Chapter 8

“Screw you!”

Roland lost it and tried to slap Jules across the face, only to have his blow parried and end up getting slapped himself instead.

He cried out, “Did you just hit me, gramps?”

“Yes, I did, what about it? Do you want me to do it again?”

Roland put a hand over his face and roared, “You’ve gone too far! I’m telling Layla!”

Suddenly, Layla barged into the office and cried out, “What’s going on here?”

Roland immediately threw himself into her arms.

“Layla, Jules slapped me! He said I was an idiot and that I would never become head of marketing!

“I know I may not be a genius, but I’m willing to give it my all! I dreamed of working in marketing ever since I was a kid! He just trampled on my dreams and insulted me!”

Layla could feel her heart aching for him when she realized how upset he was.

She gently patted his back and comforted him, “You’re not stupid, my dear, you’re so endearing.”

Jules could not help stifling a laugh when he heard that.

In the past, the one thing Layla refused to suffer was fools.

If anyone at the company made a mistake more than three times, she would fire them on the spot without a second thought.

Meanwhile, Roland, who had made at least ten mistakes in the past three months alone, was labelled as endearing.

Layla suddenly lashed out at Jules. “Jules, not only did you attack him, but you insulted him too! Explain yourself!”

Jules did not flinch. “Yes, that’s exactly what I said! You, of all people, should know that I’m telling the truth. He’s completely inept!”

Layla cried out, “Very well, then!”

With that, she made a phone call and within five minutes, Marcus Reid, the manager of the human resources department, rushed to the scene.

“Miss Turner, how can I help you?”

“I want you to promote Roland to the head of marketing and demote Jules!”

Everyone was floored by the completely absurd decision.

Marcus tried to reason with her. “Miss Turner, surely you can’t be serious about this? Mr. Fanon has been with us for five years. Everyone knows he has earned his position with his list of accolades…

"Ronald, on the other hand, has only been with us for three months and hasn’t even handled a single marketing campaign yet… This is going to hurt the company’s morale.”

“If they are upset about this, they can quit for all I care!” The red on Layla’s lips became especially prominent when she scowled and shot a look at Jules. “What about you? Do you have any problems with that?”

Jules confronted her gaze head-on and scoffed derisively. “In fact, I do have problems with that! What now? Are you going to tell me to quit too?”

Layla bellowed, “As if you would have the guts to quit! Where else are you going to find work? Tell you what, I can make you a deputy director if you stop making a fuss about this, otherwise, the door is right there!”

Marcus hurriedly interjected, “Miss Turner, Mr. Fanon has already submitted his resignation…”

Jules cut him off, “Alright, sure.”

With that, he collected his scattered belongings off the floor and shoved them into a box before announcing, “Forget about the deputy director position, I don’t need it. All I can say is that I hope you won’t regret this decision.”

Layla retorted adamantly, “That will never happen.”

While Jules was walking away, Roland suddenly remarked curiously, “What are those pens inside his box? They’re so unique, I’ve never seen caps smoothed out like that.”

Layla turned to him with affection pouring out of her eyes, then asked, “Do you like them?”

“Yes,” Roland nodded eagerly, then remarked feebly, “I suppose Jules wouldn’t give them to me, would he?”

“Hey, Jules…”

Before Layla could even get a word out, Jules proceeded to take all the pens Layla had once customized for him and tossed them over the table.

He stated sarcastically, “Of course you can have it, you’re the apple of her eye, after all. She’d pluck the moon from the sky if you just asked! Besides, they’re just pens. You can have all of them if you want.”

Layla was caught off guard by the complete lack of resistance and felt a strange feeling swelling inside her, but she brushed it off with a quick remark. “That’s more like it, Jules. I’ll make you more of them when I get home.”

Jules answered in a voice so faint only he could hear it, “Forget about it. That won’t be necessary from now on.”