Chapter 5

Stacy only looked at me in disgust and said, "Jacob, didn't I tell you not to smoke? You stink like hell!"

Seeing that Stacy's anger wasn't directed at them, the two men quickly agreed with her, then hurried away.

I heard Stacy's somewhat angry thoughts again.

"How dare those two jerks bully my darling Jake? But what did he mean when he said he should let go? Did I push him too far by using Zack to provoke him today?"

After a long silence, Stacy walked over and suddenly asked me in a gentle tone, "Has this happened before? Why didn't you tell me?"

I tapped the ash from my cigarette.

They could bully me because Stacy never cared about me. They were just following whoever had the upper hand.

For a moment, everything fell silent.

I opened my mouth, ready to tell Stacy that we should get a divorce.

Just then, the grandfather clock in the mansion chimed, announcing that it was 11:00 pm.

Stacy frowned and cut me off.

She said icily, "I have something to take care of today. Go home first. Get to the office early tomorrow to prepare for the bidding."

I nodded.

I did need to prepare for the bidding, but it was for Stacy's biggest rival, Sidman Group.

…

The next day, I saw Stacy and her group outside the bidding venue.

For the first time, Stacy had sent me five messages in a row. She urged me to get to the venue quickly.

The moment she saw me, Stacy's face turned livid. She swung her purse at me.

"Jacob, didn't I warn you to leave early? How could you show up this late?"

I raised a hand to block her purse, and the impact left my arm tingling.

Then I heard Stacy's panicked thoughts.

"My darling Jake finally came! I missed him so much. I hope I didn't actually hit him just now!"

Zack was so angry that his expression was twisted, but he forced a smile and put on a fake show of concern.

"Ms. Levine, please don't be upset. At least Jacob showed up. He might still be holding a grudge and be unhappy with the company, so maybe this is his way of protesting."

The other employees from Stacy's company looked at me with contempt too.

"Jacob, you take advantage of everything the company gives you, yet you can't even take an important bid seriously. How dare you show up late?"

If this had happened before, I might have swallowed my anger. After all, they were my coworkers, and I didn't want conflict.

But now, I had nothing left to hold back.

I sneered. "Your employees sure love sticking their noses into other people's business. I'm with Sidman Group now. What does it matter to you whether I arrive early or late?"

Everyone stared at me with wide eyes as if they were looking at a stranger. Then they began to look at me with suspicion.

"Jacob, how could you have possibly gotten a job at Sidman Group? Did you steal our company's secrets? You traitor!"

"Ms. Levine! You've got to sue this shameless bastard and protect our company's interests!"

Stacy stared at me in disbelief. Her thoughts were a noisy mess.

"Damn it! All of you, shut up! Don't you dare say anything bad about my darling Jake. He's a hundred times better than all of you!"

On the surface, she took a deep breath.

But then she jeered, "That's so Belle. She'll take in any piece of trash. Our company's dead weight even became a hot commodity the moment he got to her."

Her grip on her purse chain tightened until her knuckles turned white. Her thoughts grew bitter and spiteful again.

"Jake is so amazing. Of course everyone wants him. How dare that little tramp Belle try to seduce him? No way. I have to convince him to come back!"

I knew Belle was Stacy's sore spot.

Belle had grown up in a happy family and was cheerful and outgoing. Most people in high society liked her more than they did Stacy.

That made Stacy feel inferior. Anyone who showed even the slightest fondness for Belle in front of her became an enemy.

All these years, I had been careful to protect Stacy's fragile feelings.

But now, I just looked at her coldly and gave a quiet laugh.

"As far as I know, Sidman Group's revenue is much higher than Levine Group's. You should watch what you say, Ms. Levine."

Stacy couldn't stand hearing that Belle was better than her, and she instantly lost her temper.