Chapter 1

Everyone in the conference room was shocked when they saw me handing my work badge to Shane Jagger, the junior colleague who had joined the company after me.

After all, I was the one who had worked tirelessly on this project for years. Once, I'd even passed out from low blood pressure due to overworking.

However, the shock only lasted for a short while. Some of my other colleagues began to cheer, and the cheering and clapping only continued after that until it reached its peak. They all praised me for my act of generosity and for being such a long-time loyal employee to the company.

Gianna Richmond was the only one who didn't join in on the cheering. She stood on the stage with her lips pursed, looking extremely hesitant.

I found her awkwardness extremely hilarious.

She was the one who condemned office romances the most, and yet, she and I had been married for seven years without anyone else knowing about it. I had always asked her to please make our relationship public, but she refused to do it every time.

I thought that I had finally convinced her to make our relationship public after securing the funding this round. However, I never thought that the plan would end up getting disrupted by Shane in the end.

Now, it no longer mattered whether or not Gianna wanted to make our relationship public anymore. I had already lost all interest.

"Alright. If there's nothing else you need me here for, then I'm going to leave now. Have fun, all of you!"

I then walked out of the conference room without waiting for Gianna to respond.

We had only managed to successfully secure the funding today because my project had been progressing very well and had great potential. It managed to attract additional investments from our partners.

The core patent for this project was also mine, and we had only achieved the results today because of my daily hard work and dedication to it.

However, now that she had immensely let me down, I wasn't going to be foolish enough to continue helping her anymore.

I instinctively took the elevator to the basement level, where the underground parking garage was. Then, I got into my car. The bouquet of 99 fresh roses I had prepared was sitting in the front passenger seat.

Gianna promised me that she would make our relationship public today, and I had been so ecstatic about it that I immediately bought these roses for her and even booked a candlelit dinner for tonight.

After getting my hopes up, all I got in return was just further proof of Gianna doting on Shane even more.

My eyes turned dim. I was just about to drive off when I suddenly caught sight of Shane standing in front of the car. My headlights were shining directly on him.

He looked absolutely smug as he toyed with the project manager badge on his shirt, boasting loudly, "Brandon Hemsworth, do you know that Gianna actually planned on making your relationship public today?

"However, all it took was just a single sentence from me for her to change her mind about it at once.

"She told me that she was going to give me a raise and a promotion after I'd worked under your program for a while. Say, I also heard that you never got any raises or promotions for the past three or four years. You're not going to get mad at me for this, are you?"

Shane then cocked an eyebrow while looking at me. His pale face was filled with malicious intent.

I found his petty, despicable face kind of laughable.

I used to be triggered by his secret provocations in the past, which made Gianna think I was intentionally targeting him at work. That was also the reason for most of our arguments.

But now, I couldn't be bothered about him anymore.

As expected, I soon heard the sound of high heels clacking behind him.

Shane’s expression immediately shifted. He clutched the work badge in his hand and tried to pry open my car window, crying out, "Wait, Brandon, don't be mad! Gianna didn't abuse her power to put me in your department and let me work under you! I was the one who asked her for a chance to learn from someone as brilliant as you!

"But if you're not happy about it, then I'll just ask to be transferred to another department instead. The project manager position can only belong to someone with as much senior experience as you!"