Chapter 99 You Are Fired
After making sure that Nicole was safe from harm, Zachary went for his overseas trip once again. It seemed as though it would be difficult to save themselves from the messy situation.
When Nicole arrived at the company the next day, she couldn’t help but notice how oddly quiet the office was. She could almost feel the weight of the silence.
The other employees who had noticed her arrival immediately lowered their heads. Still, nobody said a word.
She took a walk around, and her eyebrows soon crinkled when she noticed Joanna wasn’t at her usual place. She couldn’t help feeling weird about it—something must have happened.
By the time Nicole had arrived at the office, Scarlett was following right behind her with a worried expression.
After shutting the door behind her, she glumly said to Nicole, “President Gardner fired Shaun Geller from the Human Resource Department this morning.”
Nicole raised her head to look at the other woman, and it took her a while to react. If her memory served her right, Shaun Geller was the man who pressured her into drinking alcohol last night.
Seeing that Nicole was staring at her in surprise, Scarlett continued, “I’m not sure who President Gardner had heard from this morning, but as soon as he found out that Shaun tried to get you in trouble last night, he fired Shaun without even giving him the time to explain himself. Everyone working here is now holding themselves back so that they don’t offend you in some way.”
It was only then did Nicole understand why the Design Department was especially quiet when she arrived.
Even though she detested workplace politics, she never had the intention to take revenge on anyone. She could only let out a helpless smile as she nodded with a sigh. “I got it.”
“Also, President Gardner has asked Director Schmidt to meet him at his office,” Scarlett muttered while gingerly looking at Nicole.
So, that is the reason for the somber mood in the Design Department just now, Nicole thought. While massaging the incoming headache, she said, “I’ll have a talk with President Gardner in a while. Can you please tell everyone to be more at ease?”
At that, Scarlett looked at Nicole and nodded. “Alright,” she replied shortly thereafter.
Scarlett was a new intern at the Design Department, which was why she didn’t have the chance to attend an event like yesterday’s one. She had only learned about Shaun from the Human Resource Department and the man had forced Nicole to drink from the mouths of her colleagues when she arrived at the office earlier that morning.
For Nicole to get both Sabrina and Shaun in trouble soon after she started working there, it was only natural for the other colleagues to fear being further involved with her. They would be the next ones to go if they were to pull a wrong move.
However, as someone who had been working alongside Nicole, Scarlett knew that Nicole was not someone who would find fault with others over trifles. The two who were fired probably deserved their punishment.
…
Colton, who was in the President’s office of Gardner Corporation, was dressed in a custom-made black suit that perfectly accentuated the muscular curves of his fit body.
He had a dark expression on his face as he leaned back into his seat. His almond-shaped eyes were cold as he peered at the woman in front of him.
“Gardner Corporation is in a collaboration with Lisa. She does not work under you.”
Standing only meters away from him was Joanna, whose eyes were lowered.
“What happened was due to my negligence. I didn’t think Shaun would be daring enough to do something like that. I apologize for not stopping him in time.”
The corners of Colton’s lips only lifted into a sneer after he heard Joanna’s words, but his pitch black eyes continued to drill holes in her. He was well aware of the fight for power within the office. The only reason why he had never mentioned any of it was because he had better things to do.
His voice dropped to a baritone thereafter and his words came out, one colder than the other.
“I’ll only say this once, Joanna. Do whatever you want with the Design Department, but you have to do as Lisa says until the last day she is with Gardner Corporation.”
Upon hearing his words, her face immediately paled as a lump began to form in her throat. She didn’t think that Nicole was such an important person to Colton.
Her eyes had reddened by then and through gritted teeth, she grumbled, “It is not like I’m worse than her! The only thing that makes her better is that she has the backing of F&M Appa—”
“That is the thing,” Colton interjected before Joanna could finish her words. “She is the Chief Designer from F&M Apparel. That alone puts her on a completely different level than you. You may go ahead and tender your resignation if you are not confident about your work. I don’t want there to be any more issues while we are collaborating with F&M Apparel.”
A dumbfounded Joanna could practically feel a chill all over her body after hearing his words. She couldn’t believe that the only thing she had received in return for the sacrifices she made was but a measly permission to resign…
