Chapter 2

I stared at Franklin in disbelief.

After years of dating, all I'd ever told him was that my parents raised cattle and sheep back in our hometown.

I never mentioned that they owned one of the largest ranching operations in the country.

From the looks of it, he'd simply assumed I was some poor country girl.

That explained why he'd been so cold toward me lately. I thought he was just busy with work, but apparently that wasn't the case.

When Cindy saw me getting slapped, she smiled.

She quickly fixed her expression and actually started pleading on my behalf.

"Mr. Lindt, don't do this. Shannon has contributed a lot to the company. Wouldn't firing her make everyone lose faith?

"As long as she returns all the clients she stole from me, I'm willing to let this go."

She looked completely self-sacrificing.

I snorted. "First of all, I earned those deals with my own ability. Why should I give them to you?

"Second of all, you're accusing me of selling my body with nothing but your mouth running wild. If anyone should be going to the police for defamation, it's me. What gives you the right to say you'll let this go?

"And lastly–

I walked straight up to Franklin and slapped him hard across the face.

"Fire me? I was appointed by the board of directors. Even if you're my boyfriend, you don't get a say in whether I stay or leave!"

[Holy crap! Has the supporting female character lost her mind? She actually slapped the male lead!]

[The female lead even pleaded for her and she still acts like this. The supporting female character is so disgusting. Hurry up and write her out already!]

[Relax. Anyone who messes with the male and female leads never has a good ending. She's digging her own grave!]

Having been slapped in public, Franklin's expression turned livid.

"Shannon!"

Cindy clearly hadn't expected me to hit him either. She gently touched Franklin's face and angrily said, "How could you hit him? I just wanted to take back what belongs to me. You've gone way too far!"

I laughed out of sheer anger.

"He's my boyfriend. What happens between us is none of your business.

"And besides, you keep saying I stole your clients. Show some evidence!"

Cindy looked so startled by my outburst that tears welled in her eyes.

Franklin immediately pulled her behind him protectively. His face was full of contempt.

"You're pushing this way too far! If you weren't sleeping around, how could you have climbed to the general manager position so quickly?"

He protected Cindy at every turn, yet humiliated me, his actual girlfriend, without restraint.

For years, I'd worked nonstop without a single day off. It was all so I could stand at the top beside him.

In the end, all I got was his suspicion.

My heart turned ice-cold as I sneered.

"If you think I got promoted too fast, maybe you should look at yourself. You've been here this long and still can't close deals. Have you actually been working hard?"

Franklin was furious.

He turned to Cindy and said gently, "Cindy, why are you pleading for trash like her? She's willing to degrade herself, so why should you help save her dignity?

"Just mentioning her makes me feel dirty."

The floating comments agreed wholeheartedly.

[Exactly! Our female lead is just too kind. That's why the supporting female character keeps bullying her!]

[Hurry up and throw the evidence in her face already. Let's see if she can still act this arrogant!]

Tears spilled from the corners of Cindy's eyes as she looked at me pitifully. "Shannon, you forced me to do this!"

I scoffed on the inside.

I really wanted to see what evidence she had.

Cindy tapped a few times on her phone, and several photos appeared on the company's giant screen.

They showed me standing outside a hotel room. I was smiling endearingly at a client.

I snorted in disbelief. "And what exactly does this prove?"

Franklin's expression darkened. His voice sounded ice-cold.

"You met with a client at a hotel. Do you really expect me to show the explicit photos too?"

I said helplessly, "We were having a business discussion. Is being polite to a client suddenly a crime now?"

Franklin looked at me with nothing but disgust.

"You're still lying even now!

"You even changed clothes! What kind of business meeting requires taking your clothes off in a hotel? And you still dare claim you earned those deals with your own ability?"