In just two days, I handed over all my work from Green Orange.Fortunately, Shannon came back in a good state. I was a lot more relieved that Shannon would be helping Marius out with Green Orange.That morning, I took care of my last task at Green Orange before driving to Grant Corporation.I heard someone whispering the moment I stepped into the company."Keith really left the company. I passed by President Grant's office the other day and it was really empty.”"Did he really go over to Pristine as the news said?""Most likely. President Grant treated Keith so well. I didn't expect him to actually jump ship. I heard he’s the one who leaked the distributor's benefits.”People liked to gossip. If one made guesses, there would be another who would believe it.Despite the few of them looking surprised as they surrounded each other to hear the news, they were also somewhat convinced.I stepped forward and reprimanded them, "You guys ought to be working during work hours.”"Ah, ye
That afternoon, I was in line buying lunch and had not yet recovered from Keith betraying Theo.After I absent-mindedly got lunch, I was about to walk back to the company when I saw Keith at the intersection. He was with Nibel. They were probably working nearby.Disregarding everything that had happened, I walked up to Keith. He was stunned when he saw me but then greeted me politely, "President Lane."Ignoring Nibel who was next to him, I looked into Keith's eyes. I wondered if I was hallucinating because his once clear eyes were now cloudy.Images from the surveillance video flashed through my mind as I asked out loud, "Did you leak the distributor's benefits?"I caught a trace of surprise in Keith's eyes the moment I said that. I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from his own mouth.Before he could answer, however, Nibel replied on his behalf."President Lane, don’t you find it inappropriate to just suddenly appear and point fingers at my assistant?”My mood t
Back at the company, I wondered if I should tell Theo about having met Keith and Nibel. I had been a little absent-minded while we ate lunch because of that.Theo reached his hand out and shook it in front of me, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly. "What are you thinking?"I put down the chopsticks. I figured I should tell him.Theo needed to know Keith's position at least.I looked at Theo. Truthfully, I still could not bear it. It felt like I was pouring salt on Theo's injured heart.As if seeing how conflicted I was, Theo covered the back of my hand. "Didn’t we say we wouldn’t have secrets between us?”"I just met Keith and Nibel," I whispered, looking up carefully to observe Theo's reaction.I noticed the corner of his mouth twitch before he broke into a smile. Theo turned his gaze to me. "You must not have controlled yourself and gone up to scold him, huh?”Although Theo was right, he looked as if it was obvious that I was violent.I pursed my lips and lower
“President Zus, we’ve been working together for so long. Why do you suddenly want to terminate the contract?"Theo signaled me to hand the phone over to him. I did as he requested, thinking that he must have a way to stop President Zus from wanting to terminate the contract. Instead, what he actually said was, "Okay, President Zus. Let’s find a time to sign the termination agreement."I snatched the phone back from him after the call ended. "Why did you agree with him so quickly?""There’s no need to ask for his reason. We all know it.” Theo smiled.I was crestfallen. "I didn't expect Keith to be so heartless as to actually take the project away.""If anyone else calls to terminate the contract, just say yes," Theo informed me as if having anticipated what was to come.No longer having the mind to eat, I close the lid. "These projects are with clients who we’ve been working with for a long time. It’s a pity to lose them. It’ll also impact Grant Corporation. What will people out t
The next few days, I received consecutive calls from partners requesting for the termination of contracts. I did as Theo said and agreed with everyone. After printing out the contract termination agreements, I brought the thick stack of documents to Theo's office and placed them in front of him. "I get a call requesting for the contract to be terminated as long as Keith was involved in the project.”Theo just glanced at the stack before saying, "Yes, they probably don't want to sign it in person. Just stamp it and then send it over." He placed the official seal in front of me.This course of action was such a play down as if they were just a few small companies that were not worth mentioning. However, the companies that wanted to terminate their contracts were all well-known companies in the country. Even the smallest company was doing great in Whaldorf City. All their projects coincidentally involved Ketih. It did not feel like it was something that happened overnight."Nibel wan
Samuel's words kept circling my mind while I made my way back to the company with lunch."It's time to eat,” I said weakly.Theo came to the table, and when he saw my expression, he asked suspiciously, "What happened?""Nothing. There’s nothing bigger than the company now,” I said out loud but my gaze flickered.Samuel said that he knew everything I did, but Theo and I were the only ones in the office now. How would he know if I were to tell Theo about it? Did he bug me?I quickly started searching myself when I had that thought but found nothing."What are you looking for?" Theo looked at me and asked.I shook my head. “I was just checking to see if anything was off…”Theo put down his bowl and chopsticks. He looked straight at me. "You’ve been acting weird the moment you came back. What happened?"I bit my lower lip and hesitated if I should tell Theo about my meeting with Samuel or not. However, if what Samuel said was true, then the moment I leaked it and he found out, he
Keith's words surprised me as I stared at him. "You’ve really changed."He remained indifferent when he heard this. He turned his head and looked at me with complicated eyes. "A change in superior undoubtedly must come with a change of frame of mind. Nibel brought Samuel back from overseas, and all the information is kept confidential. You and President Grant won’t be able to find anything even if you do try. He also has information on you and Nina. He’ll expose it the moment you try anything.”"Damn it. Is Nibel trying to cut all of Theo’s escape?”"That's right, that's what he’s thinking. Now that I've left the company, Theo Grant won’t be able to continue any longer the moment you leave him too." Keith had actually begun calling Theo by his full name. His tone was so indifferent, and there was not a single trace of disturbance in his eyes.Biting my lower lip lightly, I stared at Keith in disbelief. "You've been with Theo for so many years. Don't you have any compassion at all?"
After Keith left, I sat down by the seaside for quite some time before returning home.When I got home, Theo was already there, and Caroline was done preparing dinner. They had been waiting for me to come back for dinner."Where did you go this afternoon? You’re back so late." Theo looked at me and asked, concerned.I looked at him. For a moment, my words failed me, so I coughed lightly. "I just went to the beach to feel the breeze and watch the sea to release my stress. Let’s eat now.”We sat down and had dinner together. I saw that Caroline was a little worried when I glanced at her. "What's wrong, Caroline? You don't seem very happy?"She sighed before fishing out a piece of paper from her coat pocket and handing it to me. "Madam, you’d probably understand better. Could you please read this examination report for me?""Examination report? Are you sick?" I asked as I opened it.Caroline waved her hand. “It’s not mine. Nina went to the hospital for a check-up but didn’t tell me