The next instant, Dean called David and told him that he didn't want Anson as his assistant anymore.
David could kind of guess what happened, so he didn't ask Dean for the reason. He just replied, "Alright, then we'll get you another assistant."
He suddenly paused halfway and said, "But you're in the middle of a business trip now, so it's kind of hard to switch out your assistant at a time like this. I'll get someone else to replace him after you're back from your business trip. What do you think?"
"I do not wish to work with him any longer," Dean said. "It's fine if you can't send someone new to replace him at once. I can handle everything by myself for the rest of the business trip."
David didn't think that Dean would be so straightforward with him and make him feel embarrassed like this. However, there wasn't much he could say, so he just agreed to it.
As soon as Anson learned that Dean wanted to get rid of him, something in him snapped. He could remember Corbyn's stinging slap every time he closed his eyes, as fresh as though he'd just been slapped.
It hurt his pride thinking that Corbyn managed to one-up him and his ego. Anson simply couldn't accept it. He also couldn't accept the fact that Dean had just given up on him and abandoned him just like that.
So, Anson started harassing Dean every single day like a madman.
For the whole time Dean was on the business trip, he didn't just have to deal with work but also with Anson's relentless harassment.
However, Dean was nothing like Corbyn. He didn't retaliate with words or attack Anson physically. He only reported Anson to his company's headquarters, accusing Anson of workplace harassment.
The company headquarters took workplace harassment very seriously, especially since this report came from their star employee. After receiving the report, they called up Dean at once to assess the situation. Then, they sent a few people over to investigate the matter.
Dean had preserved all evidence of Anson's harassment. This evidence included recordings of Anson's love confessions dozens of times a day, footage of Anson trying to get physically intimate with Dean at the office, and more.
The investigators also knew that Anson was the regional CEO's son. It was hard to miss, especially since Anson kept emphasizing in conversations that his father was the CEO. This was particularly embarrassing for David.
Still, the company headquarters took this matter very seriously. David had no choice but to apologize to Dean and fire Anson afterward.
It didn't feel good to fire his own son. But there was nothing David could do since his son had been caught red-handed.
Although David was mad at Anson for brainlessly getting into a scandal like this, David was even more furious at Dean for challenging his authority repeatedly.
Dean hadn't always been the most respectful toward David on the daily, but he had let it slide. However, Dean's disobedience was starting to get out of hand lately.
Just a while ago, Dean had bypassed David and reported Kelvin straight to the authorities for rat trading. This had caused the company's reputation to take a toll, and the company headquarters had asked David about the whole incident.
Now, Dean had overstepped his boundaries once more by reporting David's son to the company headquarters. This was a directly offensive act for David, and there was no way he was keeping quiet about it now.
David started thinking about his options. He was absolutely not going to promote Dean to investment director anymore.
Dean was already challenging him when he was nothing more than a fund manager. If he became a director, wouldn't that directly put David's authority in jeopardy?
He thought about it for a bit. Sylvia was doing quite well as the company's celebrity mascot for now, and her sales were soaring too. Since she was usually quite obedient toward him, he figured that it would be better for him if he promoted Sylvia instead.
To someone in upper management like David, of course, a mediocre but obedient employee was far better than a superb but "disobedient" one.
Sylvia had been over the moon when she saw how Dean inadvertently forced David to apologize and fire his own son. She knew now that Dean had thoroughly offended David and couldn't help giving herself a pat on the back for fueling the fire back then.
She'd purposely brought up Corbyn's name in her conversations with Anson and talked bad about him to trigger Anson's competitiveness. She had also encouraged Anson to bravely pursue Dean many times in the past.
She had said that Dean was a very passive person who wouldn't respond to normal methods of pursuit.
"I heard that Corbyn basically harassed Dean all day every day back then for at least two years, which was how they finally ended up together," she told Anson.
When Anson heard what Sylvia said about Corbyn, he felt even more disdain for him.
He thought, "If someone as inferior as Corbyn could end up with Dean after years of harassment, wouldn't that mean someone as superior as me would have a bigger chance at winning Dean's heart with the exact same method?"
That was the main reason Anson had dared to harass Dean during the trip, until Dean finally reported him to the headquarters.
Sylvia knew all along that Dean would never fall for Anson's tricks. She knew that Dean would end up finding Anson tiresome instead. And once Dean made up his mind about that, he would do anything in his power to get rid of that someone from his life.
She'd learned that from Kelvin's case.
Despite being David's son, Anson would have been no exception. And just as Sylvia expected, Dean had used extreme ways to get Anson out of his sight.
However, by doing so, he had now greatly challenged David's authority, which only further proved himself to be a threat. And David would definitely not forgive Dean for this.
"So what if he was good at his work? He still can't advance his career if he keeps on fucking up his interpersonal relationships like this." Sylvia thought that she knew a lot more about life principles than Dean did.
Still, she knew that David would still most probably think of her as Dean's "ally". So, she purposely stole one of Dean's huge clients under his nose. It wasn't like she needed this client for her sales. However, she was using this to tell David whose side she was on.
David jumped on the opportunity and openly criticized Dean for failing to manage his clients properly, resulting in the loss of a huge client.
He then said pointedly, "It's not just numbers that we deal with in this industry, but people as well. You can't hide behind a locked door, researching numbers all the time.
"You need to learn how to properly communicate with people and handle your interpersonal relationships well!"
David said this to Dean at their company-wide meeting, which meant everyone else in the company was there to witness David shaming Dean in public.
This was the first time Dean was on the receiving end of such public humiliation.
Everyone present was shocked, but not too overly so. It was shocking to witness David openly shaming Dean, yet it still made sense why he did it.
After all, Dean had forced David to fire Anson, which was like a slap to his face. It was simply normal for David to bear a grudge against Dean for that.
Some of the people present thought that it was a pity. Dean had such a bright future ahead of him. Why did he purposely get on his supervisor's bad side over such a trivial matter like this?
Meanwhile, some other people took in the public shaming with delight. They'd been sick to their stomachs of Dean's cold and distant attitude. He was still nothing but an employee after all, yet he acted like royalty all the time.
Dean had probably only acted like that because David valued him as his star employee and always took his side. But now, with David's feathers all ruffled up, Dean was still a nobody after all!
Any employee with a certain level of experience would never be able to stomach their boss publicly humiliating them, especially if that employee was someone as high-up as Dean. They probably wouldn't even be able to handle the criticism well had they been given such feedback behind closed doors.
It was obvious that David did this deliberately to shame and humiliate Dean. It also acted as a warning for Dean to shape up.
Anyone in his shoes would have felt deeply embarrassed by now.
But not Dean.
He still replied calmly, "Mr. Stanton has always been my client. How did he suddenly end up being Sylvia's client?
"Does the company not have a policy stating that malicious competition among employees is strictly forbidden? In other words, employees are also prohibited from stealing clients from others."
Sylvia didn't get anxious when Dean brought up the company policy. She knew that Dean bringing it up would only further push David's buttons.
As expected, David flew into a rage. He said with a cold laugh, "Yes, the company forbids malicious competition. But if you had a good relationship with the client, nobody else would have been able to steal them from you.
"The problem now is that Mr. Stanton was deeply unimpressed by you and threatened to stop working with us, but Sylvia was the one who stepped in and stopped him from leaving. Do you understand what I'm saying?
"Sylvia didn't steal your client. She was simply cleaning up after you! How dare you accuse her of stealing your client? You should be thanking her instead!"
Obviously, David was twisting the truth, making it out as if Sylvia had done the whole world a favor by stealing one of Dean's clients. But David was the boss, and everything he said was law.
Dean didn't plan on defending himself. He still maintained his calm demeanor and looked at David with his deep, dark eyes. "So, what do you mean by that?"
David smiled and said, "You've been performing alright, and since this isn't a common mistake you make, I'd never hold it against you. I just want you to reflect on what you did wrong and make improvements in the future."
Dean nodded slightly.
It was precisely Dean's calm and unbothered mannerisms that made David even angrier at him.
David decided to add even more fuel to the fire. He refused to believe that Dean would be able to continue with his calm act once he heard the next announcement.
"By the way, I've got good news for everyone. Sylvia has been doing quite well lately, so she will be the next investment director of our company."
Sylvia was overjoyed at the announcement.
Meanwhile, Dean looked slightly disappointed by it.
David gloated when he finally saw the crack in Dean's composure. He grinned victoriously at Dean and said, "Work harder next time."
Dean replied, "If I recall correctly, you promised to promote me to investment director at the end of this year."
David nearly burst into laughter at his words. What was going on in Dean's mind? David was the boss, and whatever he said was law.
He could promote whoever he wished and go back on his word whenever he wanted. Dean should already be thanking his lucky stars that he wasn't demoted!
David just replied, "I'd considered it too, but you've been underperforming lately, and Sylvia's progress has been overwhelming. That's why I think she's more suitable to take on this role than you."
"You said that she was doing better than I was. May I know how she outperformed me? From which aspect?" Dean asked in return.
Dean's question put David on the spot. And that made him hate Dean even more.
How could Dean not know how to read the room? Did Dean not know that asking such a question in public was only going to cause more embarrassment for David?
David laughed aloud and said, "This evaluation was done not solely based on your sales performance. How about you come to my office after this meeting to discuss it if you want? We can discuss it in private. Let's not take up more of other people's time for your personal matters. Okay?"
Dean nodded and said nothing more.
David grinned victoriously once more when Dean no longer retaliated in public. He still won in the end. Dean still had to bow to him after all.
The meeting soon adjourned. The people present weren't dumb—they knew that something major had happened.
After all, Sylvia had stolen Dean's client and promotion, and David had fully allowed them to happen. The reason was Dean didn't know his way with words and offended him one time too many, resulting in David retaliating like this since he couldn't stand it anymore.
From then onward, Dean had fallen from grace, while Sylvia was the new favorite.
Everyone kept their eyes and ears peeled, thoroughly enjoying themselves as they immersed themselves in the drama that was happening.
Dean wasn't exactly everyone's favorite colleague because of his indifference at work, and his colleagues were glad to see him fall flat on his face.
The only person who found it awkward was Jared.
Jared always thought that he, Kelvin, Sylvia, and Dean had the deepest bond compared to the others, and they would always band together to help each other in need.
Who would have ever thought that things would turn out like this? It was impossible for him to take anyone's side!
Jared remained stunned in his seat. He glanced toward David's office and realized that Dean had walked into it.
He didn't know what Dean was going to say to David.
David was also looking forward to this conversation. He no longer had to care about keeping a truce with Dean anymore behind closed doors.
Dean entered David's office, still looking cold and distant. It was as if his face had permanently frosted over in an unending winter.
David was just about to attack Dean's calm composure with a string of curse words when Dean interrupted him, handing David an envelope instead.
"This is my resignation letter."
David was shocked. He stopped lifting his chin halfway and asked, "What?"
"This is my resignation letter," Dean repeated emotionlessly.
He then set the envelope down on the table. "I've also emailed all the information on my tablet to you and the HR department as required. If there's nothing else for me to do, then I'll be leaving now."
David saw Dean turning to leave decisively and suddenly jumped to his feet like he was electrocuted. "Wait!"
Dean stopped and slowly turned around. "What is it?"
David couldn't tell if Dean was truly intending to resign or if he was just calling a bluff. However, whichever it was, it was still something that David never thought would have happened.
After all, Dean didn't look like the type to worry about career progression. He had also never taken the initiative to ask for a promotion. He looked meek and content with where he was and what he was doing. That was why David never thought that Dean would resign because of this.
David thought about it for a while. Then, he asked, "Why would you suddenly resign? Is it because of the investment director promotion? Or is it because Sylvia stole your client? You can tell me what you're unhappy with. We can discuss things. There's bound to be a solution for everything."
The arrogant look on David's face was long gone. He was now being very courteous with Dean, acting like a caring boss all of a sudden. "This sudden resignation isn't going to do you any good anyway."
Dean replied, "If you insist on knowing the reason, it's because I want a different working environment."
With that, Dean left David's office, ignoring all of David's pleas to stay.
David was completely flabbergasted now.
He had only wanted to push Dean off his pedestal, maybe take off a peg or two. But he never expected that Dean would react in such a way and resign at once.
He didn't think that Dean was the kind of person who would make rash decisions. Dean wouldn't resign as soon as David rebuked him. He was the rational type, not the type who would resign on the spot out of anger.
Even if Dean were to resign, he would still need to secure a new job before leaving, wouldn't he?
Just then, realization dawned on David. Securing a new job? Perhaps…
David fell into thought. Today wasn't the first day he'd found Dean a pain in the ass. Could it also have been the same case with Dean?
Could it be that Dean had been thinking of resigning for a while? Could it be that Dean had already received offers from other companies and only took this as a chance to resign?
The more David thought about it, the more he thought it was true. He felt defeated for a while. However, moments later, he had another more evil thought. He wasn't going to lose to a greenhorn bastard like Dean.
The financial sector was only so large, and there were less than a handful of companies that could even afford to employ Dean. David only needed to pay a little more attention to those few companies to know which one Dean was heading to.
David scoffed. He had to see Dean's utterly defeated look, even if that was the last thing he'd ever do!
Rationally speaking, David didn't have to go all out to blacklist an ex-employee of his who'd barely even done anything wrong. However, Dean was different.
David had been in upper management for the longest time ever and was used to employees treating him like he was a god. If word got out that Dean managed to do even better after disrespecting him and leaving his company, then David's ego was going to be very heavily bruised and battered.
David didn't care about his company's reputation or Anson's broken heart. Those were secondary.
He swore that he was going to watch Dean leave with his tail tucked between his legs or come back begging him for forgiveness. It was only then that David would be able to restore his fragile-as-fuck ego.
After assessing the situation, David started thinking about his devious plan to deal with Dean.
…
Meanwhile, Corbyn had been burying himself in work at Bloomberg Group, trying to familiarize himself with the company's ins and outs as quickly as possible.
He was looking over some documents in his office when he suddenly received a call from Paxton. Paxton sounded anxious on the phone.
"Your mom… Your mom…"
Corbyn rolled his eyes. "Are you trying to make one of those 'yo mama' jokes?"
Paxton finally managed to catch his breath. He exclaimed, "Who's got the time to make one of those jokes now? It's your mother, you motherfucker!"
Corbyn realized that something must be up when he heard Paxton talking like that. "What's with my mom?"
"She called your man to come to her office!"
Corbyn suddenly felt as if the cogs in his head had gotten stuck, squeaking loudly in protest.
Paxton thought Corbyn still didn't get the message when he didn't hear any reply from him. So, he explained again, "My secretary said that your mother came to work today. I realized that something must be up. Aunt Ronnie would never come to work out of the blue!
"So I got someone to keep an eye on her. They just told me that they saw Marc fetching Dean from the lobby and sending him straight into your mother's office!"
Marc Danes was Veronica's secretary.
It finally hit Corbyn. He jumped up from his chair in a frenzy and exclaimed, "Fuck, damn it! I'm sure my mom is planning to tell Dean I'm a fucking rich heir because she can't stand me acting poor and weak around him anymore! She's going to expose me!"
Paxton didn't know if he should cry or laugh at Corbyn's distress. "Don't regular people feel happier if they find out that their poor and weak boyfriend was actually a rich-ass heir?"
Corbyn deadpanned. "Does Dean look like a regular person to you?"
As expected, Corbyn was indeed Veronica's son, who knew her the best. He'd managed to correctly guess Veronica's objective of inviting Dean over to her office today. She couldn't bear seeing her son acting like a loser anymore.
Dean arrived at her office and sat upright on the couch.
Veronica scrutinized him while he was sitting there. Dean was the most perfectly handsome and natural-looking man she'd ever seen. It was just a pity that he was gay.
She sighed and twirled her hair next to her forehead. "Do you know why you're here?" she asked.
Dean answered, "Mr. Danes said that you'd like to consult me for advice on some investment issues."
Veronica chuckled and crossed her leg over the other. "He lied. I've got something else to discuss with you."
Dean nodded and asked, "What is it, may I ask?"
Veronica grinned as she looked at Dean's serious expression. He looked like a saint. She could feel her body starting to itch as she winked at him. "Do you know what my favorite hobby is?"
Everyone knew that Veronica loved to indulge in men.
Veronica gave Dean sultry looks while speaking to him in a seductive voice. Anyone would know what she was thinking at that point.
Dean was confused. "Madam…"
Veronica was shocked when she heard how Dean addressed her. All signs of seductiveness melted away at once as the mood was ruined. She felt like an old woman all of a sudden.
Her face turned black as she said, "What did you just call me?"
"Madam," Dean repeated. "You're Corey's mother, aren't you?"
