Chapter 1

"Remember to come and report for work on the first of the month, Mr. Gavin Carter. And don't be late."

After listening to the other person on the line, I responded politely and said, "I understand, and I will be there on time. Thank you."

I recalled Jett Leroy's arrogant face this morning as I hung up, and I couldn't stop myself from wanting to laugh out loud.

He still didn't know that I'd already found myself a new job at the Audit Commission, and I had already been planning to resign over the next two days anyway.

Still, he chose this exact timing to blame me for the company's bad performance because my horoscope clashed with his, which I thought was completely absurd.

It seemed as though I wouldn't be leaving this company on a good note anymore.

I got up and prepared to return to my desk and tidy up. Just as I opened the bathroom door, I bumped into Cade Jefferson and his "followers". They were smoking outside the door and joking with each other.

Cade cast me a side glance and immediately raised his voice, saying, "Oh, look. Isn't this our head of department, Mr. Carter? What could he be doing inside the bathroom earlier, I wonder? Looking for a sugar mommy? That was pretty fast of him."

I planned on ignoring him, so I quickened my footsteps and tried to leave.

However, at that moment, Rafael Thornton, who'd been right next to Cade, said, "Don't talk about him like that, Cade. It's not like Mr. Carter can't find a job elsewhere. I mean, he does need to get a job after getting laid off by our company.

"I just wonder which company would want to put up with him."

The group of people continued laughing loudly among themselves after he said that, and I couldn't help feeling chills in my heart.

I had always been treating them well over the past few years. I was the one who had taken them under my wing while securing large projects for the company, personally teaching them the know-how and reports so that they could flourish in their careers.

And if any one of them had a sudden emergency and needed to change shifts or requested their salary in advance, I would always do my best to accommodate them.

I had never once asked them for anything in return. And yet, this was how they treated me after something bad happened to me.

I stared at them with a calm expression on my face and said, "I was still the company's top salesperson for three years in a row, even when I was performing at my worst.

"And if you guys have too much time on your hands gossiping about me, might I suggest that you use that time working harder instead. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone months without bringing in new projects for the company like now."

Rafael felt offended at that. He gritted his teeth and growled, "Gavin Carter! How dare you still talk so smugly like you're better than us when you're already in this kind of situation?

"You say that you brought in a lot of huge projects last time, but did you ever stop and think that it was because our company platform was a very good one?

"You just got lucky and happened to be the one closing the deal each time! If it were up to Cade, he would have gotten much better results than you, maybe ten times or a hundred times more!"

Cade grinned and nodded in delight when Rafael stoked his ego. He then angled his chin toward me and said, "It's time you faced reality now, Gavin Carter. And everything you were so proud of, be it your abilities or experiences—they don't mean a single thing once you're out of here!

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you something. I am the new head of department from today onward. And it was Mr. Leroy who promoted me himself!"

I chuckled when I heard him say that.

No wonder Cade, who used to tag along with me wherever I went and regarded me highly as his mentor in the past, was suddenly being so aggressive and contemptuous toward me. It was all because Jett had promised him my position.

I cast a side glance at Cade, looking as proud as a peacock, and thought that it was just too ironic.

He couldn't even draft up anything that looked remotely close to a sales contract when he'd first set foot into my department back then.