Chapter 3

I looked at the ones who talked behind my back just now. All of those faces were familiar to me. Even the one who had the shortest work experience in Pearson Group had been working for me for three years.

Over the past few years, I had set sales targets for everyone in the sales department and had them ranked according to their sales performance on an internal basis.

But when it came to presenting the data to the rest of the company, I'd distribute my sales performance to the people who had performed poorly during the quarter. That way, everyone would be entitled to big fat bonuses at the end of the year so that they could celebrate their New Year holidays happily.

It turned out that my subordinates all viewed the sales performance that I had put great effort into achieving as nothing but results I had yielded from selling my body to other clients.

They weren't grateful to me at all. Instead, they all looked down on me disdainfully.

In fact, when I was slandered in my previous life, not only did those male colleagues not defend me, but they also sabotaged me.

The thing was, those colleagues had bought me little gifts such as potted plants back when they first started working in the company. It was to show their gratitude toward me for helping and supporting them at all times. I was very sure that I could see the hint of gratitude in their eyes back then.

After that, those colleagues stopped giving me gifts. Still, they'd still cheer happily whenever they received their end-of-the-year bonuses and would thank me sincerely.

What on earth changed them?

Was it my limitless tolerance toward their flaws? Or was it because they had grown accustomed to my acts of kindness? Could another factor be the reason why?

Regardless, the reason didn't matter at all. Since my kindness was abused and trampled all over the ground, I might as well take everything back.

"The internal rankings of your sales performance will be submitted to the relevant departments starting from this quarter. If you want to earn a lot of money and get your hands on the end-of-the-year bonus, you should work hard to hit your sales targets from now on."

After that, I left the meeting room.

I could already hear sounds of people slamming the desk and angry curses booming from behind me before the door was fully shut.

"That hag is serious this time!"

"Who does she think she is? She's just a hag who's about to lose her job! I can't believe she still wants to get on our nerves one last time before her dismissal!"

I was stopped by the CEO's secretary on my way back to my office.

Soon, I headed to the CEO's office. There, I saw Matthew, who sat up straight in his seat. The HR director—a stern-faced man—as well as the smug-looking Ramona were there as well.

I just rubbed the spot between my brows tiredly.

Now that I got a second chance in life, the first thing I did was defend myself. Besides, Julia had already verified that the photos were edited in Photoshop. Even so, was I still subjected to the fate of getting fired from Pearson Group?

"Dana." A deep and rich voice boomed at that moment, effectively snapping me out of my thoughts.

It belonged to Xander Pearson, the CEO of Pearson Group. He was also my ex-boyfriend.

Pearson Group was the fruit of our labor. I was in charge of the sales department, whereas he was tasked to run the entire company. We started our company from the ground up.

But as time passed, Xander told me that he was sick of this relationship. He just viewed me as a friend. Hence, we broke up on amicable terms and maintained our relationship as mere colleagues.

Sure, I didn't love Xander anymore, but my contribution weighed heavily on Pearson Group's history and development. I had no reason to give up on it.

Anything in this world could easily betray me except for two things—money and effort.

"I know all about the incident featuring you and Matthew. This incident has left a huge negative impact on the company's reputation. What I'm saying is that you should be suspended from your position for a definite period."

Xander frowned deeply, as though he was really troubled by this incident.

"What sort of impact did it cause, then? The moment it happened, I'd already explained my side of the story and saved the evidence as well. Also, I've informed the PR department to monitor the outgoing comments. Right now, only the employees of this company know about this incident.

"Also, it's obvious that I'm the victim here! Suspension will undoubtedly kill my career!"

I clenched my fists tightly while fighting back with logic and facts.

In my previous life, the incident was leaked to the public soon enough. The influencers on the social media platforms began using the hashtag #MenHaveToProtectThemselvesToo in order to make the incident go viral. My colleagues even worked with the influencers in providing falsified statements about me, which increased the incident's fame.

I was forced to resign from my job in order to protect Pearson Group's image.

But in this lifetime, the media didn't even write a word about this incident. Pearson Group had no reason to fire me at all.

"I have a letter of complaint here!" Ramona raised a letter instantly. "More than half of the employees working at the sales department have worked together to lodge a report against Dana Lombard, the current sales director. She's accused of misusing her power as the director just so she could sexually harass the male employees! Her actions have greatly affected the workplace of this company!"

Ramona's gaze grew heated as she continued, "Even if the explicit photos are edited, the fact that many people have banded together just to lodge a report against you still stands, Dana! Don't tell me you're going to accuse them of starting rumors about you for no reason!"

I glanced at the letter of complaint. The ones who signed the letter were the male colleagues who had mocked me earlier. Those people enjoyed the perks I brought them, but they repaid me by stabbing me in the back.

"What do you think about this, Mr. Pearson?"

This was an extremely botched attempt to sabotage my reputation. Anyone with two brain cells could easily figure that out.

Unfortunately, one could never wake up someone who was pretending to be asleep the whole time.

"I'm conflicted about this." Xander gazed at me. "It'll be difficult for me to calm the employees down if they form the majority of the crowd. I have no choice but to respect their decision."

The HR director spoke up at that moment. "The company has taken the fact that it's difficult for 35-year-olds to find another job into consideration. Thus, we've come up with the best solution for you. Once the incident dies down, you can resume working at the company in a job position that we've selected for you."

After that, he passed me a document. I could see the words "Suspension Notice" written all over the front.

It'd be difficult for 35-year-olds to find new jobs? The HR director was definitely reminding me of my age on purpose. I wouldn't be able to find a new job if I didn't accept the company's arrangements for me.

Letting me resume working in a job position that the company selected for me was just a fancy excuse for them to demote me and exclude me from the core management.

Great. Just great.

What an incredibly smart method to take me out after squeezing out all of my worth!

But what Xander and the others didn't know was that I had already died once. There was no way I'd let them do whatever they wanted to me without fighting back.

After I returned to my office, I made myself a cup of coffee. I had no idea when exactly I got addicted to coffee—if I didn't have a cup of joe every day, I'd be extremely uncomfortable.

At that moment, Ramona entered my office with her arms folded in front of her chest. She stated haughtily, "This office will be mine in the future. I'm giving you an hour to pack up your stuff and get the hell out of here!"