Chapter 2

I used to think that Dylan was naive and innocent, unaware of the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. But now, I finally knew that it wasn't because he wasn't aware of it.

He just didn't care about me.

Lynette suddenly began coughing slightly on the other end of the phone, feigning gagging twice. Then, she said aggrievedly, "Don't blame her for it anymore, Dylan. It's my fault for making the marriage tests too hard for her.

"It's only natural that she hates me and wants to get revenge on me like this. But you also know that I'm only doing this for your own good. After all, you're handsome and capable, and only a flawless woman is ever worthy of you."

At that, Dylan flew into a rage. "I was the one who instructed Lynette to give you the tests, Felicia! You should have just taken your anger out on me instead! What's the point of taking it out on an innocent person like her?

"Apologize to her this instant!"

"Apologize to her?" I echoed. "Over my dead body."

I chuckled coldly and hung up, ignoring him completely afterward.

Dylan was furious. He then angrily posted a disciplinary notice in the work group.

"Felicia Cooper has been found guilty of abusing her power to bully Lynette Woods. Therefore, Felicia is hereby suspended for three days, and her salary will also be halved as a warning to other people."

The notice was issued immediately.

The other colleagues who usually followed me around and had a fairly close relationship with me all turned on me when they realized that I was being shunned, and that Lynette was in favor after all. They began attacking me relentlessly.

"Mr. Abbott! You're too biased toward her! Don't you think that your punishment toward Felicia for workplace bullying and harassment is too lenient?"

"Exactly! She must be fired at once! Then, her position and salary should be compensated to Lynette instead. Now that's what we'd call fair!"

Lynette waited for everyone to have a go at cursing me out before popping up in the company chat.

"Thank you for standing up for me, everyone, but I still think it's more appropriate for Felicia to be given a second chance. After all, she's been around for a long time.

"If you ask me, I do think that a dismissal is adequate. I will reluctantly accept her salary and commissions in the meantime. Let's just leave it at that now."

As soon as she sent out that statement, Dylan already executed it on her behalf. It felt more as though he was her secretary instead of the other way around.

Seeing this, my gaze darkened, but that was all. I couldn't be bothered to explain myself any further.

I just reacted to her message with a "thumb-up" emoji before leaving the group chat.

Dylan was somewhat surprised that I didn't make a fuss about anything. He then forwarded me a coupon that would entitle me to a free cup of coffee.

"I got this coupon after buying from this cafe for half a month. You'll just have to pay ten cents for a large cup of coffee. That's a bargain for you.

"You know that Lynette is a PhD graduate from overseas. The company can only rely on highly intelligent and talented people like her if it wants to go further.

"But you don't have to worry about anything. I may seem on the surface like I'm taking her side, but I'm really just rewarding her now so that she's more willing to give her all to the company. You know that you're the only person in my heart.

"It might look like I suspended you from work at the company, but I'm really just giving you three days of time off, just with a more unconventional method. Other people can only dream about receiving time off like this.

"Once the time is up, I'll personally bring you back and even book an entire hotel to celebrate your birthday with you."

I didn't bother replying to him. While it was indeed my birthday in three days, it was also the day I'd die.

As for him saying that he was only taking advantage of Lynette's "intelligence", it was nothing but utter nonsense. She might seem highly educated on the outside, but she always made relentless mistakes at work.

She would keep getting the same things wrong, such as entering the wrong amount or using the wrong office stamps on documents.

It always meant the rest of the department and I had to clean up after her shit.

And yet, Dylan still told me, "Lynette is very highly educated and well-learned. She's only making these mistakes because she's inexperienced at work. However, she has immense potential."

He didn't appreciate my efforts at all, after everything I'd done for him. Instead, he was personally pushing me toward my doom.