Chapter 3

3.

Grant froze. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"She's so brilliant. Of course she deserves a higher position."

"I'm trying to have a reasonable discussion with you, and now you're acting crazy again?" His face darkened.

If I resisted, he'd accuse me of targeting Amber.

Now that I was giving in, he was calling me irrational.

See? When someone doesn't love you, even your breathing is wrong.

I decided not to say another word.

Seeing my silence, Grant’s frown deepened. "Claire, this is very childish, you know that? Was it about the flowers? Fine, I'll order you some right now. Happy?"

"I don't understand why you're holding onto such a small thing for so long. You're being so cold. It's not the behavior of a good partner."

He still thought this was about a bouquet of flowers.

"Don't bother. Save your money for your little girlfriend. A few thousand dollars for roses? Seems like she's a worthy investment."

Grant's face flushed. "I already told you, Amber and I have a normal, professional relationship! Claire, when did you become so paranoid?"

"You know the truth."

His face turned beet red, and he raised his voice. "If that's what you want to believe, then fine! Just tell me, what will it take for you to cooperate with the company's strategic adjustments?"

I took out the divorce papers I had prepared, flipped to the last page, and handed it to him. "Sign this, and I'll give the account to Amber."

Without even glancing at the document, he snatched a pen and signed his name. He probably thought it was just another internal transfer form, moving assets that would stay within the family anyway.

He signed it without a second thought, then turned to leave. "I want to see the handover documents tomorrow. Don't disappoint me."

The old me would have probably cried all night, watching him walk away.

But tonight, I fell into a peaceful, deep sleep.

When I woke up, my phone had exploded again.

This time, it wasn't my team being demoted. It was me.

Grant had posted an announcement in the company-wide Slack channel: "Based on recent performance reviews and organizational restructuring, Claire will be reassigned from Director of Business to a standard associate role. We hope everyone understands and supports this decision."

All the people who had defended me before had been punished. Now, no one dared to speak up for me.

I didn't care. I went to the office with my entire team and we all submitted our resignations.

The HR manager frantically called Grant. "Grant, bad news! We have a mass resignation on our hands…"

Before Grant could answer, I heard Amber's voice on the other end. "Grant, if you have something important to do, you should go. I can watch the movie by myself."

"No. You've been through so much. I promised I'd make it up to you. Let them handle the work stuff themselves."

Then, he lowered his voice, speaking impatiently into the phone. "Do I have to handle something as small as an employee quitting? What do I pay HR for?"

"But…"

"But what! Just follow the procedure, and stop bothering me!"

He hung up. When HR tried to call back, his phone was off. The manager was sweating bullets, but with no other choice, she processed our resignations.

The news that spread, however, was that our entire team had been fired.

Amber's little followers gleefully reported back to her. "See? It doesn't matter how good you are. If you can't play office politics, you're nothing."

"There's no such thing as fairness in the workplace. Only the people who know how to play the game get ahead!" They chattered openly, right in front of me.

My team was furious, ready to charge at them. I held them back, a smile on my face as I addressed Amber's clique. "You're right. I wish your future partners the best of luck in finding their own 'true loves' someday."

Then, ignoring their shocked faces, I led my team out of the building.

I grinned. "I'm in a good mood. My treat, you guys pick the restaurant."

My team immediately started arguing over steak or seafood. While they debated, I scrolled through my phone.

Damian had called as soon as he heard we had all quit. He insisted on taking our entire team out for a celebratory dinner to welcome us aboard.

After getting a consensus from the team, I confirmed the place with Damian, and our group headed toward the restaurant.

Suddenly, Leo tugged on my sleeve.

"Claire, look over there."

I looked up in the direction he was pointing and saw Grant and Amber, holding hands, strolling down the street.

I said nothing, just quietly took out my phone and snapped a picture.

A girl with them laughed. "Amber, you finally decided to show off your handsome boyfriend! He's so hot, no wonder you kept him hidden for three years."

Grant smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, everyone. I've just been so busy with work."

"Amber told us how much you all looked after her in college. Pick out anything you like today, it's on me."

Three years. Amber hadn't even graduated yet.

So they had been together that long. No wonder he had fought so hard to hire her against everyone's advice.

Beside me, Leo kicked a chair in frustration. The sound startled Grant.

He turned his head and saw me. The color drained from his face and he instantly dropped Amber's hand. "What are you doing here?"

I laughed coldly. "Is this your 'normal, professional relationship'?"

Grant froze for a second, but quickly regained his composure, his voice dripping with condescension. "Claire, you're being too sensitive. I'm just helping her pick out gifts for a company event and thanking her friends for their support. This is normal business networking. You need to learn to separate work from your personal feelings."

"Besides, it's the middle of the workday. What are you doing here with the whole team? Did you all just decide to ditch work?"

"I'm very disappointed in you, Claire. Where's your professionalism?"

Amber could follow him around all day and never clock in, but he held us to this ridiculous standard.

I smiled. "Forgot to tell you. My entire team and I have resigned."

"You two have fun. We're done here."