Chapter 2 Walking Away Clean

I let out a cold laugh and looked straight at Poppy. "Are you sure about this? If the boss comes back and finds out you fired me, he might not be too happy."

I was genuinely trying to warn her. Head-hunters had been offering me lucrative positions for years, but out of respect for my relationship with the boss, I'd never left. Walking away wouldn't affect me in the slightest—but Poppy might not be so lucky.

"Who do you think you are?" Poppy glared at me, her face twisted with arrogance and hostility. "You're just a salesperson. I'm my boyfriend's future wife, the lady of this company. Who do you think he'll choose—you or me?"

Hearing that, I simply shook my head. If that was how she saw it, so be it.

I turned and walked out of the office. The guys outside had clearly heard our argument, but none of them knew what had actually happened. They all stared at me in confusion.

"Chief, what happened?"

I started packing up my things efficiently and smiled. "I got fired—evidently."

Their eyes widened in disbelief. "She fired you?! Is Franklin out of her mind? Everyone knows you're the boss' golden goose. Is she not afraid he'll break up with her?"

I shook my head with a quiet chuckle. "That's not my problem. It was her decision—she'll deal with the consequences. Besides, I've been working nonstop for years. It's about time I took a proper break."

I'd already saved more than enough to live comfortably without working, but I'd never taken time off, and it always felt awkward to bring up.

Now, this was the perfect excuse.

The coworker was furious. "No, but why did she fire you? Did you offend her somehow?"

I frowned and thought it over carefully. "Probably because I spoke up for Jasmine when Poppy spread rumors about her. Ever since then, she's had it out for me—constantly nitpicking, openly and behind my back."

Poppy had uploaded a glamour photo of herself in the Slack group the day before. Everyone else had flooded the chat with compliments, but I'd read it and said nothing. That was probably the final spark.

"I'll call the boss right now," my coworker said urgently. "You're a core member of the company. You can't just leave like this."

I shook my head and smiled faintly. "Forget it. Even if I ever come back, it'll be after Poppy and the boss break up. I really can't stand her behavior. We'll talk about it later."

…

After packing up, I went straight to the finance office to collect my pay for the month. I'd only worked ten days, but my commission alone came to 100 thousand.

I informed the finance clerk that I'd been terminated and told her to transfer my salary to my account later. That was when Poppy suddenly appeared at the company entrance, glaring at me. "Theo Silverwood, didn't I tell you to get out? What are you still doing here?"

I gave her a calm glance. With a rich boyfriend to back her up, she looked smug and self-satisfied—utterly nauseating.

Seeing that I ignored her, Poppy immediately lost her temper. She rushed forward and grabbed my clothes. "Am I talking to a wall? What are you doing in the finance office? These are all confidential company documents. Get out right now, or I'll call the police!"

I frowned and forcefully shook her hand off. "Let go. I've already been fired—what's wrong with collecting my salary for this month? You should be glad that I haven't demanded the N+1 compensation."

"How much does he make?" Poppy glared at the young finance clerk, who answered honestly, "One hundred and five thousand."

Poppy turned grim instantly. "How much?!"