Chapter 3

When I went out to refill my mug at 3:25 pm, I spotted a client pacing back and forth in the hallway.

"Is Hubert Gray here?" the client asked. "We had a meeting scheduled for this afternoon, didn't we? He's already 20 minutes late. Where is he?"

"I don't know," I replied, shaking my head.

The client frowned. He made several calls, but I guessed Hubert had put his phone on silent.

"If your colleague can't even manage something as basic as punctuality, I'm seriously concerned about the caliber of your company," the client said, clearly irritated. "Forget doing business with your company from now on!"

Someone peeked out from the office.

"Who's that?"

"Looks like one of Hubert's clients. Why does he seem so angry?"

"Forget it. He's just a small client. It's none of our business. Let's get back to work."

At 6:00 pm, when everyone was getting ready to pack up and head home, Mr. Langdon suddenly strode into the office, his face dark with anger.

"Where's Hubert?"

My colleagues exchanged bewildered glances.

"Mr. Langdon," Zara called, raising her hand. "Hubert had something to take care of this afternoon, so he took the afternoon off."

"Then, who was handling his work?"

Zara pointed at me. "Jonas was."

"Is that true, Jonas?" Mr. Langdon asked, glaring at me. "Why was no one there to attend to the client this afternoon?"

I bent down to tie shoelaces.

"Mr. Langdon, Hubert did come to me this afternoon and ask me to swap shifts with him. But I never agreed, and he left on his own."

"No, you…" Zara sputtered, panic flashing across her face.

I turned to look at her. "What? Did any of you hear me say yes or agree to anything? I never agreed to swap shifts with Hubert, and I'm under no obligation to do his work for him. What's the problem?"

Zara fell silent, and Mr. Langdon's expression darkened.

Ten minutes later, Hubert came rushing through the door, panting. His hair was perfectly styled, and the strong scent of cologne clung to him.

"Hubert, where were you during working hours this afternoon?

"Mr. Langdon, I took the afternoon off!" Hubert replied, looking genuinely surprised. "Jonas and I swapped shifts. He was supposed to cover for me—"

"I never agreed to swap shifts with you," I cut him off.

Hubert frowned, putting on a wounded expression. "But I told you! I said I had something to take care of and asked you to cover for me. Everyone in the office heard me. If you don't believe me, ask them—"

"That's right. You told me you were going to the movies and asked me to swap shifts with you. Do you remember what I said?" I pressed. "I said no. Is that really so hard to understand?"

Hubert froze. He looked around frantically, but everyone avoided his gaze.

After hearing the full story, Mr. Langdon finally spoke, "Hubert, I never received any notification that you'd arranged to swap shifts with someone this afternoon."

Hubert's face went pale.

The client might have been a small one, but even small clients had their own professional networks. He'd been treated poorly by our company, and once he went home and told others about it, the story spread like wildfire.

As a result, several of our long-standing clients had already announced that they would reconsider doing business with us. The company ended up losing nearly hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential business.

"Hubert, you arranged a shift swap without authorization, failed to report for work, and caused the company financial losses. Your entire team's performance bonuses will be withheld, and no one in your team will be considered for promotion in the near future."

The office erupted in protest.

"Why are our bonuses being cut? We had nothing to do with this!"

"I was counting on that bonus to pay my mortgage! Why should I have to take the blame?"

Tears spilled from Hubert's eyes.

"It's all my fault," he sobbed. "I gave people too much credit. I thought Jonas would agree for the sake of everyone's interests, but who could've expected him to…"

Spurred on by Hubert's words, my colleagues turned against me, their hostility impossible to hide.

"Exactly! Jonas could've just taken over the work, and none of this would've happened. He's so selfish! He couldn't even help with something this small!"

Hubert stood at the back of the crowd, a smug smile tugging at his lips.

From that day on, I became everyone's target.

My colleagues would be chatting away happily in the office, but the moment I appeared, the surrounding area would fall silent.

They deliberately left me out of meeting notifications, withheld documents and information from me, and paid lip service to coordinating work with me, doing the bare minimum whenever they could. They went out of their way to make things difficult for me.

And this was all because I'd refused to cover Hubert's shift for him.

In the group chat, Hubert was inviting everyone out for barbecue, and the messages that followed were nothing but praise.

"Hubert, you're the coolest guy I've ever known, and you're so kind. We're so lucky to have you as a colleague!"

"Hubert, you're too nice for your own good. That's why petty people get jealous of you. Someone like that needs to be taught a lesson."

I put my phone away and went to the cafeteria, where I ordered a plate of spaghetti with a side of braised ribs. I ate quietly by myself.

I'd barely taken a few bites when someone suddenly rushed up to me.

Hubert looked utterly disheveled. Panic was written all over his face, and his voice was almost unrecognizable.

"Jonas, please help me! My son was in a car accident. The doctors need me to get there immediately and sign the consent forms!

"I'm begging you! Cover my shift for me—just for one afternoon! My son might not make it!"