Chapter 4

At the desk, Lionel was still holding his phone. Cindy had probably just messaged him.

"If a senior employee assigns you these tasks, she definitely has her reasons. As a newcomer, what's wrong with doing a little extra work? Can't even handle that much?"

"No, I can handle hard work. I just don't want to be targeted for no good reason."

The moment I finished speaking, a loud bang made me jump.

Lionel and Cindy really were family, because they slammed the desk and stood up in exactly the same way.

"What are you trying to say? You think that Cindy is deliberately making things difficult for you over a drumstick? You're way too narrow-minded. I need to seriously reconsider whether you're right for our company."

I had not expected him to threaten my permanent position, so I sighed helplessly. "Mr. Stone, I just think that since the company has cleaning staff, there's really no need to assign an extra person to do these things. Plus, I still have data organization and quarterly reports to work on–"

Lionel impatiently cut me off, "If you can't finish your work, that's a competency issue! You know full well your workload is heavy, yet you have time to come here and complain about your coworker?

"I'm warning you: there will be executives from headquarters coming to inspect at this week's quarterly presentation. If you screw up, forget about getting hired permanently–just pack your bags and get out!"

I clenched my teeth, but in the end I said nothing. I lowered my head and went back to the office.

Cindy was sitting there with her feet up, munching on snacks. The second she saw my frustrated expression, she grinned.

"Oh my, why so down? Let me guess... Your little complaint didn't work out?"

Stephanie was afraid I would go and argue with Cindy again, so she pulled me to my desk in a hushed voice.

"Don't go over there, Theodore! She's gloating! Let's just ignore her!"

I nodded gratefully. In truth, I had not planned on dealing with Cindy anyway. I would rather spend that time focusing on work.

According to Lionel, the presentation was the day after tomorrow, which meant I had to have all the reports ready by tomorrow.

Coming in early and staying late meant I was basically working overtime anyway. The only problem was that Cindy left her mess everywhere these past two days, wasting a lot of my time cleaning up.

In her eyes, my willingness to clean was a sign of surrender to her "authority."

"See that? You're still too green to mess with me!"

My eyes never left the screen, and only after I had finished revising the report according to my supervisor's notes did I shift my gaze to her.

"You might be mistaken, Cindy. I'm cleaning your workspace because I'm a neat freak and can't stand filthy habits. I'd suggest you pay more attention to personal hygiene. After all, the office doesn't belong to just you."

With that, I shut down my computer. I ignored Cindy's shrieking and cursing behind me, grabbed my bag, and left.

My work was done, so why would I stay late with her?

But when I opened my computer the next day, I froze in shock. The folder that had contained my reports was now completely empty.

Stephanie saw me go stiff and asked with concern, "What's wrong, Theodore? Are you feeling sick?"

"My reports..."

Before I could finish, Lionel's voice came from outside the office door.

"Well, we were all wondering which executive would be visiting today, but I didn't expect you to come personally..."

Cindy looked like she had been waiting for this moment, putting on an exaggerated expression right as they pushed the door open.

"Theodore! Did you lose the quarterly reports?! Oh my goodness! How could you make such a mistake?"

Cindy's shrill voice echoed through the entire office.

Due to her outburst, everyone turned to look at me.

Lionel had just walked in, and his eyes widened with rage. He stormed straight over to my desk.

"Theodore, is what Cindy is saying true? How could you make such a mistake? Pack your things and get out right now!"

"I..."

I had just opened my mouth to explain when Cindy cut in.

"What?! Some people pretend to stay late every day and act hardworking. And the result? Can't even turn in a single report! Did you lose it, or did you just never do it at all?"

Though it was phrased as a question, she did not give me time to answer and pulled a flash drive out of her pocket.

"Good thing I could tell you were unreliable, so I prepared the presentation in advance! Ms. Taylor, please don't worry. Even though pregnancy has been so hard on me, I always take my work seriously. Today's presentation will absolutely satisfy you!"

Cindy dramatically touched her belly, trying to emphasize her effort and sacrifice.

However, the chairperson at the door was not looking at her. Instead, she gazed at me with an almost amused expression.

"Mr. Lloyd, is everything she's saying true?"