Chapter 4

I looked at him and scoffed lightly without saying anything.

My silence only encouraged Ryan.

"What, playing nice now? Where'd all that attitude from before go?"

As he spoke, his eyes deliberately dropped to the badge hanging from my neck. Then he gave an exaggerated "Oh?

"What's this? What's with that badge? Ours aren't that color. Did you walk into the wrong building, Evan? Or..."

His eyes shifted, and his face lit up as though he'd suddenly figured it out. Then he burst out laughing.

"Don't tell me you're doing deliveries now. That blue lanyard looks just like one of those courier badges! Hahaha!"

My badge had flipped over, so they couldn't see the company name.

Then Kevin's voice came from behind him.

"Evan! You finally showed up!

"You've made your point by now, haven't you? Come on, go wrap up the project. The client will be here any minute."

He reached out to pull me along, but I knocked his hand away.

Kevin's expression darkened. He lowered his voice.

"I'm trying to help you here. Ms. Hayes is already in a bad mood today. Just finish the work and don't make things worse for yourself. Otherwise, when the client gets here, you'll only end up getting chewed out again."

I scoffed.

"Wasn't this project supposed to be entirely your work? Ms. Hayes said so herself at the annual party. She said you handled the whole thing on your own and did an outstanding job.

"You're the one who got the Outstanding Employee award and the bonus. So why do you need me to finish it now?"

Ryan let out another mocking "Oh?"

"Come on, Evan. That's not fair. Why are you still hung up on that now? Just get to work."

I stayed where I was.

As the standoff dragged on, Hannah's furious voice rang out from inside.

"Where's Evan Young? Is he here yet? Tell him to get in here right now!"

Hannah strode out of her office.

She stopped in front of me and looked me up and down.

"Well, well, Evan Young," she said condescendingly. "You've had your little tantrum, made a whole scene, and now you've finally decided to come back?"

I nodded calmly. "I'm here on business."

Hannah snorted.

"I've seen plenty of people like you. You do a little work, start thinking you're indispensable, convince yourself you've been treated unfairly, then throw a fit because you expect your boss to come begging you to stay.

"Let me tell you something. Life doesn't work that way. No one is irreplaceable. You really thought the company would collapse without you? What a joke."

She planted her hands on her hips, her voice growing louder.

"And here I thought you actually had some backbone. Yet here you are, crawling back just like I knew you would.

"It's the first official day back after the holidays, and you're already late. With an attitude like that, you need to be taught a lesson. I'm docking your entire salary for this month."

She stared at me, waiting for the familiar meek expression she was used to seeing.

I gave a cold laugh. "Are you sure you want to talk to me like that?"

Kevin immediately chimed in.

"Ms. Hayes, don't get too worked up. Evan's probably just in a bad mood. I asked him to get started earlier, and he snapped at me."

Hannah glared at me.

"Does being in a bad mood mean you can abandon your work? Does it mean you can ignore everyone's calls? This is a workplace, not your home. No one's going to put up with your tantrums here!"

She waved a hand dismissively.

"Get your act together now. The client is sending someone over today to go through the project with us. You're handling the meeting. They're the ones paying us, so watch your attitude and don't screw this up."

"Ms. Hayes, the client is already here."

She froze.

"They are? Where?"

"Right here."

I flipped my badge around.

The moment the three of them saw what was printed on it, they all froze in place.