed it to people he utterly despised. I never thought he would turn it on me.

Then someone else spoke up.

"Ms. Shaw didn't do anything wrong. Why should she be fired?"

"Exactly. Why is Chloe replacing her? We all remember how Chloe cost the company that big deal last year."

"If she hadn't been stupid enough to send that cobra to the client, the company would have been thriving by now. Instead, the client blacklisted us forever."

The second those words landed, everyone turned toward Chloe. Some employees began retelling the whole story to people who had joined later.

I lifted an eyebrow and looked toward the stage.

If not for Chloe, everyone's bonuses and months of work would not have gone up in smoke.

Grant's face darkened immediately.

Beside him, Chloe burst into tears.

"Grant, I knew this would happen. Even after all this time, nobody is willing to forgive me. I don't want to make things hard for you. Maybe I should just go back to collecting scrap and trash to survive."