Chapter 3

The door slammed. Finally, some peace and quiet. Owen was pretty childish, wasn't he?

Only now did I realize that without the rose-colored filter I'd placed over him, he was nothing special.

Sitting in the cafe downstairs, I received a phone call.

"Ms. Shaw, I heard you're starting your own company. If that's the case, do you need any investors?"

Had word spread that quickly?

"How did you find out I'm going independent? I haven't announced anything publicly yet."

The caller chuckled. "Ms. Shaw, what happened at your company last night is all over the business circles. But I'm 100% in your corner. If you really do go independent, make sure you give me a call."

The sincerity in their tone was genuinely touching.

"Absolutely. I will." After hanging up, I smiled.

Without me and all my connections, how exactly did they plan to reach greater heights?

I received quite a few calls. Eventually I had someone spread the word that I'd definitely reach out, otherwise I wouldn't be able to finish my handover work all morning.

After taking another call, I headed to the office to process my resignation and hand over my responsibilities.

The moment I walked through the company doors, I saw Lila perched on my desk, surrounded by colleagues fawning over her like she was royalty.

When they spotted me, a colleague immediately approached. "Charlotte, go buy everyone drinks."

"Why should I?"

I checked the time. I wasn't even late. Besides, I was resigning anyway. Being late didn't really matter anymore.

The person smiled smugly. "Mr. Hayes just said whoever gets here last has to buy treats for everyone. You were the last one here."

"Oh, forget it." Lila stepped forward, deliberately smoothing down her dress.

I recognized it. This was the outfit Owen had mentioned buying for her. "How could we possibly make Charlotte run errands for everyone? I'll go instead."

As she spoke, she raised her voice deliberately but made no move to actually leave. Right on cue, Owen emerged from his office.

When he noticed the dress Lila was wearing, his expression flickered for a moment before quickly returning to normal. He deliberately adjusted her hem and smiled.

"It looks even better on you than I imagined."

Everyone else started cheering and teasing them. Lila's face flushed red. She immediately glanced back at me.

Was she worried I'd still get jealous and cause a scene?

She was probably overthinking it. At this point, my heart was like still water. Nothing could stir it.

When I didn't react, Owen seemed dissatisfied. He said coldly, "I just announced that the last person to arrive has to buy treats for everyone. If you're not going to cooperate, what are you even doing here?"

A colleague immediately pointed at me. "Charlotte was the last one to arrive. And she says she's not going!"

Owen had known it was me all along. He sneered. "Go. If you don't, I'll actually fire you."

It seemed he was deliberately hiding and ignoring my resignation letter. He hadn't told anyone?

Seeing this, I stopped playing along. "Whether or not you actually fire me today doesn't matter. I came here to resign anyway."